The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has passed a law allowing to resume the work of the High Qualification Commission of Judges (HQCJ) of Ukraine. A total of 293 MPs voted for relevant bill No. 3711-d on amendments to the law on the judicial system and the status of judges and some laws on resuming the work of HQCJ.

According to the law, the High Qualification Commission of Judges consists of 16 members, eight of whom are appointed from among judges or retired judges. The High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine is considered plenipotentiary, provided that at least 11 members are appointed to its composition.

Members of the commission are appointed by the High Council of Justice for four years based on the results of a competition.

The contest committee holds a competition for the position of a member of the HQCJ in two stages: selection of candidates based on the results of consideration of the documents submitted by them, the results of a special check, relevant information from open sources and interviewing the selected candidates and determining the list of candidates for recommendation to the High Council of Justice.

The members of the contest committee are appointed by the High Council of Justice. The subjects of the formation of the contest committee are the Councils of Judges, Prosecutors, Lawyers and the National Academy of Legal Sciences represented by the Presidium. The composition of this commission consists of three persons from among the judges or retired judges, proposed by the council of judges; one each from the councils of prosecutors, lawyers and the National Academy of Legal Sciences. At the request of the contest committee to ensure its activities, additional experts, specialists from international and foreign organizations may be involved, which, in accordance with international or interstate agreements, over the past five years, at their own expense, provide Ukraine with international technical assistance in judicial reform and/or preventing and combating corruption.

At the same time, MP Serhiy Vlasenko (from the Batkivschyna faction) during the discussion of the amendments to the bill repeatedly said the bill is "dubious from the point of view of the Constitution."

"This law will not bring any improvement to the judicial system," Vlasenko said.