Rada fails to appoint Constitution Court judges
The Verkhovna Rada has failed to appoint two judges of the Constitutional Court.
As reported by the correspondent of the Interfax-Ukraine agency, none of the four candidates received the required number of votes (226+1). Four candidates were considered for the position of a judge of the Constitutional Court at the plenary session of the Verkhovna Rada on Wednesday, who were selected based on the results of a competitive selection: Zakhar Tropin, Oksana Klymenko, Yulia Kyrychenko, Taras Tsymbalisty.
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, Ruslan Stefanchuk, instructed the parliamentary committee on legal policy to prepare materials for announcing a new competition for the selection of candidates for the position of a judge of the Constitutional Court.
As reported, after the simultaneous resignation of three judges on January 27, 2025, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine lost its quorum and could not hold meetings of the Grand Chamber and the Second Senate. Only the First Senate continued its work.
The quorum in the Constitutional Court of Ukraine was restored in late June, when President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appointed Oleksandr Vodiannikov as a judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine under his quota. In July, the new judges held a session of the Grand Chamber, which considers the submissions of people's deputies and the President.
Currently, there are problems with holding sessions of the Grand Chamber of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, as judges have recused themselves in some cases, and their consideration has been suspended. Since the court has only 12 judges - the critically necessary number for holding a session, in the event of the recusal of one of the judges, consideration of cases becomes impossible.
On September 17, the president signed a decree appointing Yuriy Barabash as a judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine under his quota. When Barabash is sworn in, the Constitutional Court will have 13 judges out of the 18 required.
The selection of judges to the Constitutional Court of Ukraine is carried out by the Advisory Group of Experts, which is to assess the moral qualities and level of competence in the field of law of candidates from the appointing entities - the Verkhovna Rada, the President and the Congress of Judges of Ukraine.
On February 19, 2025, the State Audit Office submitted documents to the Verkhovna Rada and the President for the appointment of five judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine - two under the parliamentary quota and three under the presidential quota. So far, the President has appointed two judges - Vodiannikov and Barabash - under his quota, while the Parliament has not yet appointed judges.
The competition for the position of a judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine is also ongoing under the quota of the Congress of Judges of Ukraine.