Ukraine borrows the experience of France and Germany – will recruit civil servants as judges.

Civil servants of categories 'A' and 'B' will have the opportunity to participate in competitions for positions of judges of the Specialized District Administrative Court and the Specialized Appellate Administrative Court. This was stated by Deputy Minister of Justice Oleksandr Banchuk in an interview with 'Hlavkom'.

According to him, involving civil servants in the administration of justice is a common practice in France and Germany (the historical homelands of administrative justice) where civil servants transition to judges and vice versa. Local civil servants who have moved to work in administrative courts are actually well acquainted with the specifics of the category of cases.

As for the theoretical conflict of interest related to the judge's previous place of work (work in a ministry or other state structures - 'Hlavkom'), it is removed by his self-rejection or disqualification, the official noted.

«In our case, willing civil servants of categories 'A' and 'B' will undergo a thorough verification by the Expert Council and the High Qualification Commission of Judges. I am confident: the presence of top civil servants in the ranks of the newly created administrative courts will have a positive effect», emphasized Oleksandr Banchuk.

The Deputy Minister of Justice noted that previously the evaluation criteria for candidates for judges were much lower than now. Therefore, the task now is to recruit new people to the Specialized District Administrative Court and the Specialized Appellate Administrative Court, 'whose backgrounds would not raise significant concerns in expert circles'.

In addition to civil servants of categories 'A' and 'B', lawyers, scholars, and judges may also apply for positions as judges of the Specialized District Administrative Court and the Specialized Appellate Administrative Court.

As reported by 'Hlavkom', on February 26, 2025, the Verkhovna Rada approved in the second reading and in general the draft law by MP Serhiy Vlasenko on the establishment and functioning of the Specialized District Administrative Court and the Specialized Appellate Administrative Court. These courts replace the District Administrative Court of Kyiv, which was liquidated in December 2022.