The judicial system of the Donetsk People's Republic was enlarged – according to the decree of Alexander Zakharchenko, the Head of the DPR, dated May 19, 2017, 24 more judges of the first instance were appointed.
All the candidates were carefully selected, and on April 29, 2017 a meeting of the personnel commission took place which resulted in the decision to recommend them for their appointment as judges.
And today, on June 15, 2017, the newly appointed judges took oath, vowing to "fairly and conscientiously carry out their duties, administer justice, obey only the law, be impartial and just."
The text of the oath was read by the oldest of the judges – Ivan Podolyanchuk, appointed as the judge in Debaltsevo.
Eduard Yakubovskiy, the Chairman of the Supreme Court, addressed the audience with words of encouragement:
“We live in difficult conditions and you will have to work in conditions of constantly changing legislation. Moreover, during this period high responsibility lies on the shoulders of the judges, for all our decisions are not only of legal, but also of political nature. And if before the judge could "hide" behind the provisions of the law on the "depoliticization" of the judicial system, now there is no way escaping politics. The very existence of our judicial system is already politics. After all, even when at the international level they say that we should not work here, that we should not create here a judicial system, we, by our existence and work, show the opposite: that the Republic believes that the rights of its citizens should be protected just as they are protected in countries with a richer history, and which are members of the United Nations. And now the fate of our state will largely depend on how you will treat people, how well you will know the legislation, how motivated, legitimate and justified your decisions will be.”
