The Rada has passed a controversial law on judges’ declarations
The Verkhovna Rada has announced the adoption of the law. The bill’s details state that the document was adopted on 9 June 2026 and is being prepared for signature.
The Verkhovna Rada has adopted Bill No. 13165-2 on amendments to the Law “On the Judicial System and the Status of Judges” and the Law “On the High Council of Justice”.
The document concerns judges’ declarations of integrity and declarations of family ties.
A total of 242 MPs voted in favour of adopting the bill at second reading and as a whole. There were no votes against, four MPs abstained, and a further 62 did not vote.
The bill has a European integration label. It was registered on 25 April 2025, and on 9 June 2026, parliament adopted the document as law. It is currently being prepared for signature.
What the law changes
The law combines the judge’s declaration of integrity and the judge’s declaration of family ties into a single document.
This concerns the declaration of integrity and family ties of a judge.
The Verkhovna Rada explains that the law is intended to clarify the information that judges must provide in their declarations, as well as to regulate the procedure for verifying such declarations.
Judges must submit the declaration annually by 1 May via the website of the High Qualification Commission of Judges. The declaration will require information not only about the judge themselves but also about their relatives, if they currently hold or have held, within the last five years, positions related to the judicial system, law enforcement agencies, politics or public administration.
This applies, in particular, to relatives who are judges, prosecutors, lawyers, employees of the High Council of Justice, the High Qualification Commission of Judges, the Constitutional Court, law enforcement agencies, members of parliament, members of the government, representatives of the Office of the President, the National Agency for Corruption Prevention, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and other state bodies.
Why the law is considered controversial
Despite Ukraine’s European integration status, the draft law has drawn criticism from some experts.
The organisation DEJURE stated that the document does not address the key problem for which it was drafted – the effective vetting of judges’ integrity.
The main concern relates to Supreme Court judges. According to “European Truth”, clause 8 of the so-called “Kachka-Kos plan” provides for the temporary involvement of independent international experts to verify the declarations of Supreme Court judges.
There is no such explicit provision in the adopted draft law.
Some experts believe that the law does not introduce independent international verification of Supreme Court judges’ declarations and may limit the tools available for detecting misconduct.
The Verkhovna Rada’s response
An official statement from parliament states that the law is aimed at fulfilling Ukraine’s obligations under the Ukraine Facility.
This concerns reform of the judicial system, in particular strengthening the accountability and integrity of judges.
The Rada also refers to the European Commission’s report within the framework of the 2024 EU Enlargement Package. It stated that Ukraine must adopt legislation to review the system for declaring judges’ integrity in order to strengthen the accountability of the judiciary and public trust in it.
At the same time, the parliament’s statement specifically notes that the Cabinet of Ministers is instructed, following consultations with the High Council of Justice and taking into account international and European standards, to submit a draft law on the temporary provisions for the individual verification of declarations by judges of the Supreme Court and higher specialised courts with the participation of independent experts.
In other words, the involvement of independent experts is not enshrined as an existing mechanism in this law, but has been set out in a future separate draft law.
Why this is important for European integration
The amendments to the rules for verifying judges’ declarations are linked to Ukraine’s European integration commitments.
This is precisely why the document bears a European integration label and is being considered in the context of the Ukraine Facility and EU accession negotiations.
However, critics point out that the formal adoption of the law may not be sufficient if its content does not meet the European Commission’s expected criteria.
It is currently unknown whether the European Commission will require Ukraine to make further changes to rectify this reform and bring it into line with the EU’s fundamental criteria.
At the same time, it cannot be ruled out that the European Commission may count the adoption of the document as fulfilling part of the requirement for unblocking EU funds, as European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos advocated for the adoption of the bill during her visit to Kyiv.
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