About Us
General information
The Ethics Council is established to assist the bodies that elect (appoint) members of the High Council of Justice in assessing whether a candidate is compliant with the criteria membership in the High Council of Justice (HCJ) or whether a sitting HCJ member meets professional ethics and integrity requirements.
The Ethics Council is a key stage of the judicial reform in Ukraine. This reform is known to be one of the most crucial and long-awaited change for the Ukrainian society. When implemented successfully, the judicial reform will improve people's access to fair trial where they can find effective remedy and resolve disputes. Moreover, all Ukraine's international partners emphasize the importance of the reform. It will help unleash the country's investment potential and have a positive impact on the economic development and macro-financial stability.
Our objectives:
Who can be an Ethics Council member:
Candidates are eligible to be members of the Ethics Council if they have an impeccable professional reputation, strong professional and moral qualities, and high public authority, as well as meet the professional ethics and integrity criteria, have at least fifteen years of record as a judge, defense lawyer, public prosecutor or an academic researcher in law.
Nominations and Appointments:
The Ethics Council consists of six members:
1) three members nominated by the Council of Judges of Ukraine from among judges or retired judges
2) one member nominated by the Council of Public Prosecutors of Ukraine
3) one member nominated by the Council of Lawyers of Ukraine
4) one member nominated by the Board of the National Academy of Legal Sciences of Ukraine.
Lists of nominees are published on the official website of the High Council of Justice and the official web portal of the Ukrainian Judiciary.
The Chairman of the High Council of Justice appoints members of the Ethics Council within five working days after the deadline for submission of lists of recommended nominees by all nominating entities.
If the Chairman of the High Council of Justice fails to appoint members of the Ethics Council within the established period, the first three nominees on the list of candidates submitted by the Council of Judges of Ukraine, the first nominee of the Council of Public Prosecutors of Ukraine, the first nominee of the Council of Lawyers of Ukraine, and the first nominee of the Board of the National Academy of Legal Sciences of Ukraine shall be deemed appointed.
NB: The first composition of the Ethics Council comprises three judges or retired judges nominated by the Council of Judges of Ukraine and three members nominated by international and foreign organizations that have provided international technical assistance to Ukraine in the area of the judicial reform and anti-corruption action under international treaties or inter-state agreements over the past five years.
Members of the Ethics Council were appointed according to the Law of Ukraine No. 1635-IX On Amending Selected Legislative Acts of Ukraine concerning Procedure for Election (Appointment) of Members of the High Council of Justice and Activities of Disciplinary Inspectors of the High Council of Justice dd. 14 July 2021.
The first members of the Ethics Council are Lev Kyshakevych, a Supreme Court Judge in the Criminal Cassation Court, Yuriy Tryasun, Judge of Kyiv Court of Appeal, Volodymyr Siverin, Judge of the Eastern Commercial Court of Appeal (Ret.), Robert Cordy, Massachusetts Supreme Court Associate Justice (Ret.), Sir Anthony Hooper, PC, Lord Justice of Appeal, the Court of Appeal of England and Wales (Ret.), and Lavly Perling, former Prosecutor General of the Republic of Estonia.
Leadership:
Timelines:
_03_03.png)
