For more than seven years, the Ukrainian authorities have not been able to create a High Specialized Court for Intellectual Property (IP), but now another important initiative is on the agenda: the creation of a High Court for Public Legal Disputes (HC with PPS) . This new court will hear administrative cases involving state bodies.
The project "On Amendments to the Law of Ukraine "On the Judiciary and the Status of Judges" envisages the creation of a specialized court that will choose cases on appeals against decisions of government bodies, such as the Cabinet of Ministers, ministries, the National Bank and other bodies with national powers. In addition, the court will be competent to review the acts and actions of the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine, the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption and other state bodies.
This innovation is related to the implementation of Ukraine's plan to reform the judicial system and the implementation of the European Union's Ukraine Facility . The creation of such a court is also part of Ukraine's obligations under the memorandum with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The main features of the new court
- Jurisdiction and Jurisdiction:
- The new court will consider specific administrative cases related to the Cabinet of Ministers, ministries and central executive bodies, as well as other entities that have powers throughout Ukraine.
- Jurisdiction of public legal disputes between state bodies and officials will remain within this court, while the District Administrative Court of Kyiv will be replaced by the Supreme Court of the People's Republic of Ukraine.
- Formation of the court:
- The court will be formed with the participation of international experts through a competition held by the Higher Qualification Commission of Judges. However, the Public Integrity Council will not be involved in the selection of candidates.
- In addition to judges and lawyers, lawyers with experience in public positions, whose powers extend to the entire territory of Ukraine, may be involved in the court.
- Terms and organization:
- It is planned that the competition for the selection of candidates for the positions of Supreme Court judges from the PPS will be held within 18 months after the entry into force of the law.
- The court will work by analogy with the High Anti-Corruption Court, with an appeals chamber and the possibility of cassation review in the Supreme Court.
On the one hand, the establishment of the SC from the PPP will help to solve the issue of effective consideration of public legal disputes and reduce the burden on other courts, especially in the context of challenging the decisions of government bodies. On the other hand, if we take into account the experience with the High Specialized Court for Intellectual Property, the creation of new courts may leave open numerous problems related to their actual functioning.
