Judge in Maidan cases obtains right to work for life – lawyer

Judge of the Kyiv Administrative Court of Appeals Volodymyr Melnychuk, who is also one of the judges who delivered judgments in cases against Maidan activists, passed the qualification assessment at the High Qualification Commission of Judges.

Roman Maselko, the lawyer of the families of the killed Euromaidan activists, posted this on his Facebook page.

According to Maselko, now judge Melnychuk “can continue to calmly administer ‘justice’ for life and receive higher wages. Despite the fact he is not an ordinary judge, but the one who supported the notorious decision to ban Maidan protests.”

The lawyer said that judge Melnychuk together with judge Lychevetsky had seen no violations in the decision of judge Sanin, which had banned Maidan protests from December 1, 2013 to January 7, 2014.

“Ad hoc commission decided that these judges (Sanin, Melnychuk, and Lychevetsky) should be fired for breaking oath,” Maselko reminded.

“November 3, at a time when the Ukrainian Parliament was passing the law on the Supreme Council of Public Justice, the High Qualification Commission of Judges confirmed that judge of the Kyiv Administrative Court of Appeals Volodymyr Melnychuk could administer justice… First, the High Council of Justice and now , the High Qualification Commission of Judges decided that these judges should not be punished and meet all three criteria (competence, integrity, professional ethics), deserve being called judges, and can continue to administer justice,” the lawyer noted.

As a reminder, September 29, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted 21 resolutions on dismissal of judges. In reviewing the decision, some of the judges had broken the oath while choosing a pre-trial restriction in the form of detention for Maidan activists, as well as making decision to deprive citizens of driver’s licenses for a rally neat the residence of ex-President Viktor Yanukovych.