High Council of Justice Investigates Judges for Misconduct in Odesa

The High Council of Justice has received complaints against Anatoliy Zaikin, a judge of the Odesa Court of Appeal, who has already been dismissed, and Iryna Mazun, a judge of the Malynivka District Court.

This was reported by the HCJ.

In the first case, the disciplinary inspector of the High Council of Justice considered the complaint of Oleksandr Pyrkhavko against judge of the Odesa Court of Appeal Anatolii Zaikin.

The inspection showed that on January 28, 2025, the High Council of Justice dismissed Judge Zaikin in connection with his resignation. According to the law, complaints against judges who have already been dismissed or terminated their powers are not considered.

Therefore, the disciplinary complaint was left without consideration and returned to the applicant.

In the second case, the HCJ received disciplinary complaints against the actions of Iryna Mazun, a judge of the Malynovskyi District Court of Odesa. The appeal was filed by public figure and lawyer Roman Maselko. He appealed the judge's decision in two administrative cases against drivers who were driving under the influence of alcohol but were released from liability due to insignificance.

Judge Mazun issued rulings in the cases in which she found the drivers guilty of drunken driving (part 1 of Article 130 of the Code of Administrative Offenses), but instead of punishing them, she limited herself to an oral reprimand.

The complainant emphasized that on March 17, 2021, amendments to the legislation came into force that prohibit the application of Article 22 of the Code of Administrative Offenses (exemption from liability for minority offenses) to such offenses. This means that the judge actually made a decision in violation of the current legislation.

In addition, Maselko emphasized that driving under the influence of alcohol is a serious violation that cannot be considered minor, as it poses a threat to human life and health.

In her rulings, Judge Mazun explained that the guilt of both drivers was confirmed by relevant evidence, including protocols on administrative offenses, acts of examination for alcohol intoxication, breathalyzer checks (0.25‰ and 0.27‰), and video recordings of the offenses.

However, she decided that both offenders had committed such actions for the first time, had no aggravating circumstances, and their actions had not caused negative consequences. On this basis, the judge released them from administrative liability.

The First Disciplinary Chamber of the High Council of Justice reviewed the complaints and concluded that Judge Iryna Mazun had committed a gross violation of the law by applying a rule that was no longer in force. In addition, her decisions undermine the authority of justice by justifying drunken driving.

Based on the results of the review, the HCJ decided to bring judge Iryna Mazun of the Malynovskyi District Court of Odesa to disciplinary responsibility and issue her a warning.

Ірина Глухова