Age: 28
Education: Masters from Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University, The Criminal Justice and Prosecutors’ Training Institute
Profession: Lawyer
Did you know? When judicial reform in Ukraine eventually becomes a success story, she is hoping to work on a project related to ecology.
Halyna Chyzhyk, 28, is an ambitious lawyer and anti-corruption activist. She has dedicated the last five years of her life to combating and preventing corruption in Ukraine’s judicial system.
In 2019, Chyzhyk joined the Anti-Corruption Action Center, a non-profit which works to expose corruption in Ukraine. There, she is responsible for judicial reform. Her main goal is overhauling the procedures for forming judicial bodies that appoint and dismiss judges.
“This is a daunting task, as control of the judiciary is concentrated in the hands of various judicial clans, and it is advantageous for both them and the political authorities who use their services to maintain the status quo,” Chyzhyk told the Kyiv Post.
In 2016, she and her colleagues from Chesno, a corruption watchdog, launched a monitoring campaign called “Chesno. Filter the court!” The team has been monitoring the background and activities of judges to determine their integrity. That year, Chyzhyk also became a member, and eventually a coordinator of the Public Integrity Council — a body composed of public experts that checks judges and candidates for compliance with the criteria of integrity and professional ethics.
“For me, the council, which I coordinated for two years, is a testament to the fact that civil society can come together and work effectively to achieve a common goal in the most difficult conditions, without resources and support, sacrificing time, money and even health,” Chyzhyk said.
In 2018–2019, she advised international experts who participated in the selection of judges of the High Anti-Corruption Court. The experts had the right to veto unscrupulous candidates, and they managed to veto almost 85% of dubious candidates in the competition.
Chyzhyk believes that, unfortunately, the Ukrainian judiciary hasn’t changed much since the EuroMaidan Revolution that overthrew Kremlin-backed President Viktor Yanukovych in 2014. But she is confident that involving independent experts from the public will help break the vicious circle in which judges themselves elect who will dismiss and appoint them.
