IMPROVING PUBLIC CONTROL OVER THE PROFESSIONAL QUALITY OF JUDGES

The article reveals the features and improves the mechanism of public (civil) control over the professional quality of judges in Ukraine. It was found that the basic principles of public control over the professional quality of judges are regulated by the Constitution of Ukraine, the Law of Ukraine «On the Judicial System and the Status of Judges», the Resolution 1165(1998) of the Council of Europe «Right to Privacy», the Decision of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine dated 06.10.2010 No. 21-рп/2010, the Decision of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine dated 20.01.2012 No. 2-рп/2012 and the Law of Ukraine «On the restoration of confidence in the judiciary in Ukraine». It has been established that state control and public control over the activities of judges exists only in cases where there is no violation of the guarantees of independence and autonomy of the judicial branch of government. It has been determined that the main mechanism for ensuring the legality (legitimacy) of the judiciary is the development and implementation of effective public control over the quality and professionalism of the judiciary. It has been proved that public control over the activities of judges, in particular in terms of the level of quality and professionalism in the performance of the duties assigned to them, can be limited or carried out on a general basis. It was found that the exercise of public control over the activities of judges and courts should be carried out systematically, both at the stage of selection of candidates applying for the position of a judge, and at the stages of performance by judges of their official duties. In order to overcome the shortcomings in the procedure for selecting candidates for the position of a judge, it is proposed to create a special body — the institute of justices of the peace, whose members should be, first of all, citizens belonging to certain territorial communities in which a justice of the peace will be elected. It has been proven that in order to conduct public control over the activities of judges and their compliance with the requirements provided for by the position of a judge, an integral body should be formed that will consider such complaints about the actions or inaction of judges, that is, the Disciplinary Court of Ukraine. It has been determined that the prospects for further research in this direction are the improvement of existing provisions regarding social control over the quality of judicial decisions in Ukraine.