The High Council of Justice has decided to temporarily suspend Judge Anatoliy Yaselsky of the Svyatoshynskyi District Court of Kyiv for two months due to the prolonged consideration of a criminal case.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Judge Yaselsky has also been required to undergo a qualification improvement course at the National School of Judges of Ukraine and to pass a qualification assessment to confirm his ability to administer justice.
Reasons for the Judge’s Suspension
The decision to suspend is related to the closure of the case against former commander of the Lviv unit of Berkut, Rostyslav Patselyak. This case concerned events from February 18, 2014, and had been under Judge Yaselsky’s jurisdiction since July 2016. After more than seven years of consideration, the court granted the defense’s motion and closed the criminal proceedings on February 29, 2024, due to the expiration of the statute of limitations.
“The High Council of Justice agrees that the court’s inability to ensure a proper consideration of the case over more than 7 years, which has attracted attention both in Ukraine and abroad, and which has significant social weight and historical importance for the state, leading to its closure, contradicts the right to a fair trial from the perspective of an ordinary reasonable person, has an extremely negative impact on the overall assessment of the judicial authority’s capability, and undermines the authority of justice. Such actions by the judge may have long-term negative consequences,” the decision regarding the judge’s disciplinary accountability states.
Details of the Case Consideration
The High Council of Justice noted that the judge violated the timelines for considering the case due to systematic negligence in organizing work, which was classified as gross negligence. Despite the complainants’ claims of possible deliberate delays in the process, no convincing evidence of intent on the part of the judge was found during the disciplinary review.
The case was considered for over 7 years and 7 months. Only one person was accused, with 79 witnesses and 78 victims, of whom 47 were interrogated. Four episodes related to the events of one day, which lasted only two hours in one location, were examined. At the time of its closure, the case materials amounted to 58 volumes.
“Considering the above, the case was not so complex as to completely objectively prevent its consideration within a reasonable time,” states the decision of the High Council of Justice.