We want to speed up the process of staffing the courts, but on the other hand we are very clear that the selection procedures must first and foremost be of high quality - SC President

In addition to the systemic problems that existed before, since the beginning of the full-scale war of the Russian Federation against our country, the judicial system of Ukraine has faced new challenges: the territorial jurisdiction of some courts has changed due to the temporary occupation of a number of settlements, difficulties in logistics and holding court hearings, and new categories of war-related cases have been submitted to the courts. The difficulties encountered by the courts are diverse, but the overarching objective remains the same: to ensure the proper administration of justice in the current circumstances.

This was stated by the President of the Supreme Court Stanislav Kravchenko during the roundtable "Justice of the Future: Selection and Appointment of Judges".

The head of the Supreme Court recalled that in 2023 the courts received almost 4.5 million cases and materials for consideration. Despite the difficulties, the judiciary has managed to cope with this workload, in particular by introducing a number of legislative changes.

"However, in addition to quality legislation, the judicial system needs human resources to function properly. Last year, more than 300 judges were dismissed and none were appointed. It is important to understand that at a certain limit, the system simply cannot perform its tasks," said Stanislav Kravchenko.

The President of the Supreme Court also announced that as of 22 April 2024 the High Council of Justice had submitted 102 proposals to the President of Ukraine on the appointment of judges, and stressed the importance of resolving as soon as possible the issue of creating a new network of courts that would correspond to the administrative and territorial structure of the state.

"Undoubtedly, we would like to speed up the process of staffing the courts, but, on the other hand, we are very clear that the selection procedures must first and foremost be of high quality," the SC President concluded.

The event was jointly organised by the Yurydychna Praktyka Publishing House, the Supreme Court, the High Qualifications Commission of Judges of Ukraine and the High Council of Justice.