PROSPECTS OF STRENGTHENING THE PUBLIC ROLE IN JUDGES SELECTION PROCEDURES IN UKRAINE (institutional aspects)

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Published: Jan 2, 2023

Abstract

The article explores certain issues of strengthening public control over the activities of the judiciary as a prerequisite for restoring public trust in judicial institutions. The possibility of wider involvement of public representatives in the formation of selection commissions of judges, in particular in the formation of the composition of the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine, is being considered as an effective tool for fulfilling this task. Options for changing qualitative approaches to the formation of the composition of the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine are being considered, including those involving the inclusion of non-judge representatives in its composition. The solutions proposed in the article are based on the practice of two European countries (the Netherlands and Lithuania) and the United States of America. These countries pay great attention to the involvement of the public in the process of selecting judges, as a necessary prerequisite for the legitimization of the judiciary and the formation of public trust. The article analyzes the changes that Ukrainian legislation went through in the part of forming the architecture of bodies that carry out the selection of judges. Separately, positive trends were noted in the effort to strengthen public control over the activities of the judiciary by starting the work of a new representative body of the Public Integrity Council, the purpose of which is to assist the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine in the selection of professional and honest candidates for the position of judges. The article also examines issues related to the professional affiliation of members of the selection commissions of judges and the search for a reasonable balance between the judicial part of said commissions, the professional legal community and representatives of the public who are not related to the legal sphere. This approach is considered as an important prerequisite for further democratization of judicial power.

How to Cite

Kulikov, O. (2023). PROSPECTS OF STRENGTHENING THE PUBLIC ROLE IN JUDGES SELECTION PROCEDURES IN UKRAINE (institutional aspects). Baltic Journal of Legal and Social Sciences, (4), 20-29. https://doi.org/10.30525/2592-8813-2022-4-3
Article views: 108 | PDF Downloads: 123

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Keywords

selection of judges, judicial selection commissions, Higher qualification commission of judges, reform of judicial power, public integrity council

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