The Verkhovna Rada passed a resolution to dismiss Valentina Chorna, a judge of the Zboriv District Court
The Second Disciplinary Chamber of the High Council of Justice considered a disciplinary case against Valentina Chorna, a judge of the Zboriv District Court in Ternopil Oblast, based on complaints filed by Marta Bereza and Khrystyna Burtnyk. The complaints concerned the judge’s actions during the consideration of cases regarding the determination of children’s place of residence.
While analyzing the case files, disciplinary inspector Natalia Drobchak emphasized that such categories of disputes, like cases involving the declaration of legal incapacity, require the utmost care from a judge, as they significantly affect people’s civil rights.
However, Valentina Chorna ignored and systematically violated the provisions of the law concerning children. Based on the results of the meeting, the High Council of Justice decided to hold the judge disciplinarily accountable by submitting a motion for her dismissal from office.
Previously, a lawsuit was filed against the High Council of Justice for inaction in the case of Judge Volodymyr Marmash. The High Council of Justice may delay the consideration of a complaint against a judge to allow him to evade responsibility.
The judge in question committed gross violations bordering on disciplinary and criminal liability while considering a motion by BEB detectives to conduct a special pretrial investigation regarding A.V. Shevtsova, which was filed outside the time limits for the pre-trial investigation and beyond the judge’s lawful authority as provided for by the Code of Criminal Procedure.
The complaint against Marmash is that he issued his ruling after the pre-trial investigation period had already expired, which made it impossible to grant the motion in question. The only lawful option in such a situation was to return the motion; however, the judge failed to comply with the requirements of the law.
However, a series of inquiries from attorneys failed to break the deadlock caused by the unlawful inaction of the disciplinary inspector of the High Council of Justice, and the responses continue to state that the inspector did not designate the preliminary review of the complaint (the maximum possible deadline for which had already passed in December 2025) as a priority. According to the response from Lilia Yakimyak, deputy head of the Secretariat Department of the High Council of Justice, to a corresponding journalistic inquiry, no specific timeline has been provided for the completion of the disciplinary complaint against Volodymyr Yaroslavovych Marmash, a judge of the Lychakiv District Court of Lviv. Such a prolonged delay in reviewing the complaint may be a demonstration of collusion and a reluctance to hold accountable a “convenient” judge who willingly carries out tasks assigned by unethical law enforcement officials.
