Anticorruption updates Ukraine

- attacks on activists: 80 CSOs demand resignation of Lutsenko and Avakov;
- #AnticorruptionCourt: High Qualification Commission of Judges appointed Public Council of International Experts, experts demand HQCJ to provide appropriate working conditions for international experts and adopt rules regarding competition transparency;
- insights from the International Anticorruption Conference

Attacks on activists

80 CSOs signed a statement demanding resignation of Lutsenko and Avakov who sabotaged reform of law enforcement agencies in Ukraine, green-lighting lawlessness and violence. Full text.

On November 6 Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko was invited to the Parliament to report about the investigation of Handziuk's assassination. Instead of giving reasonable explanations why those who stood behind the murder are still not brought to justice, he made an emotional speech promising to resign.

In violation of the procedure, Speaker Parubiy put Lutsenko's resignation to the so-called signal vote, which was supported by 38 MPs only.

Signal vote is a common informal practice of current Parliament, used to check the support for some decisions before putting them to formal vote. Signal vote has no legal consequences for considered decision.

Before being put to the vote in the Rada, Prosecutor General's resignation first has to be considered and accepted by the President, who then sends the respective appeal to the Parliament.

Under public pressure Lutsenko was forced to file a resignation letter to the President as required by law. However, the latter rejected it on November 9 using a manipulative pretext that Lutsenko allegedly had already got a vote of trust in the Rada.

High Qualification Commission of Judges appointed Public Council of International Experts

CSOs welcome the selection of PCIE members and demand the HQCJ to immediately provide appropriate working conditions for international experts and adopt rules regarding transparency of the competition to the High Anti-Corruption Court. Ignoring these demands by the HQCJ will mean that the Commission deliberately leaves room for maneuvering with results of the competition.

Anti-Corruption organizations demand the HQCJ to:

Provide full access for members of the PCIE and its secretariat to anticorruption court candidates’ materials, including personal data from candidates’ dossiers and data from state registers.
Provide access for the PCIE and its secretariat to the results of practical assignments performed by candidates during the exam.
Determine clear criteria regarding candidates’ integrity and establish standards for proving candidates’ compliance or non-compliance with these criteria.
Modify the methodology for evaluating candidates in favor of objective indicators.
Provide disclosure of scores submitted to candidates by each HQCJ member for each evaluation indicator, as well as disclosure of the justification of scores for each candidate.

Full text of the statement.

For peace and prosperity, stopping corruption is key

AntAC legal counsel Tetyana Shevchuk shares insights from the International Anticorruption Conference in Copenhagen: The conference brought together lots of experience and expertise and again reminded that all the countries have their own challenges — although different — when it comes to corruption.

But the conference also highlighted that sustainable development and security are achievable only by common actions and when countries work together. Full text.