The Bar Council of Ukraine appealed to the High Council of Justice due to delays in forming the Competition Commission of the HQCJ

On June 13, 2025, Lidiya Izovitova, President of the Bar Council of Ukraine, addressed Grigory Usik, Head of the High Council of Justice, regarding the violation of the deadlines for forming a new composition of the Competition Commission for the selection of members of the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine.

On June 7, 2025, the Bar Council of Ukraine, as the body responsible for forming the Competition Commission, discussed the criteria for selecting representatives to the Competition Commission during its meeting. However, due to the lack of a notification from the High Council of Justice as required by law, the BCU was unable to begin exercising its new powers as defined by the Law on the Judiciary. Therefore, President of the BCU sent a letter to the HCJ, as the five-day deadline for notifying the entities responsible for forming the Competition Commission had already expired.

The HCJ failed to publish the mandatory announcement on the selection of candidates in the newspaper Holos Ukrainy and on the HCJ 's official website, and did not send a written notification to the Bar Council of Ukraine. Such inaction is contrary to the requirements of Article 95-1 of the Law «On the Judicial System and Status of Judges».

We remind you that on June 1, 2025, the term of office of the first composition of the Competition Commission appointed by the High Council of Justice two years ago expired. According to the current legislation, the High Council of Justice was required to publish an announcement on the selection of candidates and information on the conditions of the competition in Holos Ukrainy and on its official website within five days after the termination of the powers of the previous composition (by June 6).

Also, no later than the day after the announcement was published on its website, the High Council of Justice had to send a written notification about the start of the competition to all entities involved in forming the Competition Commission with a request to submit candidates.

The Bar Council of Ukraine, as a body forming the commission, must propose candidates from its quota (one person) within twenty days of the publication of the announcement. The BCU must submit at least two candidates to the Competition Commission, from among whom the HCJ appoints one member of the commission within five days of receiving the proposal.

As of June 13, no mandatory actions have been taken by the High Council of Justice.

The Ukrainian National Bar Association emphasizes that this situation is unacceptable for a democratic society and causes concern among the legal community regarding the possible inaction of a constitutional body.

The Ukrainian National Bar Association asks the High Council of Justice to explain why it has not complied with the legal requirements.

Denys Maslov, the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Legal Policy, has also been informed about the situation.