Negative Integrity Conclusion on Viacheslav Oleksandrovych Herheliinyk: Crimea Connection in Judicial Assessment

What Happened#

On May 5, 2025, the Public Integrity Council approved a negative integrity conclusion on Viacheslav Oleksandrovych Herheliinyk (Гергелійник В’ячеслав Олександрович), a candidate for a position at Appellate court. The conclusion was adopted by 12 of 18 members, including Hanna Lysko.

The PIC cited post-occupation trips by the candidate’s wife’s mother to Russian Federation and Crimea after its occupation as evidence of integrity violations. By treating travel to occupied Crimea as equivalent to travel to Russia and using it as grounds for a negative conclusion, the PIC implicitly recognizes Russian jurisdiction over the peninsula rather than treating it as Ukrainian territory under temporary occupation.

Hanna Lysko voted in favor of this conclusion. The Crimea-related element was cited as a direct basis for the negative finding.

The Crimea Connection#

Moreover, the candidate’s wife’s mother, Pidvalna Olena Viktorivna, repeatedly traveled to the Russian Federation and to the AR Crimea after its occupation by the Russian Federation. Specifically, the candidate’s wife’s mother crossed the state border: - at the Chaplynka checkpoint (exit) 20.06.2018; - at the Hoptivka checkpoint (exit) 21.07.2018 and Bachivsk checkpoint (entry) - 07.08.2018.

This passage treats post-occupation travel to Crimea as equivalent to travel to Russia, implicitly recognizing Russian jurisdiction over the peninsula by treating such travel as an integrity violation.

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.

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 — contradicting Ukraine’s constitutional position that Crimea is sovereign Ukrainian territory under temporary occupation.

This conclusion is part of a documented pattern: a systematic review of PIC conclusions reveals that across dozens of cases, judges and candidates were assessed negatively on the basis of connections to Crimea. The pattern was formally codified in the December 16, 2020 revised Indicators.

Verification#

• Official PIC conclusion document dated May 5, 2025.
• Electronic voting record confirming participation by Hanna Lysko (12 of 18).