The Higher Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine (HQCJ) has demanded that speculation be stopped around the competition to the Supreme Court of Ukraine.

"We call on organizations, individuals, representatives of the public sector and the media not to use the competition to the highest judicial institution in information wars and not to misinform the population," the HQCJ said in a statement on its website on Wednesday, November 15.

The statement notes that the competition to the Supreme Court, which the HQCJ held from November 7, 2016 to July 27, 2017, is unprecedented for the Ukrainian and international public. About 200 different specialists and several international projects were involving in preparing the competition, and the competition received a high appraisal, but some subjects try to discredit its results and harm the state.

"To stop the speculation, the HQCJ once again reports that during the competition all candidates, in the period from November 22, 2016 to January 13, 2017, within its first stage, were specially checked by the authorized bodies," the statement reads.

The statement notes that in the process of the special check, the commission sent more than 6,000 requests to various departments and institutions, including the ministries of the interior, defense, education and science, health, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the National Agency on Corruption Prevention.