Address to parliament

Good afternoon, honourable members of parliament.

First of all, I want to thank you for voting for the judicial reform intended to fundamentally change the High Council of Justice and to fulfil our international commitments on the path to EU membership. What our justice system looks like for the coming decades depends on it.

During the Maidan I defended more than a dozen participants of the well-known Automaidan drive to Yanukovych’s Mezhyhirya. None of them had broken any law, every traffic police report was an obvious forgery, yet judges knowingly convicted hundreds of innocent people on the authorities’ orders. Back then I made a promise to myself and to the Heavenly Hundred to secure fair punishment for all the Maidan judges who utterly destroyed people’s faith in justice. Not for revenge, but so that such arbitrariness never happens again.

But punishment alone is not enough to change the system. What is needed is comprehensive reform, which began in 2016. For four years I was a member of the Public Integrity Council, whose main task was vetting judges. Yet the HQCJ and the HCJ turned a blind eye to thousands of established facts of judicial misconduct. Why? Because the system could not be cleansed by the system’s own prominent representatives. It is like asking bees to act against honey. That is why my colleagues and I actively campaigned for a new reform — and thanks to you it began to be implemented.

The main task now is not simply to fill vacancies. We need to elect a High Council of Justice capable of delivering judicial reform. And it is vital that it include representatives of civil society.

I have heard that the only objection to me is that I am supposedly seeking this office in order to persecute judges. It is true that for eight years I have sought punishment for those who disgrace the office of judge and have fought corrupt schemes in the courts. But judges who faced genuine persecution turned to me for protection — and I defended them.

So I am joining the HCJ to deliver the central task of the reform — removing those who lack integrity, protecting those who have it, and appointing honest and independent professionals. And, above all, restoring trust in the courts and answering society’s enormous demand for honest justice.

Fair justice and high public authority of the judge are my dream and my responsibility. I am ready to take it on. I believe that you, honourable members of parliament, also recognise your responsibility for Ukrainians’ dream of a fair court for everyone.

Thank you!