“Independence and impartiality are fundamental principles in which justice should be grounded. If these principles are undermined, the system loses its credibility, which can be very damaging to the functioning of democracy” said the Commissioner for Human Rights finishing his visit to Ukraine.

During this visit, Thomas Hammarberg noted with concern the uncertain situation of the Ukrainian Supreme Court, the large number of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights which point to certain systemic problems in Ukraine, like excessive delays in court proceedings or non-enforcement of domestic judicial rulings, or the extensive use of the preventive custody which continues to be a major human rights problem. He urged the Ukrainian authorities to apply in their ongoing legislative reform efforts the expert advice provided by the Council of Europe on the judiciary and the status of judges, criminal procedure and other legislative acts. (more...)