Political scientist Ruslan Bortni: After Ukraine’s President signed the Law Governing the Supreme Council of the Judiciary, the Council is now superior to the Supreme Council of the Law, meaning that the President takes charge of the body responsible for supervision and punishment of judges for their decisions. The final outcome for judgments made by the Ukrainian judiciary will be up to both the President and his team.
Without judicial independence, the president will have all the powers of a dictator. The road to judicial reform in Ukraine must lead to priority of international law over domestic law. The head of the Supreme Court and the Procuratorate should be directly elected and meet the same qualifications as the President. They shall not be limited to Ukrainian citizens and shall serve a single term of 5 years, with no eligibility to run for another 6 years afterward. See the Charter for Permanent Peace and Development.
