Six members of the Ethics Council have unanimously approved the first two sections of their Rules of Procedure and elected a chair. The assessment of candidates and sitting members of the High Council of Justice for compliance with the criteria of professional ethics and integrity will begin soon.
Today, on 1 December, the first session of the Ethics Council took place in Kyiv. The Council was formed in accordance with the Law of Ukraine 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 (No. 1635-IX). The list of members includes 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.
The session approved the first two sections of the Rules of Procedure of the Ethics Council that sets organizational principles of the Council's performance.
Lev Kyshakevych, judge of the Supreme Court in the Criminal Cassation Court, was elected Chair of the Ethics Council. Right Honourable Sir Anthony Hooper, judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales (Ret.) was elected his deputy.
"It is a great honor to be a Chair of the Ethics Council. I am grateful to the Council members for their trust. Like all members of the Ethics Council, I am fully aware of the responsibility both for my personal work and for the work of the Council in general. This responsibility is related to the expectations of the society and the judiciary. I am confident that the Ethics Council will do its best to ensure that the expectations are met. I personally will do my best to make sure that the work of the Ethics Council is successful. Our work has already proved that we are committed to constructive cooperation. We will continue to work on the Rules of Procedure and the procedural issues of the Ethics Council. We want to start assessing the candidates for the positions in the High Council of Justice as soon as possible", Lev Kyshakevych, a newly elected Chair of the Ethics Council, said.
Sir Anthony Hooper, a representative of international experts in the first composition of the Ethics Council, gave a positive feedback on the results of the session. "It is a great honor for each of us to work for the Ukrainian people in the Ethics Council”, he said.
We remind that the Ethics Council will determine whether candidates for the position of a member of the High Council of Justice meet the criteria of professional ethics and integrity. Over the first six months the members of the Ethics Council shall also perform a one-time assessment of compliance with the criteria of professional ethics and integrity of the sitting members of the High Council of Justice (except for the Chair of the Supreme Court).
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