Advisory Group of Experts Has Become Operational

On Sunday, November 12, the first meeting of the Advisory Group of Experts took place. It was formed with the purpose of assisting the competent authorities with the appointment of justices of the Constitutional Court in terms of evaluating the moral qualities and professional competence of candidate justices of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine.

Hanna Sukhotska opened and moderated the first meeting of the AGE before the Chairman was elected. She introduced herself and gave an opportunity to each of the AGE members and deputy members who were present at the meeting to introduce themselves.

It is worth reminding that the Advisory Group of Experts is composed of six persons (and their six deputies): three Ukrainian and three international experts. The members of the Advisory Group of Experts are Hanna Sukhotska, Ales Zalar, Maureen O'Connor, Yaroslav Romaniuk, Oksana Vasylchenko, Nataliia Kuznietsova, and their respective deputies are Richard Barrett, Marek Zubik, Thomas Bill Griffith, Volodymyr Kuzmenko, Ihor Protsiuk, and Vasyl Shakun.

After that, the AGE made two key decisions that were necessary to launch its activities: electing the Chairman and the Secretary and approving the Regulation on the Advisory Group of Experts. Ales Zalar was elected as Chairman of the Advisory Group, and Yaroslav Romanyuk has become the Secretary of the AGE.

At the same time, the AGE members decided to continue working on the final version of the Methodology for Moral Qualities and Professional Competence Assessment of candidate justices of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine.

“I am fully aware of the expectations the Ukrainian society has in respect of the selection procedure of the justices of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine. I understand this and am ready to apply all efforts, using my personal and professional experience, to support the authorities empowered to appoint the CCU justices who would meet the highest moral standards and demonstrate deep professional knowledge and skills,” said Yaroslav Romaniuk when presenting his candidacy.

In his opinion, such a selection should be facilitated by the coordinated and united effort of the AGE, which should be as open, transparent, and objective as possible. “It is this kind of effort that will persuade the Ukrainian society to have trust in the procedures that take place in the AGE and in their results, the latter being the appointment by the competent authorities – President of Ukraine, Verkhovna Rada, and Congress of Judges – of best candidates to the positions of CCU justices,” emphasized Yaroslav Romaniuk.

In his turn, Ales Zalar thanked the colleagues for their trust and emphasized the importance of cooperation between all members of the Advisory Group of Experts in his welcoming speech. “The Chairman of the Advisory Group of Experts is one of the six equal members of the group; we remember this and it is extremely important that we continue working as fruitfully as we started when we have been preparing this meeting,” he said.

“I am fully aware of the responsibility that rests on all members of the Advisory Group of Experts. I can assure the Ukrainian society that as an AGE member, I will do everything possible to ensure that the process of selecting justices of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine meets the highest quality standards,” said Ales Zalar when presenting his candidacy.

Alongside that, the Chairman of the AGE invited representatives of civil society to cooperate. He emphasized that the Advisory Group would carry out its work in the most transparent manner possible.