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Of the 111 judges of the Supreme Court appointed by the High Council of Justice on Sept. 29, as many as 25 were vetoed by the Public Integrity Council, a civil society watchdog, because they did not meet professional and ethical standards and are deemed corrupt or dishonest. However, the vetoes were overridden by the High Qualification Commission and ignored by the High Council of Justice.
Apart from these 25 judges, the Public Integrity Council also submitted negative information on about 60 Supreme Court judges.
Below is a list of the 25 Supreme Court judges vetoed by the Public Integrity Council. They deny accusations of wrongdoing.
Stanislav Holubytsky, a judge of Lviv Oblast’s Court of Appeal
Stanislav Holubytsky sentenced Volodymyr Panasenko to life in prison in 2008 on murder charges. Subsequently, Holubytsky was investigated for unlawfully trying Panasenko, and the ruling was deemed unfounded by the Ukrainian Helsinki Group.
Natalya Antonenko, a judge of the Kyiv Court of Appeal
Natalya Antonenko provided incorrect information in her asset declaration. She declared assets worth over Hr 3.5 million in 2016 but her family’s total income amounted to just Hr 1.5 million. She failed to declare a house in 2011 to 2014.
Stanislav Kravchenko, a judge of the High Specialized Court for Civil and Criminal Cases
Stanislav Kravchenko failed to declare a land plot and a house in 2012 to 2014, failed to indicate in the integrity declaration a court ruling that was disputed at the European Court of Human Rights.
Tetiana Shevchenko, an ex-judge of the Supreme Court
Tetiana Shevchenko issued a verdict in a case where the defendant was pressured to testify against himself. The judges ignored this direct violation of human rights. As a result, Ukraine lost two criminal cases in the European Court of Human Rights. She also admitted on her Facebook page that she regularly shows her judge’s ID to the traffic police, which could be seen as a way to use her high status to avoid responsibility for violations of traffic rules, the Public Integrity Council said.
Inna Berdnik, a judge of the Supreme Court
Inna Berdnik made a decision that was later found by the European Court of Human Rights to involve an arbitrary “denial of justice.” She also allowed the privatization of a 19th-century mansion in Kyiv, which led to the destruction of the historic building. Berdnik also lied in her asset declaration, not mentioning a 114-square-meter house worth Hr 655,000.
Maryna Chervynska, a judge of the High Specialized Court for Civil and Criminal Cases
Maryna Chervynska didn’t mention in her 2015 asset declaration a 488-square-meter house in the suburbs of Kyiv, where she lives and which is allegedly owned by her son. Her son failed to prove he had money to purchase this house, which was bought in 2012 for Hr 1.3 million. These facts allowed the Public Integrity Council to question the origin of the Chervynska’s funds used for the purchase of this property.
Valentyna Yurchenko, a judge of the High Administrative Court
Valentyna Yurchenko defended judges who issued illegal rulings against EuroMaidan activists. In 2016 she canceled the High Council of Justice’s decision to fire a judge who unlawfully prosecuted a EuroMaidan protester. The Public Integrity Council found that Yurchenko’s actions contributed to the notion of judges’ impunity.
Larysa Moroz, a judge of the High Administrative Court
Larysa Moroz lied in her asset declaration in 2016, not mentioning that she inherited in 2013 a 56-square-meter house, which she later sold. She also didn’t mention in her asset declarations that her son was using Toyota Avalon and Volkswagen Touareg cars. Moroz also canceled the High Council of Justice’s decision to fire a judge who unlawfully prosecuted EuroMaidan activists.
Larysa Rohach, a judge of the High Commercial Court
Larysa Rohach has been investigated over alleged interference in the automatic distribution of cases at the High Commercial Court. Rohach has also ruled in favor of illegal construction near historic buildings. She also allocated 7.5-hectares of nature reserve territory for the construction of former President Viktor Yanukovych’s ally Yuriy Ivaniushchenko’s mansion and gave a 2-hectare land plot to a construction firm reportedly linked to Kharkiv Mayor Hennadiy Kernes.
Oleksandr Zolotnikov, a judge of the Odesa Administrative Court of Appeal
Oleksander Zolotnikov lied in his public integrity declaration by not mentioning that he banned a peaceful rally in Odesa in 2013. He also endorsed a lower court’s decision to ban opposition protests in Kherson in 2013.
Nataliya Liashchenko, a judge of the Supreme Court
Nataliya Liashchenko’s lifestyle doesn’t correspond to her income. Although her monthly salary is Hr 240,000 per year, she owns two flats in Kyiv with an area of 76 and 85 square meters. She also has a 1,000-square meter land plot in Kyiv and a 1,000 square meter and a 4,913 square meter land plot in the city of Vyshgorod. Her husband, Oleksandr Hrynenko, also a judge in Kyiv, has a 290-square-meter house under construction in Vyshgorod. In 2014, Hrynenko gave his son, a prosecutor, a 6-square-meter apartment in Kyiv worth Hr 948,290.
Oleksandr Prokopenko, a judge of the Supreme Court
Oleksandr Prokopenko made a decision that violated human rights, which subsequently led to Ukraine losing a case at the European Court of Human Rights.
Lawyer Ihor Tkach
Ihor Tkach’s income does not match his expenses. Tkach also failed to declare his wife’s stake in a company. He used to work at Proksen, a firm co-founded and headed by Serhiy Kozyakov, head of the High Qualification Commission. Kostyantyn Krasovsky, head of the Presidential Administration’s legal department, also used to work with Tkach and Kozyakov at Proksen. Tkach’s wife used to be an aide to Serhiy Kivalov, a controversial Yanukovych ally.
Mykhailo Smokovych, acting head of the High Administrative Court
Has canceled the High Council of Justice’s decisions to fire judges who unlawfully prosecuted EuroMaidan activists. Smokovych is known as a judge who closely cooperates with the Presidential Administration, Public Integrity Council member Roman Kuybida told the Kyiv Post.
Alla Lesko, a member of the High Council of Justice
Alla Lesko has a conflict of interest because she was both a participant of the Supreme Court competition and a member of the High Council of Justice, which appointed Supreme Court judges, according to Public Integrity Council member Vitaly Tytych. She is accused of being linked to pro-Russian politician Viktor Medvedchuk and Yanukovych’s Deputy Chief of Staff Andriy Portnov, who wielded major influence on Ukraine’s lawyer community. Lesko has failed to take measures to punish judges who persecuted EuroMaidan protesters, according to the Public Integrity Council. Lesko has also violated the principles of the adversarial system and transparency during the consideration of their cases by rejecting plaintiffs’ requests to get information on their cases and missing deadlines, the council said.
Bohdan Lvov, head of the High Commercial Court
Bohdan Lvov is being investigated for the interference in the automatic distribution of cases by Tatkov and his former deputy Artur Yemelyanov, who have been officially charged in a criminal case. Lvov is also under investigation in a criminal case against High Council of Justice member Pavlo Grechkivsky, who has been charged with fraud but voted for Supreme Court candidates nonetheless, according to the Slidstvo.info investigative show. According to the investigators, Grechkivsky has promised to help in a legal dispute with Lvov’s assistance for $500,000.
Lvov, who denies accusations of wrongdoing, has also been investigated for making an unlawful ruling, and the Supreme Court has ruled that one of Lvov’s rulings violated human rights and involved interference in the automatic distribution of court cases.
Tytych said that Lvov had falsified the conclusion that ex-High Commercial Court Chief Viktor Tatkov is not subject to lustration under the law on the dismissal of top officials who served Yanukovych. Tytych also said that Lvov is being investigated for embezzlement during a construction project.
Vyacheslav Nastavny, a judge of the High Specialized Court for Civil and Criminal Cases
Vyacheslav Nastavny participated in the political persecution of Yuriy Lutsenko, now prosecutor general, and the Pavlychenko family under ex-President Viktor Yanukovych. Both cases have been recognized as political by Ukrainian and European courts. Nastavny has also banned journalists from filming court hearings.
Serhiy Slynko, a judge of the High Specialized Court for Civil and Criminal Cases
Serhiy Slynko participated in the political persecution of Yuriy Lutsenko, now prosecutor general, and the Pavlychenko family under ex-President Viktor Yanukovych. Slynko’s revenues do not match his expenses.
Svitlana Bakulina, a judge of the High Commercial Court
Svitlana Bakulina has been investigated over illegal interference into the automatic distribution of cases at the High Commercial Court. Her assets do not match her income, and she has been listed by media as one of the richest judges. Bakulina has ruled to allow illegal construction in historic areas.
Iryna Saprykina, a deputy head of the Kyiv Administrative Court of Appeal
Iryna Saprykina lied in her asset declaration. She also banned peaceful assemblies in 2013. Saprykina also lied to journalists regarding a court meeting, which didn’t allow them to be present there and cover it.
Oleksandr Baranets, a judge of the Kyiv Administrative Court of Appeal
Oleksandr Baranets banned journalists from filming a court hearing and also allowed his colleagues to make unethical comments during a court hearing.
Tetiana Drobotova, a judge of the High Commercial Court
Tetiana Drobotova has been investigated over illegal interference into the automatic distribution of cases at the High Commercial Court. She also created obstacles to this investigation by prosecutors. Drobotova also lied regarding the property belonging to herself and her family members.
Svitlana Pasichnik, a judge of the High Administrative Court
Svitlana Pasichnik has banned peaceful assemblies and ignored a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights on the issue.
Mykhailo Hrytsiv, a judge of the Supreme Court
Mykhailo Hrytsiv submitted incorrect data in his asset declarations in 2013 to 2014 and used his status of a judge to acquire an apartment from the state. He issued a ruling that violates human rights, which led to Ukraine losing a case at the European Court of Human Rights.
Lyudmila Stratienko, a judge of the High Commerical Court
Lyudmila Stratienko’s income does not match her expenses. She has declared a Hr 1 million house, a high-end BMW and a luxury apartment.
