The Chesno civil society watchdog on Nov. 29 identified 43 candidates for the High Anti-Corruption Court who it says do not meet integrity and professional ethics standards.
The total number of candidates for the anti-corruption court still in the running for jobs is 156.
Most of the “unsuitable” candidates violated asset-declaration rules, according to Chesno.
These include Vyacheslav Bihun, Petro Burda, Yuriy Burda, Maryan Holovchak, Oksana Golub, Vasyl Honcharuk, Vitaly Gutnik, Tetiana Demchyna, Kostyantyn Dokiychuk, Serhiy Dunayev, Anatoly Kvyatkovsky, Yuriy Krasnenko, Oleksandr Leonov and Inna Bilous.
Others with alleged asset-disclosure violations include Tetiana Krutsenko, Serhiy Lukyanchuk, Oleh Lutsenko, Serhiy Maslovsky, Ivanna Mykolayets, Oleksiy Omelyan, Serhiy Rykov, Tetiana Rudnitska, Maksym Skrzheshevsky, Ivan Solovyov, Valery Stanislavsky, Igor Chaikin, Olga Chaikina and Valeria Chorna, Chesno said.
Candidates who are accused of violating human rights include Yuriy Krutiy, Oleksandr Leonov, Anatoly Zagorodny, Oleh Kimstachyov, Tetiana Chernysh and Igor Shtulman, Chesno said.
Some candidates have issued court rulings whose legality has been disputed. These include Anatoly Zagorodny, Serhiy Dunayev, Yuriy Burbela, Inna Bilous, Yuriy Kulinich, Roman Militsianov, Andriy Salo, Dmytro Tishko, Igor Shtulman and Yevgeny Yangol, the watchdog said.
Candidates accused of violating professional ethics are Oleh Kimstachyov, Yuriy Krasnenko, Viktoria Zhovnovatyuk, Petro Guivan, Inna Bilous, Serhiy Rykov, Maksym Skrzheshevsky, Oleh Tovstoluzhsky, Ruslan Khytryk and Tetiana Chernysh, Chesno added.
Many candidates running for the Supreme Court are also controversial.
Specifically, some of the candidates who are ex-judges of the High Commercial Court are under investigation over illegally interfering in the automatic distribution of cases and issuing unlawful rulings under former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, the Schemes investigative show reported in an investigation published late on Nov. 29.
Ex-High Commercial Court Chairman Viktor Tatkov and his ex-deputy Artur Yemelyanov have been officially charged in this case.
Other ex-High Commercial Court judges under investigation in the case include Serhiy Mohyl, Oleksiy Yevsikov and Natalia Volkovystka. They are running for Supreme Court jobs but deny accusations of wrongdoing.
The alleged political connections of some of the candidates have also caused a controversy.
Mohyl is a nephew of Yanukovych ally and ex-High Council of Justice Chairman Serhiy Kivalov, while two other Supreme Court candidates, Natalya Blazhyvska and Oksana Blazhyvska – are daughters of Yevhen Blazhyvsky, an ex-deputy of Yanukovych’s infamous Prosecutor General Viktor Pshonka.
Candidates for the High Anti-Corruption Court and the Supreme Court passed legal knowledge tests on Nov. 12 and practical examinations on Nov. 14. The results of the legal knowledge tests have been announced, while those of the practical examinations have yet to be announced.
There are accusations that legal knowledge tests could have been manipulated in favor of government-friendly candidates.
Many of the test questions had more than one correct answer, Vitaly Tytych, coordinator of the Public Integrity Council, Judge Mykhailo Slobodin and High Qualification Commission member Andriy Kozlov said.
Thus the commission had an opportunity to promote some candidates by telling them which answers it deems right, according to Tytych, who was a candidate for the Supreme Court but did not pass to the next stage.
He said that he had requested his test results from the High Qualification Commission, and – if the commission refused to provide them – it would be the ultimate proof of manipulation. The commission has denied accusations of manipulating the test results.
