The Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine’s parliament) voted for the bill to eliminate the notorious Kyiv District Administrative Court (KDAC) on 13 December, according to Mykhailo Zhernakov, the head of the Ukrainian non-government organization Dejure.
310 out of 450 MPs of the Verkhovna Rada voted for the bill that Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy submitted to the parliament on April 2021, marking it as urgent. According to the newly enacted law, the KDAC has ceased to exist. It will be replaced by the Kyiv City District Administrative Court, which has to be established from scratch.
The KDAC was involved in a number of scandals in the past. It became a symbol of judicial corruption and impunity in Ukraine. The court chairman Pavlo Vovk made the headlines on numerous occasions related to corruption scandals. Currently, Vovk is wanted in Ukraine.
Vovk is accused of creating a criminal organization and seizing power based on intercepts released by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine.
Kyiv judge suspected of planning to seize power declared wanted by anti-graft watchdog
The US government sanctioned Pavlo Vovk on 9 December 2022 under the so-called “Magnitsky Act,” which punishes people involved in large-scale corruption, persecution, and human rights violations, and includes a ban on entry to the United States.
“The Department of State is designating Vovk for soliciting bribes in return for interfering in judicial and other public processes,” according to the statement of the Department of State.
USA sanctions notorious Kyiv judge declared wanted by Ukrainian anti-graft watchdog
Despite the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, the restart of the country’s years-long anti-corruption and judicial reforms is in Ukraine’s best interest. The liquidation of the most notorious court in Ukraine is an important step on the way to rebooting corrupt institutions and reforming the judicial system.
