The constitutional body that is supposed to guarantee the independence of the judiciary and the accountability of judges has in practice turned into a structure that systematically avoids responding to documented violations. This is the High Council of Justice, whose activities have long raised questions about selectivity and passivity in the cases of individual judges. A number of materials on social networks draw attention to this.
According to information made public, it is under the tacit cover of the Chairman of the Supreme Court of Justice Hryhoriy Usyk that the activities of the investigating judge of the Lychakiv District Court of Lviv, Volodymyr Marmash, continue to function. For years, his decisions have created a special procedural regime for the territorial administration of the BEB in the Lviv region. The materials indicate that the judge makes decisions that contradict the principles of legality and provide detectives with stable advantages in proceedings.
The key to the scheme is called manipulation of territorial jurisdiction and interference in the automated distribution of cases. The materials that BEB submits through a formally rented, but actually unused premises at 35 Stryyska Street, are automatically transferred to the jurisdiction of the Lychakiv Court. Further, as stated in the appeals, over 90% of such materials end up in the proceedings of Judge Marmash, which excludes coincidence and indicates possible interference in the distribution system.
In procedural actions, the judge allegedly demonstrates complete disregard for the standards of judicial proceedings. According to publications, he systematically refuses to examine evidence and, without analysis, grants the requests of the BEB detectives for searches and access to documents. Such rulings actually legitimize the actions of the detectives, who, according to the authors, choose objects of pressure among businesses, and the court provides legal registration.
Despite the recorded appeals and the published facts, the High Council of Justice remains passive. According to the authors of the publications, the body does not take any response measures and in fact creates an atmosphere of complete immunity for the participants in the schemes.
