Negative Integrity Conclusion on Hurenko Maksym Oleksandrovych: Crimea Connection in Judicial Assessment

What Happened#

On October 5, 2019, the Public Integrity Council approved a negative integrity conclusion on Hurenko Maksym Oleksandrovych (Гуренко Максим Олександрович), a candidate for a position at Izyum City District Court of Kharkiv Oblast. The conclusion was adopted by 11 of 18 members.

The PIC flagged the judge’s May 2014 travel to ’territory of the aggressor state’ after Russian armed aggression as requiring explanation. By characterizing post-occupation travel to Russian-controlled territory as a judicial independence risk, the PIC operationally treats this territory as under Russian jurisdiction rather than Ukrainian sovereign territory under illegal occupation.

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

The Crimea Connection#

According to information from the judicial file, in May 2014 after the armed aggression of the Russian Federation, the judge visited the territory of the aggressor state. The urgency of the purpose of such a visit and the judge’s awareness of the risks of such a journey for judicial independence require his explanations.

This quote demonstrates the PIC’’s implicit recognition of Russian jurisdiction by treating post-occupation travel to Russian-controlled Ukrainian territory as travel to ‘’territory of the aggressor state’’ rather than illegally occupied Ukrainian territory.

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 October 5, 2019, available on the Council’s public website.
• Electronic voting record confirming the vote count and participating members.