Public representation in commissions to select members of the judiciary: comparative analysis

This article examines specific issues of the formation of commissions for the selection of judges, which are extremely actual for Ukraine in view of the permanent search for optimal solutions capable of improving the unsatisfactory situation with Ukrainian justice. The main purpose of the research is to reveal  the importance of the role of civil society in the processes of selecting judges and to understand the benefits of public participation in selecting processes from the point of view of the legislative practices of various democratic countries, particularly the Netherlands, Great Britain, Denmark, Lithuania and the United States. The article also examines the professional diversity of persons who are involved in the selection commissions of judges, discusses the importance or irrelevance of their mandatory involvement to the legal profession as the main criterion for joining such commissions, and analyses some common approaches, observed in European countries and certain states of the US, to ensure a balance between representatives of the judicial community, other legal professions and laypersons in the formation of commissions for the selection of judges. Special attention is paid to various aspects of the formation of the judiciary in the US according to the concept proposed by the justice of the Supreme Court of the US Sandra Day O'Connor in the “O’Connor plan”. The main conclusions drawn from the results of the research are that in European countries and in a significant number of US states, the trends of active participation of public representatives in the selection commissions of judges are maintained, which is an important prerequisite for the formation of an independent, professional and responsible corps of judges. The results of the study can become a useful scientific basis for the further development of approaches to improving the activities of institutions engaged in the formation of a professional judicial community based on close cooperation with the public, as well as stimulate the development of ideas for strengthening democratic governance in judicial authorities

selection of judges, commissions for the selection of judges, evaluation of judicial activity, public participation in the formation of the judiciary, O’Connor plan