By the end of March 2023, the Competition Commission will complete the process of selecting candidates for members of the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine (HCCJ), after which the High Council of Justice (HCJ) will decide on their appointment, and the HCCJ will begin its work to select judges in Ukraine, Head of the HCJ Hryhoriy Usyk has said.

In an exclusive interview with the Interfax-Ukraine agency, Usyk said that the competition in the HCCJ is held according to the same open principle as in the selection of members of the HCJ.

"Since 2019, the HCCJ has not been working, and it is a disaster for the judiciary. Now, the shortage of judges throughout Ukraine is more than 2,000. There are not enough judges in trial courts and courts of appeals. It is impossible to overcome the personnel shortage without the HCCJ. The qualification assessment of judges should also be completed," Usyk said.

According to him, the shortage of personnel affects the quality of justice, since the judge, who is handling about 2,000 cases, objectively cannot draw up well-motivated court decisions, since there is not enough time for this.

"The filling of the courts after the launch of the HCCJ will help improve the quality of justice and facilitate citizens' access to justice," Usyk said.

At present, the competition commission has interviewed about half of the candidates, the head of the HCJ said.

"We expect that approximately on March 20, the commission will complete the selection procedure for candidates for HCCJ members. Next, the HCJ shall select 16 candidates out of 32, a list of which will be provided to us by the competition commission," he explained.

Usyk assured that the HCJ, in turn, would not delay the selection process because the HCCJ is the only body responsible for selecting judges.

"We hope that after the selection of the HCCJ members, it will start working as soon as possible because the judicial system requires urgent filling of vacancies for the positions of judges," the head of the HCJ said.