State Department calls on Council of Judges to accelerate reform
That’s according to an official statement released by the spokesperson for the State Department, Ukrinform reports.
“The United States, together with the Government of Ukraine, civil society, and other international partners, all recognize that judicial reform is critical to strengthening the rule of law and attracting foreign investment to Ukraine,” the statement reads.
The State Department notes that this July, Ukraine enacted an “historic law that provides an opportunity for true reform of the judiciary.”
International partners nominated highly qualified experts to support the renewal of Ukraine’s foremost judicial governance body, the High Council of Justice, in line with that law, U.S. officials recall.
On September 13, however, Ukraine’s Council of Judges refused to nominate Ukrainian judges to participate in the process, “a refusal that threatens to derail the promise of real judicial reform in Ukraine,” reads the statement.
In this regard, it is noted “there is still time to save this effort.”
“The Council of Judges can fulfill its obligation to implement the law and put forward nominations,” the U.S. Department of State has stressed.
The U.S. side says it remains firmly committed to assisting in this critical reform so that the people of Ukraine “may trust their courts and judges and so that Ukraine can continue on its path toward Euro-Atlantic integration.”
At the same time, the statement adds, judicial reform “will bring more jobs and economic opportunities, as well as fairness and justice” as the Ukrainian people “deserve no less.”
As Ukrinform reported earlier, at the Council of Judges’ meeting on September 13, none of the nominees for positions in a team set to select members of the High Qualification Commission of Judges.
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