Ukrainian Member of Parliament with the Holos (Voice) Party Yaroslav Yurchyshyn says criminal proceedings have been initiated against judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine (CCU) over their possible conspiracy to seize power in the country.
"At my initiative, proceedings have been launched on a possible conspiracy of constitutional judges to seize state power. This will allow dismissing the judges complicit in the offense without destroying the Constitutional Court institution and to select proper candidates for judicial appointment through competition," he wrote on Facebook on October 30.
Constitutional Court vs anti-corruption reform: Background
On October 27, the CCU, on the motion of 47 legislators, handed down a judgment rescinding Article 366-1 of the Criminal Code, which provides for liability for inaccurate asset declaration by government officials.
Also, the CCU recognized the provisions of the laws on e-declarations' vetting as unconstitutional and stripped the relevant watchdog, the National Agency on Corruption Prevention of powers to vet declarations and identify conflicts of interest.
The CCU deprived the NACP of access to state registers required for vetting declarations of candidates for government offices, thus blocking the appointment of officials, including those who won in the latest local elections across Ukraine.
The NABU said that as a result of the CCU move, all criminal cases probing inaccurate asset declaration shall be closed, while officials exposed on abuse will avoid responsibility.
On October 28, pursuant to the CCU ruling, the NACP shut down public access to the Unified State Register of Asset Declarations, which was restored overnight Friday in line with the Cabinet decision following public outrage.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on October 29 submitted to Parliament a draft law, offering an early termination of powers of the Constitutional Court's entire composition.
Thousands are rallying outside the CCU HQ in Kyiv against the anti-corruption reform rollback, demanding that the judges step down voluntarily.
