An Odessa judge was punished for selectively punishing drunk drivers

The High Council of Justice has brought disciplinary charges against Vadym Ivanchuk, a judge of the Kyiv District Court of Odesa. The reason was his selective and unlawful leniency toward drunk drivers. 

This was reported by the Judicial and Legal Gazette. 

The judges issued a reprimand and suspended his salary supplements for a period of one month.

The proceedings were initiated based on a complaint regarding five cases of administrative offenses involving driving under the influence of alcohol. In these cases, Judge Ivanchuk limited himself to imposing a fine of 17,000 hryvnias, even though the law mandates a one-year suspension of the right to drive. 

He justified his decision by citing the status of the military personnel who were held accountable. However, the law explicitly prohibits taking into account the identity of the offender or mitigating circumstances when imposing penalties under this provision.

The disciplinary body determined that Vadym Ivanchuk’s practice was selective, as he had imposed sanctions in full in other similar cases. 

Two years ago, this First Disciplinary Chamber of the High Council of Justice issued a warning to the judge, also in connection with drunk drivers. But at that time, Vadym Ivanchuk had dismissed those cases entirely on the grounds that the statute of limitations had expired. 

As previously reported by Intent, the High Council of Justice ruled to dismiss Oksana Zvyagina, a judge of the Bashtanka District Court in Mykolaiv Oblast. The grounds for holding her accountable were that the judge was present at her workplace while intoxicated and had been absent from court hearings.

Юлія Калабайда