On Possible Changes in the Legal Status of the Judicial Security Service

The purpose of the article is to conduct analysis of laws and by-laws that regulate relations on ensuring the security of the functioning of Ukrainian courts by the employees of the Judicial Security Service, of specialized scientific and practical literature, of the relevant relations; and on that basis to make suggestions for improving theoretical statements, legislation and rules of its application. Achieving the purpose became possible through the use of classical and modern methods of scientific cognition, primarily analysis. The authors have pointed out the need to intensify efforts in the area of strengthening the state’s judicial power, increasing its efficiency, guaranteeing its independence and impartiality, which is required from Ukraine by the Association Agreement between Ukraine, on the one hand, and the European Union, the European Atomic Energy Community and their Member States, on the other hand. Decent assessment was made to the state for the inclusion of norms determining the administrative and legal status of the Judicial Security Service and its employees into the Law of Ukraine “On Judiciary and the Status of Judges” and approval of the Regulations on the Judicial Security Service by the decision of the High Council of Justice dated from April 4, 2019. Instead, the authors have stated that the new state agency – the Judicial Security Service – has approximately the same competence as its predecessors – security units within the National Police of Ukraine. One of the few differences is the subordination and affiliation of the Judicial Security Service to the judicial system of Ukraine: it is accountable to the High Council of Justice and is under control of the State Judicial Administration of Ukraine. The similarity of the competence of the Judicial Security Service and various departments of the National Police of Ukraine, almost the same social and financial guarantees, as well as the administrative and legal status of the Service’s employees allowed the authors to make a suggestion on expanding the competence of the Judicial Security Service in granting it with certain powers to carry out operative and search activities in terms that must be clearly limited according to the grounds and the range of persons by the Laws of Ukraine “On Judiciary and the Status of Judges”, “On Enforcement Proceedings”, “On Operative and Search Activities” and the Regulation on the Judicial Security Service. The ade suggestions, in case of their implementation by the legislative agency of the state, should contribute to overcoming the problem of non-implementation of decisions of Ukrainian courts and, accordingly, the fulfillment of the requirements of the Association Agreement between Ukraine, on the one hand, and the European Union, the European Atomic Energy Community and their Member States, on the other hand