ZMINA joins membership of Public Integrity Council
On August 14, a new membership of the Public Integrity Council (PIC) – a body that checks judges and candidates for compliance with the criteria of integrity and professional ethics – was elected. Human Rights Centre ZMINA also joined it.
Liudmyla Yankina, Tetiana Pechonchyk, and Danyil Popkov The third PIC’s membership will operate from 2023 to 2025, project manager Liudmyla Yankina and legal adviser Danyil Popkov will work in it representing ZMINA. In particular, the task of the Council is to help the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine to carry out the assessment of almost 2,000 judges, which began back in 2015, and to recruit approximately 700 more judges for vacant positions in courts of appeal.
Other members of Public Integrity Council: Maryna Ansiforova, Martyna Bohuslavets, Olha Veretilnyk, Oleksandr Voloshyn, Vitaliy Husak, Anton Zelinskyi, Oleh Ivanov, Tetiana Katrychenko, Veronika Kreydenkova, Andriy Kulibaba, Nazar Martyniuk, Eduard Mielkikh, Yuriy Nikolov, Olha Piskunova, Kostiantyn Smolov, Olena Trybushna, Yevhen Shulhat, Olej Yakymyak.
Also, if the above-mentioned members of the Council leave it, Svitlana Ilnytska, Tetiana Kurmanova, and Hanna Lysko will be spare participants.
In addition, 16 organizations participated in the formation of the new PIC membership:
- Ukrainian Bar Association
- Civic Control Platform
- Hromadske Radio
- Transparency International Ukraine
- Center for Civil Liberties
- Centre for Economic Strategy
- Ukrainian Centre for European Policy
- Institute of Legislative Ideas
- CHESNO movement
- All-Ukrainian Civic Platform “New Country”
- Media Initiative for Human Rights
- DEJURE Foundation
- Human Rights Information Centre (ZMINA)
- BOOK 14
- Anti-Corruption Action Centre
- Centre of Policy and Legal Reform
Liudmyla Yankina said that the initiative to submit her candidacy as a PIC member had been a difficult but well-considered decision:
“Participation in judicial reform in this way is a heavy burden. But someone has to do it, and this ‘someone’ should be those who share the values of human rights and the rule of law.”
According to the human rights activist, participation in the PIC provides an opportunity to make a significant contribution to the promotion of justice in the country, and this lies in the ability to ensure accountability and transparency of the functioning of the judicial system so that only qualified and ethical judges hold positions of power.
“It is important for me to participate in judicial reform and the process of combating corruption as it helps to form an impartial and fair judiciary, gives an opportunity to restore trust in society, the principle of equality for all and the principle of non-discrimination,” Yankina adds.
