The Ukrainian parliament adopted a draft law on changes to the procedure for appointing judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine (CCU), which is necessary to fulfill the criteria of the European Commission on Ukraine’s path to EU membership.
According to parliament member Zheleznyak, the document contains a rule that strengthens the role of internationals in the selection of judges. If due to the same number of votes for and against a nominee and the Advisory Group of Experts cannot decide, a second vote will be held. In case of an equal number of votes for and against during the second round of voting, the votes of three members of the Advisory Group of Experts, of which at least two are proposed by international organizations or the European Commission, will determine the outcome.
The reform of the judge selection system for the Constitutional Court is one of the seven criteria from the European Commission, the implementation of which are necessary for further EU accession progress.