On May 31 MP Sergiy Alekseev (Poroshenko bloc) introduced in rada draft law #6529 on anticorruption specialization of judges in ordinary courts.
The draft law prescribes:
- abolishment of provision on creation of the High anticorruption court;
- establishment of mandatory anti-corruption judicial specialization in existing local and appeal courts: there will be designated special judges to consider all corruption-related crimes on a permanent basis
- anti-corruption special judges will be hearing all corruption related cases (not only those under NABU jurisdiction)
- creation of the anticorruption chamber within the Cassation criminal court;
- selection procedure for anti-corruption judges will be the same as for the regular judges.
Contrary to the draft law #6011 registered earlier in January 2017, the draft law #6529 doesn’t contain additional guarantees for impartial and transparent selection of anti-corruption judges and makes anti-corruption judiciary administratively dependent from the unreformed judicial framework.
According to the draft law, until new anti-corruption judges are selected all courts must designate existing judges for consideration of corruption crimes. Since the draft law does not set any deadline for selection of new anti-corruption judges, temporary period with existing judges acting as anti-corruption judges may last permanently.
The draft law contradicts Ukraine’s commitment reflected in the most recent IMF Memorandum, which requires Ukraine to “operationalize the anti-corruption court established by the June 2016 Law on the Judiciary” and focus on the procedure of selection of the anti-corruption judges.
The Reanimation Package of Reforms has issued a negative statement regarding this draft law requesting the Parliament not to put it into the agenda for voting.