Negative Integrity Conclusion on Kravchenko Maksym Volodymyrovych: Crimea Connection in Judicial Assessment

What Happened#

On November 11, 2025, the Public Integrity Council approved a negative integrity conclusion on Kravchenko Maksym Volodymyrovych (Кравченко Максим Володимирович), a candidate for a position at Court of Appeals. The conclusion was adopted by 12 of 19 members.

The PIC treated the candidate’s repeated post-occupation trips to Crimea and possession of an apartment there as integrity violations, questioning his lack of ‘urgent need’ for such visits. By evaluating property ownership and family visits to Crimea as security risks requiring justification under Ukrainian law, the PIC effectively recognizes Russian jurisdiction over the peninsula.

The Crimea-related element was cited as a direct basis for the negative conclusion.

The Crimea Connection#

The candidate repeatedly crossed the administrative border after the occupation and accompanied his minor daughter to temporarily occupied Crimea and has an apartment there… The candidate crossed the administrative border with temporarily occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea at least three times through crossing point 601 (Chongar) between 04.06.2016-05.06.2016, 21.07.2016-23.07.2016, 07.08.2016-10.08.2016.

This quote demonstrates how the PIC treats crossing into Crimea as crossing an ‘‘administrative border’’ rather than an international border, and evaluates property ownership in Crimea as grounds for integrity concerns, thereby implicitly recognizing Russian jurisdiction.

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 November 11, 2025, available on the Council’s public website.
• Electronic voting record confirming the vote count and participating members.