The Verkhovna Rada has strengthened the accountability and integrity of judges by optimizing the form of a judge's declaration of integrity and family ties in line with recommendations from the European Commission.
A total of 242 people's deputies voted in favor of the corresponding draft law (No. 13165-2) on amendments to the law "On the Judiciary and the Status of Judges" and certain laws regarding the improvement of declarations of judge integrity and family ties during a plenary session of the Verkhovna Rada on Tuesday.
The document stipulates that the declaration of integrity and family ties must include statements confirming the legal origin of assets, compliance of the standard of living of the judge and their family members with their property and income, the absence of grounds for disciplinary action, and the conscientious fulfillment of judicial duties and the Code of Judicial Ethics. Furthermore, the declaration must contain information confirming that no actions have been taken to acquire citizenship of a foreign state.
The law also enhances the procedures for checking judges' compliance with integrity reporting in line with European Commission recommendations and international obligations.
The document establishes that verifications of a judge's declaration of integrity and family ties regarding untruthful or incomplete statements and information, as well as untimely submission, will be conducted for the latest reporting period. In its decision to conduct a check on a declaration, the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine will specify the grounds for the verification, the particular judge whose declaration is subject to review, alongside the scope and timeframe of the procedure.
The bill was supported by 166 members of the Servant of the People faction, 19 from European Solidarity, 13 from Batskivschyna and one from Holos, eight from the Platform for Life and Peace group, 15 from Dovira group, 11 from the For the Future group, none from the Restoration of Ukraine group, as well as nine non-affiliated MPs.
According to the Verkhovna Rada website, the bill was adopted in principle back in June 2025, but the comparative table was provided for the second reading only on June 4.
Before the vote, during the discussion of the bill, co-chair of the European Solidarity faction Iryna Herashchenko stated that it appeared on the agenda only after the insistence of European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Marta Kos, who was visiting Kyiv.
"This bill appeared on the agenda not because the ruling majority finally wants to move forward with implementing the Kachka-Kos Memorandum, but only after Ms. Kos very clearly stated that if this bill is not adopted, Ukraine will lose EUR 300 million under the Ukraine Facility program… European integration must become a priority. But not just in name, but in substance," she said.
As reported, a joint statement by Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos and Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Taras Kachka following the informal meeting of European Affairs Ministers in December 2025 stated that Ukraine must take a series of measures to implement anti-corruption and rule-of-law policies as part of the EU accession process over the course of 2026, in particular, adopt comprehensive amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code and other legislation.
In addition, it was expected that Ukraine would contribute to strengthening the independence of NABU and SAPO and protecting their jurisdiction from circumvention and undue influence by clearly delineating investigative powers between pre-trial investigation bodies and establishing clear rules for preventing and resolving conflicts of jurisdiction in criminal proceedings, as well as to facilitate the expansion of NABU's and SAPO's jurisdiction to cover all high-risk positions based on an existing independent assessment.
In late April 2026, Taras Kachka, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, stated that work on all recommendations of the so-called "Kachka-Kos" communiqué is ongoing and that there are no delays.
