The Public Council of Integrity (PCI) urged President Petro Poroshenko not to appoint 111 judges of the new Supreme Court that have been handpicked elected during an open job contest.
In a statement made posted on its website on Tuesday, 3 October , the PCI said it has substantial claims regarding 25 candidates who have passed the competitive selection. In addition, the Council says it has revealed numerous procedural violations in the course of the contest.
"All of this gives us good reason to believe that the tender procedures were tailored for the purpose of picking pre-defined candidates, while the PCI has been used to legitimize this process," reads the statement.
In this regard, the PCI calls on the president not to sign the decree on the appointment of judges to the new Supreme Court.
"We call on the president as guarantor of the Constitution not to appoint recommended candidates pending a court decision on the aforementioned violations that took place during the contest and until the High Qualification Commission of Judges and the High Council of Judges not disclose motivated decisions explaining the true reasons for rejecting the conclusions and information of the Public Council of Integrity," the PCI said.
The council also expects that the president, as the author of the judicial reform, will initiate in the near future an independent international audit and have all the shortcomings of the procedure for selecting judges rectified.
Recall that the contest in the Supreme Court began on November 7, 2016. Registered to participate in the competition in 1436 persons, 846 persons applied for part of which has been admitted to the competition 653, of which 625 – to undergo qualification evaluation.
The job contest in the Supreme Court, conducted by the Supreme Qualification Commission of Judges, consists of several stages: testing, practical case, psychological tests, and examination of a judicial dossier.
The Qualification Commission shall recommend the winners of the contest to the Supreme Council of Justice for the posts of Supreme Court judges.
In turn, the Council submits the candidates for the appointment by the president. In general, the Higher Qualification Commission of Judges, which compiled the list of winners of the contest in the Supreme Court, ignored 76 negative PCI conclusions.
The candidatures of the winners were submitted to the Supreme Council of Justice, which, in turn, approved 111 of them, rejected two, and postponed the decision on seven.
Poroshenko has to approve Supreme Court justices.