On March 14, the Judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, Representative of Ukraine to the CCJE, Viktor Gorodovenko participated in the presentation of the CCJE Opinion No. 27 (2024) “On the Disciplinary Liability of Judges” and the OSCE Recommendations on Judicial Independence and Accountability.
“Judges in Ukraine are increasingly referring to the opinions of the Consultative Council of European Judges (CCJE) in their decisions, although their provisions are classified as «soft law»”, emphasised Viktor Gorodovenko during the presentation of the CCJE Opinion. The Judge noted that Ukraine started applying the provisions of the Opinion immediately after its adoption. The document contains important recommendations to ensure the judicial independence and regulate their disciplinary liability.
In his speech, Viktor Gorodovenko drew attention to the fact that the grounds for disciplinary liability of judges in different countries have certain peculiarities, in particular, regarding their private behaviour. This is due to cultural differences that affect society’s expectations of judicial ethics.
At the same time, the CCJE warns against the use of vague wording regarding disciplinary violations, such as “breach of oath” or “unethical behaviour”, as a broad interpretation of these concepts may lead to abuse and threaten the independence of judges. As emphasized in the introduction of the Opinion, judicial independence is closely related to judicial liability. If the mechanisms of disciplinary liability are not clearly defined and balanced, this may pose a threat to judicial independence.
In recent years, the issue of judicial liability has been the subject of active discussions in the international legal environment. European courts have repeatedly found that the executive branch uses disciplinary sanctions to exert pressure on judges or remove them in case of “inconvenient” decisions.
Viktor Gorodovenko underscored that the CCJE Opinions play an important role in ensuring the rule of law and judicial independence, and their application by Ukrainian courts is a positive step towards democratic reforms in the sphere of justice.
The online broadcast of the roundtable is available on the official YouTube channel of the Supreme Court: Watch the broadcast.
Recommendations on Judicial Independence and Accountability (Warsaw Recommendations).
