The Constitutional Court of Ukraine in the case on the constitutionality of the Law of Ukraine
"On the Supreme Anti-Corruption Court" proceeded to the in-camera part of the session
On October 6, 2020, the Grand Chamber of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine at the public part of the plenary session in the form of oral proceedings considered the case upon the constitutional petition of 49 People’s Deputies of Ukraine on the constitutionality of the Law of Ukraine "On the Supreme Anti-Corruption Court" of June 7, 2018 № 2447-VIII as amended (hereinafter - the Law).
During the Court session, the Judge-Rapporteur in the case Volodymyr Moisyk outlined the content of the constitutional petition and the grounds for initiating constitutional proceedings. In particular, the Judge-Rapporteur said that the petitioners appealed to the CCU to verify the compliance of the Law, which defines the principles of organization and operation of the Supreme Anti-Corruption Court (SACC), special requirements for judges and guarantees of their activities, with the Constitution of Ukraine.
According to Volodymyr Moisyk, in the constitutional petition the applicants defend the position that the disputed Law does not comply with a number of articles of the Constitution of Ukraine. They emphasize that in accordance with the provisions of the Law defining the status of SACC, its powers, requirements for SACC judges, additional security guarantees for judges, the Supreme Anti-Corruption Court is not a specialized court in the sense of "external specialization". According to them, it was created to resolve only certain categories of cases, which contributes to the lack of clarity in determining the jurisdiction of the Supreme Anti-Corruption Court and other courts.
According to the petitioners, the above provisions of the Law are not based on the principles of respect for human and civil rights and freedoms and do not create appropriate jurisdictional mechanisms to ensure fair justice.
As the Judge-Rapporteur mentioned, the applicants emphasize that in case there is a need to make legislative changes to the principles of organization and activity of SACC, such changes should be comprehensive and will require amendments to several laws of Ukraine.
In addition, People’s Deputies note that the decisive role in the selection of candidates for the position of judges of the SACC belongs to the Public Council of International Experts, which is an external influence on the formation of the judiciary and encroachment on sovereignty in public affairs. Also, according to the petitioners, the number of SACC judges depends on the limits of expenditures provided for in the State Budget of Ukraine, and does not depend on the real need for a certain number of them.
Therefore, the subject of the right to a constitutional petition is convinced that the provisions of the Law defining the status and powers of the SACC, the number of judges, requirements for them, as well as restrictions for candidates for the position of a judge of this court, the procedure of competition for the position of a judge, monitoring the integrity of judges, ensuring their living conditions, empowering the Public Council of International Experts and the peculiarities of amending the disputed Law “do not comply with the Constitution of Ukraine, as their legal uncertainty narrows the existing scope and content of citizens' rights, including labor, which are proclaimed by the Constitution and laws of Ukraine.
According to the Judge-Rapporteur, inquiries were sent to state institutions, scientific and educational institutions to express their position on the issues raised in the constitutional petition.
During the plenary session, the Court heard explanations of the participants of the constitutional proceedings on the subject matter of constitutional review, namely: representatives of the subject of the right to constitutional petition, People’s Deputies Vasyl Nimchenko, Anatoliy Burmich, Permanent Representative of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Olha Sovhyria, as well as Representative of the President of Ukraine to the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Fedir Venislavskyi.
Participants in the constitutional proceedings - Chairwoman of the Supreme Court Valentyna Danishevska, Chairwoman of the Supreme Anti-Corruption Court Olena Tanasevych, First Deputy Minister of Justice of Ukraine Yevheniy Horovets, Head of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on Legal Policy Andriy Kostin, Chairperson of the Council of Judges of Ukraine Bohdan Monich, Lawyer, Chairwoman of the Rule of Law Committee of the National Bar Association of Ukraine Maryna Stavniychuk, Member of the Board of the Center for Political and Legal Reforms Yuliia Kyrychenko, Doctor of Law, Professor of Justice at the Faculty of Law of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv Serhiy Prylutskyi, and Head of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on Anti-Corruption Policy Anastasiia Radina - also expressed their position.
The Court considered a number of motions on involving participants in the constitutional proceedings and adjourning the case consideration. Following their consideration, the Court granted the motion on involving participant in the constitutional proceedings and refused to adjourn the case consideration.
The Court terminated the case in the public part of the plenary session and proceeded to the in-camera part for a decision.
The Chairman of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Oleksandr Tupytskyi chaired the plenary session.
The public part of the plenary session is available on the official website of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine at the link: http://ccu.gov.ua/kategoriya/2020.
