The High Council of Justice dismissed five judges upon their retirement requests
The HCJ decided to dismiss, due to the submission of resignation letters:
Irma Yelizarenko – from the position of judge of the Dnipro Court of Appeal;
Tetiana Prykolota – from the position of judge of the Lviv Court of Appeal;
Nadiia Zeikan – from the position of judge of the Zarichne District Court of Rivne Region;
Tetiana Pryzhyhalinska – from the position of judge of the Synelnykove City District Court of Dnipropetrovsk Region;
Nataliia Polovinkina – from the position of judge of the Chernivtsi Court of Appeal.
The HCJ will submit to the President of Ukraine a motion to appoint 12 judges to appellate courts:
Oksana Bondar – to the position of judge of the Zhytomyr Court of Appeal;
Maksym Nesterenko – to the position of judge of the Sumy Court of Appeal;
Yana Peten – to the position of judge of the Sumy Court of Appeal;
Dmytro Sizov – to the position of judge of the Sumy Court of Appeal;
Olena Skitnevska – to the position of judge of the Zhytomyr Court of Appeal;
Andrii Khudyk – to the position of judge of the Sumy Court of Appeal;
Serhii Kostiukovych – to the position of judge of the Zhytomyr Court of Appeal;
Kostiantyn Shalota – to the position of judge of the Zhytomyr Court of Appeal;
Tetiana Kanyhina – to the position of judge of the Seventh Administrative Court of Appeal;
Olena Bestachenko – to the position of judge of the Northern Commercial Court of Appeal;
Yevhen Vasyliev – to the position of judge of the Eastern Commercial Court of Appeal;
Yana Zolotarova – to the position of judge of the Central Commercial Court of Appeal.
Two judges have been temporarily suspended from administering justice based on the decisions of the HCJ Disciplinary Chambers
Serhii Lipchanskyi, a judge of the Mariinskyi District Court of Donetsk Region (seconded to the Apostolove District Court of Dnipropetrovsk Region), has been temporarily suspended from administering justice pursuant to a decision of the Second Disciplinary Chamber of the HCJ. The decision to hold the judge disciplinarily liable and to apply a disciplinary sanction in the form of a submission for dismissal was adopted by the Second Disciplinary Chamber of the HCJ on 12 November 2025.
Nataliia Kriuchko, a judge of the Podil District Court of Poltava, has been temporarily suspended from administering justice pursuant to a decision of the First Disciplinary Chamber of the HCJ. The decision to hold the judge disciplinarily liable and to apply a disciplinary sanction in the form of a submission for dismissal was adopted by the First Disciplinary Chamber of the HCJ on 17 November 2025.
Members of the HCJ took part in a study visit to the Republic of Croatia
The Deputy Chair of the HCJ, Oksana Kvasha, and HCJ member Oleksii Melnyk, together with representatives of the Supreme Court, the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, the Office of the Prosecutor General, and other institutions of the justice system and European integration, took part in a study visit to the Republic of Croatia, supported by the EU project “Pravo-Justice”.
The visit aimed to deepen cooperation between Ukrainian and Croatian justice institutions, exchange practical experience on adapting the judiciary to European standards, and strengthen the institutional capacity of judicial governance bodies. Representatives of the Ukrainian judiciary studied Croatia’s experience in reforming its judicial system during the country’s accession to the EU.
171 judges were dismissed between January and September 2025.
Under general grounds, 138 judges were dismissed, namely:
- 129 judges — in connection with the submission of resignation letters;
- 9 judges of local courts — in connection with resignation upon personal request.
Under special grounds, the High Council of Justice dismissed 33 judges, namely:
- 25 judges — for committing significant disciplinary misconduct;
- 8 judges — on the basis of subparagraph 4 of paragraph 16¹ of Section XV “Transitional Provisions” of the Constitution of Ukraine, following submissions with recommendations from the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine.
- 52 judges to local general courts;
- 3 judges to local commercial courts;
- 1 judge to local administrative courts;
- 15 judges to appellate general courts;
- 18 judges to appellate commercial courts;
- 19 judges to appellate administrative courts;
- 2 judges to the High Anti-Corruption Court.
A total of 100 judges were subjected to disciplinary liability from January to October 2025
During this period, based on the outcomes of disciplinary proceedings, the Disciplinary Chambers of the HCJ adopted 97 decisions on bringing 100 judges to disciplinary liability and applying the following types of disciplinary sanctions:
- a warning — applied to 49 judges;
- a reprimand with deprivation of the right to receive salary supplements for one month — applied to 15 judges;
- a severe reprimand with deprivation of the right to receive salary
- supplements for three months — applied to 5 judges;
- a submission on temporary suspension from administering justice (from one to six months) — applied to 1 judge;
- a submission on dismissal — applied to 30 judges.