The Venice Commission believes that the amendments prepared by the Verkhovna Rada to the law "On Judicial System and Status of Judges" will kill judicial reform if adopted.
This was stated by the head of the Venice Commission, Gianna Bukicchio, during a speech at the "Democracy in Action" conference held in Kyiv.
Bukicchio emphasized that Ukraine should restart the bodies of judicial self-government as soon as possible, but at the same time it is important not to rely on old bodies that have compromised themselves.
"The re-creation of the Supreme Qualification Commission of Judges (VKKS) is an urgent task. We support the proposal to create a mixed national-international body - a competitive commission for the selection of new members of the VKKS. The method of creating this competition commission should be close to the model that proved successful in creating the Supreme Anti-Corruption Court," he added.
"And I will emphasize that the Supreme Judicial Council should not be connected with the Supreme Council of Justice (SCJ) until the latter is reformed and selected. Unfortunately, the law 3711-d in the form that was approved for the second reading does not meet the recommendations of the Venice Commission, we do not support it," the president of the Venice Commission emphasized was not put to the vote).
The creation of a new Supreme Judicial Court by a transparent procedure will weed out unscrupulous judges, which Bukicchio called critically important.
"The composition of the Supreme Council of Justice must be revised before it is entrusted with the appointment of the Supreme Court of Justice. This is a mandatory condition, otherwise judicial reform will be doomed," he emphasized.
Earlier, the head of "Venetianka" opposed the amendments to the law on false declaration adopted by the Verkhovna Rada.
President Volodymyr Zelensky also discussed problematic issues with him.
