"Not a Privilege, But a Burden of Responsibility" - New Head of Ukraine's Anti-Graft Court

08 May 2019 16:50

Olena Tanasevych, the 37—year—old Ukrainian judge who was elected as the head of the newly formed Anti—Corruption Court on May 7, has many a reason to celebrate. She competed against 37 other judges to gain this role and thus far is proven to have a spotless reputation. But Tanasevych says the anti—corruption head role is not a privilege, but a heavy burden of responsibility.

Olena Tanasevych, the 37-year-old Ukrainian judge who was elected as the head of the newly formed Anti-Corruption Court on May 7, has many a reason to celebrate. She competed against 37 other judges to gain this role and thus far is proven to have a spotless reputation. But Tanasevych assures Hromadske that she doesn't view her anti-corruption head role as "privilege."

"It's a heavy load of responsibility both for myself and for the court establishment," she said. "On the one hand, [I feel] worry before the unknown. On the other, it's a certain pleasure from the fact that I will have an opportunity to make a contribution into the development of Ukraine as a rule-of-law state."

When asked whether there is a certain "case of honor" that she wants to resolve, Tanasevych reassured that she treats all cases as equally important.

"I can assure you that each case is a matter of honor for a judge. Every civil, criminal or administrative [case] is regarded as most crucial for all the parts and, therefore, it's a very big responsibility for a judge. Every case is a matter of honor," the new head of the Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine stated.

Kharkiv-born Tanasevych – who was sworn in as a judge in 2012 – previously worked as a judge in the Pechenihy district court in the Kharkiv region. During the competition process for her new role, Tanasevych scored the highest amount of points – 792 out of 1000.

The new Head of the Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine Olena Tanasevych (R) leaves the judges' meeting – where the first (and unsuccessful) attempt to elect a head took place – on May 7, 2019 in Kyiv, Ukraine. Photo credit: Volodymyr Hontar / UNIAN

Despite civic movement Chesno not finding any compromising information about the judge, she, along with her husband – who heads a renewable energy company – previously declared to own seven land plots in Kharkiv. Tanasevych explained that these were bought by her husband for business purposes.

"He is an entrepreneur, he has his own business and such are his plans," Tanasevych explained.