The head of the Supreme Court Vsevolod Knyazev confirmed the fact of the collaboration of a judge from the Lugansk region with the Russian invaders. Several other employees of the judiciary are being secretly checked by the Security Service of Ukraine, Knyazev said in an interview with ZN. U.A..

“Today, there are collaborators in all law enforcement agencies and public authorities.. Courts are no exception.. Officially really known about one case of treason. The judge and the head of the apparatus in the occupied territory of the Lugansk region entered into an agreement with representatives of the Russian Federation. As a result, a criminal case was initiated under article 111 on treason. Investigation in progress. Perhaps, there is a check on several more personalities,” he said..

At the same time, he added that most of the judges left the occupied territory and are now waiting for business trips to other courts..

“As for your question about hidden collaborators, then, of course, you won’t read everyone’s opinion. But, communicating with judges of different levels, I feel that the bulk of the people have united in the desire to defend their country and work for it.. Just like all over the country. The crimes of the Putin regime are so obvious that the majority of Ukrainians have no desire to take all this shame on themselves,” Knyazev said..

The judge added that now, when the High Council of Justice is inactive, and there is no way to appoint a new one, the justice system is looking for an opportunity to make some targeted changes to the law in order to make it possible to dismiss and hold collaborating judges accountable. At the same time, it is important not to violate the Constitution of Ukraine, which cannot be amended during the war..

“Non-dismissal is also a direct signal from the system that everything is possible. This is what a working or non-working institution means. But reform is a very delicate thing, where the main thing is not only to change, but also not to harm in pursuit of changes,” Knyazev said..

At the same time, he stressed that judges suspected of offenses in one way or another will not be able to continue justice.. After a special check by the SBU, they will not be transferred to the current court and will not get access to the register of court decisions..

When asked how many judges remained in the occupied territories, Knyazev noted that such statistics are not kept, because people changed their location too quickly and randomly.

“Those who, perhaps, are afraid to pass Russian checkpoints because of their status, remained in the occupied territories.. We have a case when the car of the judge of the Chernihiv court, in which her whole family was, was shot right at the checkpoint. And some judges stay in touch and are waiting for the transfer in order to immediately go to a new workplace,” he added..

The judiciary of Ukraine entered the war at the peak of the reset of the main judiciary. Today, all the processes of reforming the VKKS and VSP are frozen. Part of the powers - those that are not indicated in the Constitution - were transferred to the head of the Supreme Court.

How the judicial system was reformatted during the war? What are the mechanisms for identifying collaborating judges and what is done with them next?

Why is the OASK still working, where Yanukovych's lawsuit lies, and how it is fraught for our statehood? Why e-court is needed right now and who its implementation depends on? What can the critical underfunding of the Cabinet of Ministers mean for the judiciary? Read about this and much more in the interview of Inna Vedernikova with the head of the Supreme Court Vsevolod Knyazev: “I am ashamed of the decision of the members of the Supreme Court of Justice who resigned two days before the start of the war”.