This month, the Kyiv District Administrative Court – ordered to be liquidated by President Volodymyr Zelensky – suspended former Minister Infrastructure Vladyslav Kryklii’s order to abolish the mandatory confirmation of sailors’ qualifications. The decision was delivered by Judge Kyrylo Garnyk. In light of such a twist, I would like to emphasize again the urgent need for judicial reform.
Garnyk did not respond to a request for comment.
In April, Zelensky submitted a bill to liquidate the notorious Kyiv District Administrative Court. The court’s chairman, Pavlo Vovk, has been charged in a corruption case and has become the epitome of injustice and impunity for Ukrainian society.
I have previously written on the essence of sailor reform, but here is a brief reminder. According to domestic Ukrainian law, the only way for sailors to prove qualifications (and re-confirm diplomas) is to take examinations at the State Qualification Commission, which creates corruption risks that generate $120 million in losses annually.
After long work and a lot of resistance from corrupt officials, the team of my Office of Simple Solutions and Results, together with sailors and the team of Kryklii, developed a draft amendment to the existing procedure for confirming the qualifications of sailors. The experience of many developed countries shows that any sailor can confirm their qualifications with work experience over the past five years. Ukrainian sailors have been seeking the opportunity to confirm their diploma with approved seagoing service for years and now, finally, such an opportunity appeared, thanks to the draft order signed by Kryklii in April. We canceled oral and written testing and made it possible for sailors to confirm their qualifications, provided they have sufficient work experience.
In April Kryklii signed an order canceling the testing, where it is not needed, and eliminating the human factor, which is an opportunity for corruption. According to international practice, this order introduced the possibility for seafarers to prove their qualifications through their work experience, without having to pass mandatory tests. For sailors who do not have enough experience, the human examiner has been replaced with computer testing, which is also being developed in line with the international system CES 6.0. Although unpopular, Kryklii’s move against overregulation was instrumental in helping to bring the much-needed reform to life. It was only a matter of time though until someone like Garnyk would appear on the scene to block the liberalization.
I believe that Garnyk could have been bribed to deliver the court decision. As a result, 150,000 sailors and their families, instead of spending money on their children, apartments, and taxes, will be forced to pay a bribe of 6-7 months’ salary. And that happened only because one person – Garnyk – decided that their poverty should persist.
Sailors and their families, who spend between $2,000 and $12,000 every five years in bribes to obtain work permits, should know how the Garnyk mafia makes money at their expense. Every family that he made less well off with his decision to block Kryklii’s reform should know where the money is going. The money made through corruption schemes must be returned, including through the confiscation of his property.
I don’t believe that this judge decided something himself, as is usually the case here. Ukraine is ruled by an octopus. Presidents, prime ministers, and ministers come and go, but this octopus always retains its powers. Garnyk is just one piece of a puzzle in the army of judges, prosecutors, and tax collectors who serve this octopus, and who are part of the conspiracy that makes Ukraine the poorest country in terms of GDP in Europe. No one stands out, and everyone is the same as him. The entire justice system in Ukraine is the same as one of its representatives.
They all are extremely arrogant and openly mock us because they are fabulously rich. With the help of this stolen, not earned, wealth, they gain pride, impudence, and a sense of complete impunity. But they will pay for their crimes sooner than they expect.
Let’s look at some numbers. Garnyk’s family own three apartments with an area of 424 square meters in Kyiv and Odesa, as well as a 335 square meter apartment in the elite village of Sauvignon (Odesa). According to civic activists, the value of the house is estimated to be at least $500,000. Moreover, his expenses exceed his income by Hr 2.7 million, according to Garnyk’s asset declarations for 2011-2020.
But the problem is not even only this specific judge. Before the said decision, for 10 days, the entire administrative apparatus had been ignoring Kryklii’s order. They said that they needed to closely analyze it, or that they had not “received it” yet, etc. Through such actions, they showed complete disrespect for the minister and the Ukrainian state as such. All such officials must be removed.
On May 26, a court of appeals will consider the allegations against Garnyk and the validity of his court ruling, and I hope a right and most importantly – just and transparent – a decision will be made.
In the meantime, I urge Ukrainian society to come to Garnyk’s house and tell him in the presence of his neighbors and family, to shame him for what he has done. Of course, this will not change him, but it will be a timely reminder that everyone who dares to further destroy Ukraine through corruption and greed will be brought to responsibility.
Mikheil Saakashvili has been the chair of the executive committee of the National Reforms Council since May 7, 2020. He served as governor of Odesa Oblast from May 30, 2015, to Nov. 9, 2016. He was president of Georgia from Jan. 25, 2004, to Nov. 17, 2013.
