TThe European Commission expects that the Ukrainian authorities will fully take into account the recommendations of the Venice Commission to the law № 7662 on the Constitutional Court of Ukraine (CCU) and amend it, European Pravda reports citing the spokeswoman of the European Commission Ana Pisonero.
"We take into account the adoption on 13 December of law No. 7662 on the selection of candidates for the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Judge position, including the structure and rules of decision-making in the Advisory Panel of Experts," Pizonero said.
According to her, the European Commission expects, in particular, that the number of the expert panel members will be increased to seven.
"The European Commission expects that the Ukrainian authorities will fully take into account the recommendations of the Venice Commission published after the adoption of the law on 19 December, including increasing the number of members of the Advisory Panel of Experts to seven. The additional member should be based on the international quota to prevent a stalemate in decision-making," she said.
The reform of the CCU is one of the seven steps that Ukraine has to implement in preparation for the start of negotiations on EU accession.
The spokesperson also added that the EU would closely monitor that process, as progress in judicial reform remains vital for strengthening Ukraine’s stability.
At its meeting on 13 December, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted Law 7662 on the selection of candidates for the position of a judge of the CCU on a competitive basis. Law No. 7662, which proposes to change the procedure for selecting judges of the Constitutional Court, was voted in favour by 245 MPs.
On 20 December, Zelenskyy signed the law on the competitive selection of CCU judges, which was recommended to be changed by the Venice Commission.