The honored lawyer of Ukraine, Volodymyr Bohatyr, believes that the judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine (CCU) should give their assessment of the actions of the Acting Chair of the CCU, Serhii Holovatyi, given that the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) found in his actions a composition of corruption offenses.

The lawyer wrote about this on his Facebook page, the Ukrainian News agency reports.

Bohatyr commented on NACP's decision regarding the conflict of interests of Holovatyi and the current state of affairs in the CCU.

"I believe that this decision of the NACP is reasonable and clearly complies with the current anti-corruption legislation. If the state has established rules related to the prevention of anti-corruption crimes, then the representatives of the highest echelon of power must follow them. Such actions of the NACP contribute to the cleansing of the government from random people, from people who were previously prosecuted for corruption in the political sphere. It is a pity that this happened after numerous complaints related to various violations of the judge of the Constitutional Court," said the lawyer.

The lawyer recalled that Ukraine was forced to change its approach to the procedure for electing CCU judges under EU pressure.
There is also a series of decisions by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) regarding the unlawful dismissal of CCU judges due to fast-moving political expediency. It is possible to state the partial delegitimization of the current composition of the CCU due to the fact that previous judges of the CCU and a number of its leaders were illegally dismissed. This has already been established by both the ECHR and the Ukrainian courts on the one hand, and on the other hand, we have a dubious way of appointing new judges; respective bodies do not know what to do with when there are facts of illegal dismissal.

"Why did the EU raise the question of the selection of CCU judges? It is not precisely because these judges are a model of integrity. I agree with the position of our European partners that the current state of affairs in the CCU is unacceptable. This is the conclusion of the European Commission. We can differ in our opinions on the procedure for selecting CCU judges, but we cannot be loyal to the signs of corruption in the CCU. This is not even a matter of Holovatyi but a matter of the approach to the formation and work of the CCU. Either we will be tolerant of it or not. The CCU must either work as required by the Constitution and the law, or why do we need such a body in this form," the expert noted.

Volodymyr Bohatyr believes that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as the guarantor of the Constitution, should respond to the decision of the NACP and promote the re-election of a member of the Venice Commission from Ukraine.

"In my opinion, in this situation, the President, as the guarantor of the Constitution of Ukraine, should respond to this and give his assessment. The person who represents Ukraine in the Venice Commission should be re-elected. There should be a person of higher standards than Holovatyi. Yes, procedurally, it is difficult for the President to remove a person from the position of a CCU judge or a representative of the Venice Commission. There are other mechanisms; for example, one can consider canceling the decree and appointing a CCU judge according to his quota. In my opinion, this shame should be corrected by the CCU judges. Judges who ignore the facts that the decisions of the CCU, which failed to ensure the effective implementation of the decisions of the CCU, which each time play along with one or another government, are not implemented, and this shame must be removed by them, too," said Bohatyr.

The lawyer added that the judges of the CCU, who were found to have exceeded their expenses over their income, should resign, as should the acting head of the Constitutional Court.

Also, in his opinion, CCU judges should immediately convene a meeting and give an assessment of Holovatyi's actions; otherwise, this institution loses its meaning.

"If the judges themselves do not assess his actions, since this responsibility rests with the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, and the body of constitutional jurisdiction will resolve this issue independently, then shame on such a Constitutional Court, which Ukraine does not need at all," the lawyer emphasized.

Bohatyr recalled that he had repeatedly appealed to the NACP and law enforcement agencies regarding the management and judges of the CCU, in particular, regarding the existence of a conflict of interests, the coexistence of the powers of the head of the CCU and the representative of Ukraine in the Venice Commission, non-declaration of property and manifestations of corruption.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, the NACP drew up protocols on an administrative offense against the Acting Head of the Constitutional Court, Serhii Holovatyi, and the Head of the Court's Secretariat, Viktor Beschastnyi.

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