If current candidates for Supreme Court don't meet integrity criteria, new tender is needed

U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch believes that if none of the current candidates for the new Supreme Court meets the criteria for integrity, a new pool of candidates should be selected.

Speaking at a conference, titled "Ukraine-EU: Integration in a Changing World," which was held in Kyiv on Thursday, Yovanovitch noted that it is crucially important that people who will be selected should meet the highest professional and moral standards. She said that the commission is currently looking for 120 candidates. If 120 candidates who hold moral high ground and are best qualified for these jobs cannot be found in this round, then a second round may be needed, she added.

The U.S. ambassador stressed that the judges of the Supreme Court are appointed for life, and the decision on their appointment cannot be repealed.

According to the information of Ukrainian anti-corruption agencies, 60% of anti-corruption litigations in this area are being dragged out, therefore it is necessary to create a special Anti-Corruption Court that would have exclusive jurisdiction to consider the cases of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, Yovanovitch said.

The ambassador expressed the belief that the election of the right judges to the Supreme Court and the establishment of an independent Anti-Corruption Court in Ukraine are the first steps towards restoring the faith of Ukrainians in the judicial system, which is very important.