Kyiv court websites restrict access to data on judges

Illustration by the IMI

Kyiv district courts have restricted access to the judge lists on their websites, as instructed by the State Judicial Administration (SJA). In turn, the state-owned company Judicial Information Systems says that courts may add a “Court Phonebook” section to the Judicial Authority of Ukraine portal.

This was reported to the Institute of Mass Information by Roman Vasylniak, a Human Rights Platform lawyer who appealed to the courts and to Judicial Information Systems to restore access to the data on judges on the courts’ websites.

The Shevchenkivskyi and Podilskyi District Courts of Kyiv informed the lawyer that access to data on the courts' composition had been temporarily suspended by the state-owned company Judicial Information Systems, which administrates the Judicial Authority of Ukraine web portal. This was done in compliance with the instructions by the State Judicial Administration and in order to "prevent threats to the life and health of judges and participants in the judicial process under martial law."

The Shevchenkivskyi District Court pointed out in their reply that they were technically unable to restore the access and the court's management was unaware of the reasons and feasibility of such a restriction as of November 2024. At the same time, the court said that data on the composition of judges was displayed in the "Court Phonebook" section.

The Podilskyi District Court replied to the lawyer that restoring access to the lists of judges "does not fall within the court’s authority."

Judicial Information Systems informed Roman Vasylniak that the State Judicial Administration had temporarily restricted such access with a letter dated August 31, 2022. However, on April 8, 2024, the State Judicial Administration wrote in a letter that posting information on court websites was allowed upon request by the court management, adding that neither the Shevchenkivskyi nor the Podilskyi District Courts have asked them to open sections on the Judicial Authority of Ukraine portal in a centralized manner.

Judicial Information Systems noted that courts could add a “Court Phonebook” section to the Judicial Authority of Ukraine portal.

At the time of reporting, data on the composition of judges was hidden for all Kyiv district courts. The message displayed instead reads: "Access temporarily suspended to prevent threats to the life and health of judges and trial participants under martial law. Courts administer justice in an uninterrupted mode unless there is a threat to the life and health of the parties to the case.”

Roman Vasylniak told the IMI that he was searching for data on judges and found out that information on the composition of some district courts in Kyiv was available on the website of the Judiciary of Ukraine, while in case of some other courts it was not.

“As a lawyer, I want to know who exactly is the judge. I was looking up information about a judge and went to this section. I went there and saw that access to this information was restricted,” Roman Vasylniak said.

He added that it was not difficult to find information on judges, because this data is available in phonebooks and on the website of the court case auto-distribution. Data on judges is also accessible on the website of the National Agency for Corruption Prevention.

“That is, detailed information on judges, such as their property, is public, but information about the composition of the court is hidden. And it is hidden in Kyiv. If this was an area near the frontline, I would understand. Or if it was about courts that were at risk of occupation. But the situation in Kyiv is definitely no worse than in Chernihiv or Kharkiv,” the lawyer noted.

He mentioned the Holosiivskyi District Court giving open access to this information as an example, adding that he took a screenshot from the website to prove to his colleagues that not all district courts restrict access to information about the composition of the court. However, while talking to an IMI representative, he opened that section of the Holosiivskyi District Court website and the information had already been restricted.

Kateryna Dyachuk, Valentyna Troyan