By Decision of the Commission dated January 22, 2025, a new Regulation on the procedure and methodology for qualification evaluation, indicators of compliance with qualification criteria, and methods for their establishment was approved.
This Regulation will apply to judicial selection competitions for positions of judges in appeals courts, the High Anti-Corruption Court, as well as other new competitions and qualification evaluation procedures related to the imposition of disciplinary sanctions.
The main novelties of the qualification evaluation, reflected in the Regulation include the following:
1. The Commission follows the presumption that a judge (or judicial candidate) meets the criteria of integrity and professional ethics.
In accordance with this presumption, each judge (or judicial candidate) initially receives the maximum score of 300 points.
This presumption may be rebutted if non-compliance or reasonable doubts about compliance with at least one of the evaluation indicators are identified.
The evaluation considers circumstances indicating serious violations of rules and/or norms, namely, severity of the act and its consequences, subjective side of the behavior, historical context of the event, systematic nature, timing of the violation, etc.
The number of points based on the results of the evaluation of a judge’s (judicial candidate’s) suitability for the criteria of integrity and professional ethics may be reduced by 15 points for each violation (one significant or several less significant) of the rules and/or regulations.
The significance of violations found during the evaluation of a judge’s (candidate for a judicial position) suitability for the criteria of integrity and professional ethics shall be established by the Commission during a closed discussion and determined by voting. Each reduction of points shall be motivated in the Commission’s decision.
A judge (judicial candidate) does not meet the criteria of integrity and professional ethics if the final number of points scored is less than 225.
A judge (judicial candidate) does not meet the criteria of integrity and professional ethics if there is a discrepancy or reasonable doubt about his/her suitability for at least one indicator.
- The suitability of a judge (candidate for the position of a judge) for the criterion of professional competence will be determined solely by the results of the exam.
- The indicators of the criteria of personal and social competence, integrity and professional ethics of a judge (candidate for the position of judge) as a component of the judge’s professional profile are defined:
- decisiveness and responsibility;
- continuous development;
- effective communication;
- effective interaction;
- sustainability of motivation;
- emotional resilience;
- independence;
- honesty
- impartiality;
- good faith;
- probity;
- adherence to ethical standards and impeccable behaviour in professional and personal life;
- legality of sources of property origin,compliance of the standard of living of the judge (candidate for the position of judge) or his/her family members with the declared income, compliance of the lifestyle of the judge (candidate for the position of judge) with his/her status.
To assess the suitability of a judge (judicial candidate) for the criteria of integrity and professional ethics, the Commission will take into account the Unified Indicators for Assessing the Integrity and Professional Ethics of a Judge (Judicial Candidate) approved by the High Council of Justice. (in Ukrainian)
4. Weighting of criteria and indicators in the qualification evaluation:
Competence criteria:
Professional competence (according to the indicators obtained during the qualification exam) - 400 points, of which:
- Level of cognitive abilities - 60 points.
- Level of knowledge of the history of Ukrainian statehood - 40 points.
- Level of general knowledge in the field of law - 50 points.
- Level of knowledge of the court’s specialisation at the appropriate level - 100 points.
- The level of ability to apply practical knowledge in the field of law in a court of the appropriate level and specialisation - 150 points.
Personal competence - 50 points, of which:
- Decisiveness and responsibility - 25 points.
- Continuous development - 25 points.
Social competence - 50 points, including:
- Effective communication - 12.5 points.
- Effective interaction - 12.5 points.
- Sustainability of motivation - 12.5 points.
- Emotional resilience - 12.5 points.
Criteria of integrity and professional ethics - 300 points.
The Commission will finalise and approve detailed methodologies for assigning points to judges and judicial candidates during the qualification evaluation as part of the Action plan for the implementation of the State Anti-Corruption Programme for 2023-2025.
5. The evaluation of the criteria (indicators) of personal and social competence at the stage of “Dossier research and interview” shall be carried out by the Commission as part of the Chamber or the Board by calculating the arithmetic mean score.
In the case of evaluation of the criteria (indicators) of personal and social competence at the stage of “Dossier research and interview” by the Commission within the Chamber, the calculation of the arithmetic mean score shall be based on the scores of the Chamber members who participated in the interview during the qualification evaluation, without taking into account the highest and lowest scores.
6. A judge (judicial candidate) shall be deemed to meet the qualification evaluation criteria if he or she scores at least 75 per cent of the maximum possible points for each qualification evaluation criterion.