February 26, 2025
On February 25, 2025, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, in cooperation with the Project “Support to development of the constitutional justice in Ukraine”, implemented within the European Union and Council of Europe Joint Programme “Partnership for Good Governance”, Phase III, organised a round table discussion “Ethical Rules for Judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine: the Needs of Public Trust”. This event provided an opportunity for Judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, leading Ukrainian scholars, legal experts, representatives of bodies of state power and international organisations to discuss best practices, including European ones, in the development and implementation of rules of ethical conduct for judges of constitutional jurisdictions.
Opening the forum, Oleksandr Petryshyn, Acting Chairman of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine stressed that the need to define ethical standards of judges is embodied directly in the Law of Ukraine “On the Constitutional Court of Ukraine” of 2017 and Article 148.4 of the Constitution of Ukraine, which establishes one of the core requirements for candidates for the positions of judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine – high moral qualities. “The need to develop and adhere to clear ethical rules that will ensure a high level of professional and moral responsibility for judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine is also a demand of the times,” Oleksandr Petryshyn added.
“Clear ethical rules are the key to judicial independence and public trust,” underscored Maciej Janczak, Head of the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine. He emphasised that independence, impartiality, integrity and responsibility are crucial for public trust in constitutional justice, and that adherence to the established ethical rules by judges is important to ensure consistency and unity of work. The speaker assured that the Council of Europe is ready to support this process by sharing European experience and best practices. Maciej Janczak noted that European constitutional courts have adopted and adhere to specific codes of ethics.
The first panel discussion, “Principles of Judicial Conduct in the Context of Maintaining Trust to the Court,” focused on ensuring judicial independence and public trust in justice.
Vasyl Lemak, Judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine and Chair of the Standing Commission on Regulations and Ethics of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, presented a report “Public Trust for Legitimacy: the Role of Ethical Rules for Judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine”.
In his speech, Vasyl Lemak pointed out that the Judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine have a special responsibility to society, as this body has the exclusive right to declare unconstitutional acts of the President of Ukraine, the Parliament and other bodies of state power. “The decision of the Constitutional Court does not concern an individual, but the whole society. The Constitutional Court is not a political body, however its decisions have political consequences. Therefore, public trust to the Constitutional Court and its Judges is the factor without which effective work is impossible,” he stated. The Judge also noted that public trust in the Court is not emotions, but confidence in the strict and continuous fulfilment of constitutional powers.
The Judge underlined that international standards of judicial ethics, in particular the Bangalore Principles of Judicial Conduct, the opinions of the Consultative Council of European Judges (CCJE), are important for understanding the constitutional requirement of “high moral qualities”, and also spoke about the experience of other countries that have adopted respective documents.
Vasyl Lemak emphasised that all these issues should be reflected in the rules of professional ethics for Judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, a draft of which is being elaborated by the Court. He underlined that “such standards are needed not only for the Judges themselves, but also for the state as a whole to ensure constitutional democracy”.
The discussion was followed by Oksana Hryshchuk, Judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, who covered the issue of independence and authority of the judiciary through the lens of modern ethical standards. According to her, the fundamental principles of independence and immunity of Judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine are guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of Ukraine. “Guarantees of independence are an integral part of an activity of a Judge and must be ensured both at the level of legislative norms and through appropriate mechanisms for their implementation,” Oksana Hryshchuk accentuated.
The Judge indicated that the development of the Ukrainian state and its post-war recovery “largely depend on the court and the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, which ensures stability, reliable support for the Constitution as the main platform for the proper functioning of our state”. Therefore, the Judge expounded upon, the Court's authority must be absolute, its credibility unconditional, and this is primarily achieved by ensuring its independence.
The Judge delineated that judicial independence means that the judiciary must act without influence from other branches of power, political forces or individuals.
In this context, Oksana Hryshchuk recalled a number of decisions of the Constitutional Court, which repeatedly pointed out the inadmissibility of restricting the independence of judges by law. The Judge also drew attention to important aspects of the Bangalore Principles of Judicial Conduct, which form the basis of judicial ethics, in particular, the principle of independence of a judge and judicial bodies. The speaker also focused on the CCJE Opinion No. 18 (2025) on the position of the judiciary and its relation with the other powers of state in a modern democracy, emphasising the institutional independence of the judiciary and the independence of judges.
Lorena Bachmaier Winter, International Consultant of the Council of Europe, Professor of Law at the Complutense University in Madrid, delivered a report on “Key principles and Council of Europe standards on judicial conduct, including in constitutional control bodies”. She outlined the importance of codes of ethics for constitutional courts, provided for examples of European experience in ensuring ethical behaviour of judges and stressed the importance of introducing clear ethical standards. According to her, “a code of ethics is a beacon that guides the best way to navigate”. She noted that “the ethical rules of conduct for constitutional court judges should be much higher, and the level of moral standards should be the highest compared to all others”. Lorena Bachmaier Winter mentioned that in Europe, public trust in constitutional courts is based on the quality of their decisions, their impartiality and authority. The adoption of codes of ethics with clear rules of conduct is one of the important factors for such trust.
The second panel discussion, “Ukrainian, Foreign and International Experience of Forming Ethical Rules for Judges”, was moderated by Vasyl Lemak, a Judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine.
During this discussion, Dmytro Lukianov, Deputy Head of the High Council of Justice, Doctor of Law, Member of the National Academy of Legal Sciences of Ukraine, presented his report “Ethical Rules of Conduct for Judges (practice of the High Council of Justice)”. In particular, he spoke in detail about the peculiarities of national regulation of ethical standards and the need for their further improvement.
Vitalii Gatseliuk, Member of the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine, Candidate of Legal Sciences, delivered a report on “Integrity vs. Professional Ethics of a Judge: International Standards, Normative Definition, and Practice of Application (Based on the Experience of the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine)” and stressed that judicial ethics should balance between the requirements of integrity and professional standards of justice.
Lorena Bachmaier Winter, International Consultant of the Council of Europe, Professor of Law at the Complutense University in Madrid presented a report “Best practices and examples of developing and implementing ethical conduct rules for judges of constitutional courts: the cases of Germany and Spain”. She gave specific examples of the implementation of effective ethical control mechanisms in the constitutional jurisdictions of Europe.
Judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Viktor Gorodovenko, Viktor Kychun, Oleg Pervomayskiy, Olga Sovgyria and Galyna Yurovska, as well as other participants of the event, expressed their opinions on these issues. They highlighted that the issue of ethical standards is extremely important for the Constitutional Court, it is included in the roadmap that our country is developing as part of its accession to the EU, and the adoption of the Code of Judicial Ethics of Judges for the Constitutional Court of Ukraine is one of our country’s obligations.
During the event, the Judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine and experts also emphasised the need for clear regulation of judicial ethics in accordance with international standards, in particular the Bangalore Principles of Judicial Conduct and the CCJE recommendations. The discussion underlined the importance of introducing ethical standards that will help ensure the independence, impartiality and integrity of the Judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine.
Photo: https://ccu.gov.ua/gallery
