|
OVERVIEW OF THE RESULTS OF THE HIGH QUALIFICATION COMMISSION OF JUDGES OF UKRAINE January 2026 |
|
Procedures of the judicial career
Selection for the position of local court judge
The review of 3,637 practical assignments in administrative (397), commercial (406) and general (2,834) specialisations is ongoing as part of the qualification exam for candidates for the position of local court judge and judges who have expressed their intention to be transferred to another local court.
Competition to the appellate courts
General statistics of the competition to the appellate courts
|
By specialisations |
|||||
|
Stage |
Administrative |
Commercial |
Criminal |
Civil |
TOTAL |
|
Applied with applications (1 candidate did not choose a specialisation) |
191 |
185 |
912 |
787 |
2076 |
|
Admitted to the competition and qualification assessment |
173 |
160 |
821 |
687 |
1841 |
|
Successfully passed a test of knowledge in the field of law and in the specialisation of the relevant court |
132 |
134 |
703 |
619 |
1588 |
|
Successfully passed the cognitive abilities test |
105 |
98 |
507 |
410 |
1120 |
|
Successfully completed practical assignment |
67 |
83 |
452 |
255 |
857 |
|
Ranking of candidates has been approved |
43 |
60 |
113 |
216 |
|
|
Recognised as winners of the competition and recommended for the appointment |
42 |
55 |
81 |
178 |
|
|
Interviews are ongoing |
Completed |
Completed |
513 |
|
|
In January, the Commission commenced interviews with candidates for the Kharkiv Court of Appeal (62 persons applied to participate in the competition for 47 vacant judicial positions) and the Mykolaiv Court of Appeal (23 persons applied to participate in the competition for 21 vacant judicial positions).
Overall, interviews were conducted with 24 candidates for positions at general appellate courts:
- 12 candidates confirmed their ability to administer justice (Kyiv Court of Appeal – 3, Lviv Court of Appeal – 2, Mykolaiv Court of Appeal – 2, Odesa Court of Appeal – 3, Kharkiv Court of Appeal – 2);
- interviews with 5 candidates will be held at the plenary session of the Commission (Kyiv Court of Appeal – 2, Mykolaiv Court of Appeal – 1, Kharkiv Court of Appeal – 1, Odesa Court of Appeal – 1).
Competition to the High Anti-Corruption Court
In the competition to the High Anti-Corruption Court and its Appeals Chamber, preparations for the special joint meetings of the Commission and the Public Council of International Experts have been completed. The format, sequence of actions, and organisation of the process have been agreed upon. The meetings are scheduled to take place between February 16 and March 17, 2026.
Competition to Specialised Circuit Administrative Court and Specialised Administrative Court of Appeal
A total of 356 applications were submitted to the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine for participation in the competitions to fill vacant judicial positions at the Specialised Circuit Administrative Court and the Specialised Administrative Court of Appeal. The number of unique candidates is 268, with 88 candidates applying simultaneously for judicial positions at both the Specialised Circuit Administrative Court and the Specialised Administrative Court of Appeal.
Competition to the SCAC
A total of 225 persons submitted applications for 17 vacant judicial positions at the Specialised Circuit Administrative Court. Among the applicants, 135 are men (60%) and 90 are women (40%). The vast majority of candidates are aged between 40 and 49, with this age group accounting for nearly two thirds of all participants in the competition. Another approximately one third consists of candidates aged between 30 and 39. The majority of candidates for the Specialised Circuit Administrative Court are attorneys, totaling 95 persons. The competition also includes 36 judges, 24 academics, and 22 civil servants.
Competition to the SACA
A total of 131 persons submitted applications for 10 vacant judicial positions at the Specialised Administrative Court of Appeal. The majority of applicants are men — 83 (63%), while women account for 48 (37%). As in the competition for the Specialised Circuit Administrative Court, the largest age group is 40–49.
In terms of professional background, judges prevail among candidates for the Specialised Administrative Court of Appeal (43 persons), followed by attorneys (33), academics (11), and civil servants (6).
Secondments
Five notifications from the State Judicial Administration of Ukraine on secondments were received.
The Commission considered the issues of secondments of judges:
- To 15 courts due to excessive judicial workload or impossibility of administration of justice;
- From 5 courts due to changes in the territorial jurisdiction of court cases.
It was recommended that judges be seconded to the following courts:
- Apostolivskyy Raion Court of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast (3 judges);
- Dniprovskyi District Court of Kyiv City (2 judges);
- Oleksandrivskyi District Court of Zaporizhzhia City (2 judges);
- Pustomytivskyi Raion Court of Lviv Oblast (1 judge);
- Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Dnipro City (1 judge).
Qualification assessment
for suitability of a judge for his/her position held and in connection with the imposition of a disciplinary sanction
Interviews were conducted with 2 judges:
- Vasyl Havryliuk (Cherkasy Circuit Administrative Court) – suitable for the position held;
- Oleksandr Rovynskyi (Commercial Court of Odesa Oblast) – suitable for the position held.
The qualification assessment of 6 judges has been terminated due to dismissal from the position of a judge:
- Svitlana Polishchuk (Kivertsivskyi Raion Court of Volyn Oblast);
- Tetiana Pryzhyhalinska (Synelnykivskyi City-Raion Court of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast);
- Oleksandr Savin (Pivdennoukrainskyi Town Court of Mykolayiv Oblast);
- Oksana Skrypnyk (Amur-Nyzhniodniprovskyy Raion Court of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast);
- Serhii Reiti (Transcarpathian Circuit Administrative Court);
- Oleksandr Feiir (Berehivskyi Raion Court of Transcarpathian Oblast).
Data on the accounting of judges’ positions
Data on creation of 8 new vacant judicial positions have been included to the record:
In local courts – 6:
- Shatskyi Raion Court of Volyn Oblast (resignation [1]);
- Prymorskyi District Court of Odesa City (paragraph 3 of part six of Article 126 of the Constitution of Ukraine [1]);
- Khmelnytskyi City-Raion Court of Khmelnytskyi Oblast (death of the judge [1]);
- Kiliiskyi Raion Court of Odessa Oblast (death of the judge [1]);
- Commercial Court of Volyn Oblast (resignation [1]);
- Transcarpathian Circuit Administrative Court (resignation [1]);
In appellate courts – 1:
- Mykolaiv Court of Appeal (resignation [1]);
In Supreme Court – 1:
- Cassation Administrative Court of Supreme Court (resignation [1]).
Meetings
22 meetings were held, of which:
- in plenary composition – 3;
- in chamber composition – 6;
- in Panel composition – 13.
[more] – in Ukrainian
64 decisions of the Commission were adopted, of which:
- on selection and appointment of judges – 3;
- on transfer (secondment) of judges – 20;
- on qualification assessment of judges – 8;
- on conduction of selection for filling judicial positions in the appellate courts – 27;
- on general issues – 6.
[more] – in Ukrainian
Participation in the events
January 13, 2026 – a meeting chaired by Dariia Marchak, Deputy Minister of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine, to discuss the status of implementation of the steps of the Ukraine Plan for 2025 and the first–second quarters of 2026.
January 15, 2026 – an online meeting with international experts of the European Union Project “Pravo-Justice” to discuss priority areas of cooperation in the context of the new operational phase of the Project’s implementation aimed at supporting reforms in the field of justice.
January 22, 2026 – a meeting under the auspices of the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine with representatives of the Directorate-General for Enlargement and the Eastern Neighbourhood of the European Commission (DG ENEST) to assess the state of implementation of Sections 3 and 4 of the Ukraine Plan.
January 28–29, 2026 – the fourth expert meeting of the Anti-Corruption Task Force for Ukraine (ACT for Ukraine) in Paris (French Republic), prepared by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), at the invitation of the Ministry of Justice of Japan.
January 28, 2026 – an online meeting of the working (negotiating) group on Judiciary and Fundamental Rights (Chapter 23) and the working (negotiating) group on Justice, Freedom and Security (Chapter 24), during which the report for the fourth quarter of 2025 on the implementation of the Rule of Law Roadmap, approved by Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Resolution No. 475-r of May 14, 2025, was reviewed.
January 29, 2026 – a meeting of the Steering Committee of the European Union Project “Pravo-Justice.”
January 30, 2026 – a meeting of the working group on the development of a unified communication strategy within the judicial authorities, organised by the Supreme Court.
Судові спори
-
In cases No. 990/159/25 filed by V. I. Plavych; No. 990/155/25 filed by O. V. Starosieltseva; No. 990/294/25 filed by D. L. Cherkez; and No. 990/222/25 filed by P. P. Humennyi, concerning claims seeking recognition as unlawful and annulment of decisions and an obligation to perform certain actions (competition for positions at appellate courts: approval of the results of the practical assignment).
-
In cases No. 990/465/25 filed by O. O. Svizha; No. 990/539/25 filed by V. P. Zlyi; and No. 990/507/25 filed by R. M. Dorosh, concerning claims seeking recognition of a decision as unlawful and an obligation to perform certain actions (selection procedure, qualification exam).
-
By rulings of the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court:
– in case No. 990/250/24 filed by I. A. Kachur, the claimant’s appeal against the decision of the Cassation Administrative Court within the Supreme Court dated May 5, 2025, was dismissed (qualification assessment);
– in case No. 990/135/24 filed by L. V. Tsebryk, the claimant’s appeal against the decision of the Cassation Administrative Court within the Supreme Court dated May 29, 2025, was dismissed (selection procedure, interview).
Document flow
Documents were processed:
- 1941 – incoming documents;
- 818 – outgoing documents.
818 inquiries and appeals were reviewed:
- 24 lawyer’s requests;
- 57 requests for information;
- 64 appeals;
- 673 other inquiries.
Assistance in the implementation of judicial career procedures will be gladly provided, and proposals for improving Commission’s work will be considered!
9, General Shapoval Str., Kyiv, 03110, Ukraine
+38 044 233 63 76