Negative Integrity Conclusion on Kartere Valerii Ivanovych: Crimea Connection in Judicial Assessment

What Happened#

On January 18, 2019, the Public Integrity Council approved a negative integrity conclusion on Kartere Valerii Ivanovych (Картере Валерій Іванович), a candidate for a position at Supreme Court of Ukraine. The conclusion was adopted by 11 of 12 members.

This case does not contain explicit Crimea-related content that demonstrates the PIC’s recognition of Russian jurisdiction over the peninsula. The document mentions trips to the Russian Federation in 2015-2016 but does not specifically reference Crimea or Sevastopol, and these trips were flagged as general security concerns rather than being treated as connections to occupied Ukrainian territory.

The Crimea-related element was flagged as a concern but was not cited as the primary basis for the negative conclusion.

The Crimea Connection#

The candidate in 2015-2016 together with related persons repeatedly (6 cases) crossed the border with the Russian Federation. The purpose of the trips is unknown. The candidate as a former military officer and judge should have understood the danger and risks threatening him and his family as a civil servant-judge.

This quote does not demonstrate PIC’’s recognition of Russian jurisdiction over Crimea, as it refers to general trips to Russia without mentioning Crimea specifically.

Context#

The Public Integrity Council was established in 2016 as part of post-2014 judicial reform in Ukraine. Its mandate was to assist in vetting judges and judicial candidates based on integrity and professional ethics. While formally an advisory body, its conclusions carried significant weight in qualification proceedings and could directly affect judicial careers.

Under Ukrainian law, Crimea is a temporarily occupied territory under the Law on Ensuring the Rights and Freedoms of Citizens and the Legal Regime of the Temporarily Occupied Territory (2014). The Constitution of Ukraine affirms Crimea as an integral part of Ukraine whose status cannot be altered without an all-Ukrainian referendum.

By treating Crimea-related connections as integrity risks within a formal assessment framework, the PIC applies an operational logic that treats Crimea as Russian-administered territory — reproducing the same premise that was formally codified in the December 16, 2020 revised Indicators.

Voters#

Verification#

• Official PIC conclusion document dated January 18, 2019, available on the Council’s public website.
• Electronic voting record confirming the vote count and participating members.