Security of the judiciary power for sustainable development: a Ukrainian case

In this article, we have explored the constitutional principles of judicial security on the example of Ukraine. We found that researchers have not paid enough attention to the security system of the judiciary in Ukraine in the framework of sustainable development. We used the doctrinal legal research methodology to answer four research questions. First, we explored the content of the security concept in Ukrainian law. Secondly, we have established the extent to which the Constitution of Ukraine covers the security of the judiciary. Third, we described the distinction between internal and external threats to the security of the judiciary. Fourth, we have summarized the specific threats to the security of the judiciary mentioned in the Constitution of Ukraine. For each of the issues, we have provided recommendations to achieve sustainable development of Ukraine in the course of legal reform. As part of the discussion, we voiced recommendations for the participation of judicial self-government and the Higher Council of Justice in ensuring the security of the judiciary. Our results complement the knowledge of the legal nature and constitutional principles of the judiciary. The presented recommendations can be used in formulating proposals for sustainable development strategies and directions of judicial reform

Theory of judicial security

In this article, we have attempted to generalise the current theory of judicial security. We emphasised that traditionally the judicial security theory includes a set of scientific views on the security of the court, judge, justice system and participants in the trial, and the status of the Judicial Protection Service. We briefly described the history of judicial security and drew attention to the reforms of recent years. An analysis of international judicial standards has shown that the security of the judiciary correlates to its independence. We proposed an interdisciplinary adaptation of the judicial security methodology, considering the limitations of specialised research on the subject. As a result, we concluded that the lack of a sole methodological guideline produces uncorrelated changes in the judicial security system elements. To systematise the theory of security of the judiciary, we propose to consider the methodological basis of international standards of justice.

Explication of the contemporal concept of ensuring the security of the judiciary

Aim. The purpose of the study was to substantiate the recommendations for the development of the concept of ensuring the security of the judiciary. Materials and methods. The study is performed based on dialectical and systematic approaches using methods of analysis, synthesis, abstraction, and generalization, as well as formal-dogmatic and structural-logical methods. The information base of the study was the scientific works of foreign and domestic scientists, the laws of Ukraine, and bylaws. Results. According to the results of the study, the hypothesis of low dynamics of development of the conceptual foundations of ensuring the security of the judiciary due to the low relevance of this issue was refuted. The hypothesis of the complexity of the development of the concept due to the interdisciplinary nature of research concerning the security of the judiciary has been confirmed. A new methodological approach is proposed, which can be used as a basis for substantiating the directions of development of conceptual bases for the formation of the organizational and legal mechanism for ensuring the security of the judiciary. Conclusions. The results of the study confirmed the dynamic nature of the concept of judicial security. Emphasis was placed on the expediency of clarifying the theoretical and methodological principles of the security of the judiciary to form a proper foundation for the continuation of judicial reform in this area. It is noted, that at the present stage the conceptual principles of ensuring the security of the judiciary are fragmented, which is explained by the interdisciplinary nature of the issue and the intersectoral nature of the legal institution. According to the results of the study, the methodological principles of substantiation of the directions of development of conceptual bases of formation of the organizational and legal mechanism of ensuring the security of the judiciary are outlined

Constitution-Making under UN Auspices

As an 18th century ‘standard of civilization,’ the Western liberal constitution has since been integral to public international law and colonial trusteeship. This book is the first comprehensive treatment of the ostensible purposes why international organizations have internationalized this Constitution: from the League of Nations in Danzig, to the UN starting from Libya in 1949, and from 1989-2018, in more than forty poor states including most recently in Colombia and The Gambia. This pioneering study sets the Constitution’s internationalization via United Nations Constitutional Assistance (UNCA) at centre-stage. The Constitution’s salience makes its post-1989 rise via UNCA the most significant post-Cold War development, one which has spawned and shaped all other legal and political developments. For example, the internationalization of this Constitution (subsumed under the ‘rule of law’ label) drives the famed post-1989 rule of law movement, shaping all sectors from electoral, judicial, security, and parliamentary to international criminal and transitional justice. This Constitution’s internationalization is traced, from France’s drafting of Turkey’s 1856 monetary laws, British lawyer, Travis Twiss’ drafting of Congo’s 1885 constitution to the constitutional assistance offered by the League of Nations during the inter-war period and from 1949, by its successor, the United Nations and through a combined historical international constitutional framework, UNCA’s legitimacy is appraised. Through this new constitutional history of trusteeship, Sripati demonstrates that creating an equitable order requires considering seriously why sovereign states’ constitution-making is being internationalized. The book concludes by arguing that UNCA continues its trusteeship role. UNCA makes a new fiscally oriented addition to the ‘standards of civilization’: ‘transparent, inclusive and participatory’ constitution-making.

Theoretical and legal problems of state control over the judicial security service

The article discloses the essence and legal foundations of state control over the activities of the Judicial Security Service and covers the main theoretical and legal problems in this area. The author examines the approaches of domestic scientists to the essence of the concept of control and state control in the field of justice. It has been established that scientists consider state control in a narrow sense as control of the executive authorities. However, the state control over the Judicial Security Service is carried out by the State Judicial Administration – a state body in the justice system that belongs to the judicial branch of government, therefore it exercises state control. Thus, the concept of state control goes beyond the limits of the activities of executive authorities, requires analysis and further research. The article analyzes the legal acts regulating the powers of the subjects exercising state control over the Judicial Security Service. It has been determined that the main subject of state control over the activities of the Judicial Security Service is the State Judicial Administration of Ukraine. It has been established that the High Council of Justice is a control and oversight body in the field of justice with a wide range of functions and powers and directly acts as a subject of state control in relation to the Judicial Security Service. It is concluded that state control over the activities of the Judicial Security Service is a system of organizational and legal forms of ensuring compliance with the principle of the rule of law, the fulfillment of tasks, and the implementation of managerial decisions in the activities of the Judicial Security Service, which is carried out on the basis and within the framework of the legislation by the State Judicial Administration and the Supreme Council of Justice to ensure the safety and independence of the court.

The Notary Service - Justice Services

The aim of this study is to explore the role and the importance of the notary service in the process of dejudicialization of the judicial-civil protection. In this context, this paper first of all attempts to examine the extent to which the issues from the traditional competence of the court (usually non-litigious) have been transferred to notary publics and the possibilities of further extension of this transfer. The judicial framework for the transfer of these issues from the court competences to that of notary publics has been decided by the Law on Non-Litigious Procedure (2008). In supporting this law, the notary publics undertook the realization of a series of activities in this field, namely in the field of inheritance. In this respect, the idea of this paper was to try to identify other judicial issues that could perhaps be entrusted to the notary publics in the future, by carrying out a judicial-political assessment of the public interest to transfer the resolution of certain issues to notary publics′ competences with the aim of facilitating the judicial circulation and increasing judicial security.

JUDGE SAFETY PROBLEMATIC ASPECTS

This article reveals the content of ensuring the safety of courts in the aspect of their independence. Provided a list of regulations that govern the protection of judges at the national level and internationally. The funds that the state provides to protect the life and health of judges have also been investigated. The evolution of providing the courthouse with means of protection is considered: what they were at the beginning of the formation of Ukrainian independence and up to our time. The activities of the bodies that provide protection to judges are analyzed, the essence of their work and the functions that are assigned to them are considered. Many types of threats to judges are considered. These include attacks in the courtroom, protests under the courthouse, attacks on a judge under his house, threats by phone and SMS, threats from the side of the person being sentenced and many others. Examples from life when there was a threat to the life and health of judges are given. An explanation was given as to what is the reason for this danger to judges and what is the source of the dangers to the profession. It is noted what negative consequences such destabilization leads to. All the novels that have been introduced in the field of protecting the life and health of judges are mentioned. In particular, what posts and bodies were created to ensure security. The paper contains proposals that were submitted by the Congress of Judges to improve the situation. The article discusses in detail what the work of the Judicial Protection Service is and what progress has taken place since this body began its work. Lists the powers that have been granted to the Judicial Security Service and what measures it can use to deal with offenders. The procedure for granting protection to a judge, in which cases it is applied and how the provision of protection for judges of the Supreme Anti-Corruption Court is carried out is noted.