Judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Viktor Horodovenko took part in the working meeting
of the Consultative Council of European Judges
26.03.2018
On March 20-23, the judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Viktor Horodovenko took part in the working meeting of the Consultative Council of European Judges (CCJE).
The main topics for discussion were issues of preventing, detecting and counteracting corruption in the judicial system, strengthening the integrity of judges through the introduction of international instruments and cooperation mechanisms.
During the meeting of the Consultative Council of European Judges, the working group worked on the draft structure of Opinion No. 21, which is scheduled to be considered at the plenary meeting of the CCJE in November 2018.
The next meeting of the Consultative Council of European Judges is scheduled for June 2018.
Within the framework of the visit to Strasbourg, a working meeting of the Judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Viktor Horodovenko with the Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the Council of Europe Dmytro Kuleba was held during which the parties discussed the issues of reforming legal system of Ukraine.
Viktor Horodovenko mentioned about the recent events that took place at the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, in particular, the election of the Court;s Chairman Stanislav Shevchuk, and the Court’s Deputy Chairman Oleksandr Tupytskyi. In addition, the Rules of Procedure of the Constitutional Court were approved, which is a procedural document which determines organisation of internal work of the Court and relevant rules and procedures which regulate consideration of cases by the Court. The institute of constitutional complaint is a very important element of judicial reform, which enables an individual to directly appeal to a body of constitutional jurisdiction to protect his/her rights. "In the near future, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine will form the senate, establish boards, and also approve their personal composition, which will allow them to proceed directly to consideration of constitutional complaints of citizens," Viktor Horodovenko emphasised.
Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the Council of Europe Dmytro Kuleba expressed hope that protection of human rights through a constitutional complaint would reduce the number of appeals to the European Court of Human Rights.
For reference. The CCJE is an advisory body set up by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe to promote the independence, impartiality and professionalism of judges. The CCJE emphasises the important role of an independent and efficient judiciary as one of the branches of state power in a democratic society. By this time, the CCJE has elaborated and adopted twenty opinions, which take into account not only the features of existing national judicial systems and best European practices, but also proposals for improving the status of judges and improving access to justice for citizens. The first CCJE Opinion was adopted in 2001, and is devoted to the standards concerning the independence of the judiciary and the irremovability of judges. The conclusions of the CCJE are applied in the preparation of national legal acts, as well as instruments in the administration of justice and as a benchmark for judges and judicial commissions.
