Parliament passes law restarting work of High Qualifications Commission of Judges

A total of 305 MPs voted for a respective decision at a parliament meeting on Tuesday, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"The Ukrainian president has made respective proposals, the main of which is to clarify the procedure for decision-making by the selection commission with the participation of international experts if the commission makes this decision by a majority of votes, i.e. four out of six. The Ukrainian president excluded paragraph 20 from the text of the law, which introduced corresponding uncertainty. Therefore, the president's position is fundamental in terms of compliance with the recommendations of the Venice Commission on the procedure for decision-making by the selection commission, which will help select the future composition of the HQCJ. It also determines that in the final text of the law the decision is made by four out of six votes if at least two representatives from international organizations voted for that decision," said Andriy Kostin, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Legal Policy, presenting the proposals.

According to Kostin, other proposals from the president concern that if not the full composition of the HQCJ is elected, and the law provides at least 11 of its members, then this composition should include six judges in accordance with the recommendations of the Venice Commission that concern the participation of judicial power in judicial governance bodies.

On July 8, Zelensky returned to the Verkhovna Rada with his proposals the law No. 3711-d introducing amendments to the law of Ukraine "On the Judiciary and the Status of Judges" and some laws of Ukraine resuming the work of the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine. In his proposals, the head of state said that the law contained provisions contradicting each other.

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