European Commissioner calls on Ukraine to launch Anti-Corruption Court
During a joint briefing with the director of NABU (National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine), Artem Sytnyk ,the Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy, Johannes Hahn, said that he believes that a full-fledged Anti-Corruption Court would be able to provide fair solutions in corruption crimes cases, which are investigated by the NABU detectives.
“First of all, I would like to note the effectiveness of the NABU work, which, despite constant pressure and resistance, has achieved tremendous results. Hundreds of detectives carry out important and difficult work every day. Both the international community and Ukrainian citizens expect the Anti-Corruption Court to start work as soon as possible. The cases that NABU investigates will be sent there, and the perpetrators will be punished, "said Hahn.
He also noted that ensuring the independence and effective functioning of all anti-corruption institutions in Ukraine is extremely important.
"I hope that thanks to the monitoring by international partners as well as public scrutiny, the High Anti-Corruption Court will be an independent institution, able to handle top-level corruption cases and make decisions that society expects," said Sytnyk.
The NABU Director thanked European colleagues for their support.
The creation of the High Anti-Corruption Court is one of the main requirements of western lenders to Ukraine. For a long time, it was blocked, and representatives of the authorities proposed to create a chamber in the existing system instead of a separate court. In the autumn of 2017, the authorities’ rhetoric changed, and in December, the president introduced this bill to the Verkhovna Rada. On June 7, 2018, the Parliament passed the Law on the Anti-Corruption Court, and it came into force on June 14. The court should begin operating after the appointment of at least 35 judges.
On November 12, the High Qualifications Commission of Judges of Ukraine began to conduct qualification evaluations of 566 candidates participating in the second competition for the positions of the Supreme Court judge, and 270 candidates applying for the positions of the Anti-Corruption Court judge.