On September 14, 2023, the Chairman of the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine Roman Ihnatov met online with the Leader of the Dutch-Ukrainian Project “Judiciary and Society in Ukraine” of the Centre for International Legal Cooperation, Deputy Head of the District Court of Amsterdam Esther de Rooij.
Roman Ihnatov spoke about the current state of affairs at the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine, its priorities, and immediate plans. He emphasized that on August 31, 2023, the first organizational meeting of the newly established Public Integrity Council took place, which was attended by the Commission members as well.
The PIC will assist the Commission in determining whether a judge (candidate for the position of judge) meets the criteria of professional ethics and integrity for the qualification assessment, which will allow replenishing the judiciary on the basis of objectivity and integrity. Active cooperation between the Commission and the PIC should resolve the issue of effective communication between the Commission and the public and ensure an appropriate level of trust of civil society in the processes taking place in the Commission.
The conversation was also focused on the main areas of work of the Project, which is implemented by the Center for International Legal Cooperation (CILC) with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands within the MATRA Programme.
The project is aimed, in particular, at strengthening relations between the judiciary and society, focusing on building judicial self-government and developing self-governance in the judiciary, promoting professional development of judges and court staff.
The Project’s activities are focused on analyzing the values of justice and the foundations of civil society’s trust in the judiciary; conducting training on ensuring the quality and correct reasoning of court decisions, which will result in a proper perception of court decisions by citizens; holding roundtables on the efficiency, timeliness, transparency, and predictability of court hearings; organizing seminars to develop recommendations for improving the judicial process; expert discussions and knowledge exchange on leadership, teamwork and communications.