The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), in its review “Anti-Corruption and Integrity Outlook 2026: Ukraine”, has noted significant progress by Ukraine in establishing a system of integrity safeguards in the public sector, including within the judiciary.
According to the OECD’s assessment, Ukraine complies with 97% of the criteria relating to the regulatory framework governing judicial integrity and 92% of the criteria concerning the practical implementation of the relevant mechanisms. By comparison, the OECD averages across 62 countries stand at 66% and 45%, respectively.
The report emphasises that these results demonstrate the consistency of Ukraine’s public policy aimed at restoring trust in the judiciary, as well as at implementing international recommendations in the field of integrity.
The OECD places particular emphasis on the institutional mechanisms that ensure the selection of judges and their career progression on the basis of merit. The report explicitly states that the Law of Ukraine “On the Judiciary and the Status of Judges” establishes objective procedures for the selection of judges and their career advancement, and that the responsibility for ensuring these procedures is entrusted to the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine as an independent body. Furthermore, the OECD notes the introduction of enhanced integrity checks within the competitive procedures for judicial appointments, which include financial scrutiny, check of candidates’ lifestyles, and the recording of assessment processes, interviews and decisions in video and audio formats to ensure their transparency.
It is important to note that these conclusions by the international institution are based on decisions took by the Commission in 2025 with the aim of standardising approaches and enhancing the objectivity of assessment standards. In particular, on January 22, 2025, the HQCJ approved new Regulation on the Procedure and Methodology of Qualification Evaluation. One of the key provisions of this act was the establishment of the “presumption of integrity”, according to which a judge or candidate for the position of judge is deemed to meet the criterion of integrity until proven otherwise on the basis of proper, sufficient and substantiated data in accordance with the defined methodology. This approach is successfully applied, in particular, in assessment procedures within the framework of competitions for positions in the courts of appeal and the High Anti-Corruption Court.
The next step was the adoption on September 29, 2025 of the Regulation on the Regular Assessment of a Judge – a new procedure for the national judicial system aimed at the systematic improvement of judges’ professional performance. Prior to the adoption of this act, the Commission held a public consultation involving representatives of judicial (self-)governing bodies, the legal community and civil society organisations. The Commission also determined that regular assessment would be carried out once every three years.
Thus, the OECD’s assessment is not only evidence of international recognition of the results achieved by Ukraine in ensuring integrity within the judiciary, but also confirmation of the soundness of the approaches consistently implemented by the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine. This involves the development of a judicial career model in which integrity is ensured not merely through declarations, but through the application of clear rules, objective criteria, transparent procedures and predictable assessment mechanisms. It is precisely this approach that helps to strengthen trust in the judiciary and demonstrates Ukraine’s ability to implement institutional changes in line with the best international standards.
In addition to issues of integrity within the judiciary, the OECD’s assessment covered issues relating to the strategic framework of anti-corruption policy, the regulation of lobbying, the prevention and management of conflicts of interest, the transparency of political financing, access to public information, as well as the integrity of the prosecution service and the development of the civil service disciplinary system.
The 2026 Overview has been prepared on the basis of a comprehensive analysis of Ukraine’s current legislation in the relevant areas, as well as factual data on the state of regulatory and legal framework and the practice of its application. The collection, summarisation and systematisation of this information was carried out with the coordination and support of the National Agency on Corruption Prevention. Further information on these issues can be found at the following link: https://nazk.gov.ua/uk/ukraina-otrymala-vyschi-za-seredni-v-oesr-otsinky-v-oglyadi-antykoruptsii-ta-dobrochesnosti-2026/
For reference: The OECD’s conceptual framework on anti-corruption and integrity in the public sector brings together international standards, assessment tools and benchmarking mechanisms to strengthen accountability and trust in public institutions. The key document is the OECD Council Recommendation on Integrity in the Public Sector (OECD/LEGAL/0435, 2017), which sets out the principles for building a comprehensive integrity system. To assess its implementation, the OECD uses the Public Integrity Indicators, which enable the analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of states’ anti-corruption policies.
The Organisation also prepares annual overviews of the state of affairs in the fight against corruption and the promotion of integrity, in which, based on these indicators, key trends are analysed, existing gaps are identified, and directions for further reforms in national legal systems are determined. In its 2026 annual overview, the OECD covered 37 member countries and 25 partner countries.
On March 25, 2026, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved a draft letter of accession to the OECD Council Recommendation on Public Integrity (Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 258-r of March 25, 2026). The approval of this draft marks another step in the implementation in Ukraine of international standards in the field of ensuring integrity in public administration and preventing corruption. It is expected that accession to the Recommendation will contribute to improving the national system for policy formulation and implementation in this area, developing effective mechanisms to prevent corruption risks, increasing the accountability of public authorities, and enhancing the transparency of their activities. At the same time, this step demonstrates Ukraine’s readiness to further align national governance with OECD approaches and to strengthen trust in state institutions among both citizens and the international community.