THE VALUE OF MORAL AND ETHICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF CANDIDATES ON THE PATH TO A QUALITY JUDICIAL CORPS

Abstract

The proper election of representatives of the judicial profession, recognition of professional qualied personnel with high moral and ethical potential as the holders of judicial power is a truly urgent task for our country, the successful solution of which directly correlates with the quality and eciency of domestic judicial proceedings. This publication focuses on the scientic understanding and analysis of the legal regulation of moral and ethical qualities of candidates for the position of a judge as a condition for the qualitative formation of the judiciary in Ukraine. The paper highlights a number of positive legislative changes in terms of regulating the requirements for candidates for the position of a judge, which will determine the moral and ethical foundation of their future professional activity. Examples include the enshrinement of the requirement of integrity as a condition for holding the position of a judge, the provision for the condition of having high moral and professional qualities for election as a judge authorized to conduct criminal proceedings against minors, the establishment of a provision for checking the personal moral and psychological qualities of candidates for the position of a judge (if such a need is determined by the High Qualication Commission of Judges of Ukraine), etc. The positions of researchers who, in studying the problem of censorship for the position of a judge, assigned an important place to objective indicators of the moral qualities of the applicant, were positively evaluated. It was substantiated that the moral and ethical characteristics of the bearers of judicial power are the foundation for their e‑ective administration of justice. They act as internal imperatives that form the basis of judges' interaction with other participants in the judicial process, allowing the judge to remain resistant to the temptation to put their own interests or the interests of others above the prestige of the judicial profession, the tasks and principles of the judiciary. Fully sharing the views of researchers and agreeing with the legislator's approach to the need for moral and ethical potential in judicial candidates, the publication establishes that the practical implementation of these provisions is problematic due to the vagueness and lack of a clear denition of moral and ethical requirements and a number of personal qualities of candidates. The author substantiates the need for regulatory disclosure of the content of the main categories which dene personal qualities of a person, such as decency, honesty, justice, etc., which would facilitate the e‑ective application of the relevant provisions in the practice of judicial selection and in cases of bringing a judge to justice on the basis of deviation from the specied moral guidelines. The work also establishes the need to dene clear methods for verifying the personal and moral qualities of judicial candidates, which are currently absent, in order to form a high-quality judiciary.