The draft law (No.2855) proposes to withdraw from Paragraph 2, Section 2 of Article 20 of the Law of Ukraine "On the Judiciary and the Status of Judges," reading that “Chief judge of local court, his/her deputy, chief judge of appellate court, his/her deputies, chief judge of high specialized court, his/her deputies shall be appointed for a two-year term, but not exceeding his/her tenure of judicial office, by secret ballot by the majority of the judges..." the words "but not exceeding his/her tenure of judicial office."
The Committee members believe that such withdrawal is a corruptogenic factor, as withdrawal of the said provision would contradict the current provision of the Law of Ukraine “On the restoration of trust in the judiciary in Ukraine," according to which the said provision was coordinated on purpose, in order to increase trust in the judiciary. The legislative initiative would create a conflict of law leading to corruption, as it enables selective application of laws when extending judge’s tenure of administrative office after termination of his/her powers.
During the discussion, they noted in particular that the Law “On the restoration of trust in the judiciary in Ukraine," focuses exactly on the provision in its current wording in order to increase the credibility of the judiciary in Ukraine and public trust in the judiciary, which could have the opposite effect in case of adoption of the proposed provision, therefore, taking the above mentioned into account, it is reasonable to reject the draft law.