The High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) has started to work in Ukraine today, September 5.
The date was set at a meeting of HACC judges on May 7, 2019.
Read alsoOlena Tanasevych elected chair of Ukraine's High Anti-Corruption Court
From now on, corrupt criminal cases, both new and those that are being heard in other courts, must be referred to the High Anti-Corruption Court.
As UNIAN reported earlier, the Verkhovna Rada on June 7, 2018, adopted a draft law, submitted by the president, on the High Anti-Corruption Court. The document establishes that the HACC is a permanently functioning specialized court, part of Ukraine's judiciary. Twenty-seven judges shall be appointed to the HACC and 12 to the Appeals Chamber.
The HACC's judges and those of the HACC Appeals Chamber took an oath on April 11, 2019.
On May 7, Judge Olena Tanasevych was elected HACC chair, while Yevhen Kruk was appointed HACC deputy chair.
On July 8, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky submitted to the Verkhovna Rada bill No. 10426 suggesting that the High Anti-Corruption Court focus only on top corruption. According to the president's press service, the bill will eliminate the potential problem of overloading HACC judges and will ensure effective consideration of criminal cases related to top officials.
