Peculiarities of exercise by the High Council of Justice of powers of temporary suspension of judges from justice

Abstract

Judicial reform was intended to strengthen the safeguards of judges and to ensure the independence of the judiciary as a whole. In order to achieve these goals, the legislature, in the framework of judicial reform, has reorganized the old High Council of Justice and created on its basis a new body. These changes were positively estimated not only by domestic scientists and practitioners, but also by the international community. The newly created body is authorized with a wide range of powers, designed to ensure the proper administration of justice, to protect judges and their independence, and to form a virtuous and highly professional corps of judges in Ukraine. Goal of article. In connection with the fact that the competence of the High Council of Justice, the successor to the judiciary, the specified group of powers did not included, arose the need for their research and determine the peculiarities of their implementation. In particular, the powers of the new High Council of Justice include the decision-making authority on temporary suspension of judges from justice in connection with criminal prosecution, during a qualification assessment, and in the order of disciplinary action. The author investigates the peculiarities of a temporary suspension of judges from justice in connection with criminal prosecution, and analyzes the Supreme Court's practice regarding the procedure for extending such temporary suspension. In addition, the article deals with the procedure for temporarily suspension of judges from justice for the period of qualification assessment of a judge, which is carried out by the Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine. Finally, the peculiarities of the legal regulation of the procedure for temporarily suspension of judges from justice, which is applied to a judge as a disciplinary sanction in the framework of disciplinary proceedings, are analyzed, deficiencies and gaps of the current legislative regulation are identified, and appropriate changes are proposed. Based on the needs of law enforcement activities, the author of the article The of substantiated the necessity of concretization of the obligation of a high Council of justice to determine the course of professional development, which must pass the judge during the suspension, That will ensure the delimitation of its powers with the competence of the High Qualifications Commission of judges.