Selection for the Position of a Local Court Judge: Results of the Testing of General Knowledge in the Field of Law and Specialisation of Local General Court

Please be informed, that the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine has completed testing of general knowledge in the field of law and specialisation of local general court, which lasted from August 14 to 26, 2025.

I. Composition of participants admitted to the second stage of the qualification exam – testing of general knowledge in the field of law and specialisation of the local general court.

A total of 6 754 persons were admitted to the testing of general knowledge in the field of law and specialisation of the local general court:

1. local court judges – 402:

• judges of administrative courts – 4;
• judges of commercial courts – 1;
• judges of general courts – 397;

2. candidates for the position of judge – 6 352:

• court staff –  2 482;
• Prosecutor’s Office employees – 1 690;
• attorneys– 656;
• military personnel – 213;
• representatives of other professions – 1 311.

Gender composition of participants admitted to the second stage of the qualification exam (testing of general knowledge in the field of law and specialisation of the local general court)

No.	Place of work	Women (persons)	Men (persons)	TOTAL
1.	Local court judges	223	179	402
1.1.	Administrative court judges	3	1	4
1.2.	Judges of commercial courts	0	1	1
1.3.	Judges of general courts	220	177	397
2.	Candidates for the position of judge	3346	3006	6352
2.1.	Court staff	1725	757	2482
2.2.	Prosecutor's Office employees	636	1054	1690
2.3.	Attorneys	330	326	656
2.4.	Military personnel	10	203	213
2.5.	Representatives of other professions	645	666	1311
TOTAL		3569	3185	6754

 

The overall gender balance of test participants remains relatively even:

women — 53%,

men — 47%.

There is an even gender balance among the participants in the selection process – 47% men and 53% women, and among the judges – 55% men and 45% women.

 The highest rate of female participation was recorded among court staff — 70%; the highest percentage of men — among military personnel (95%) and prosecutors (62%).

There is a relative gender balance in the categories of attorneys and representatives of other professions.

Overall, the results indicate an appropriate level of gender representation in the selection procedure.

Age composition of participants admitted to the second stage of the qualification exam –  testing of general knowledge in the field of law and specialisation of the local general court

* age at the time of submitting documents for participation in the selection
No. of the company	Place of work	From 30 to 35 years old (persons*)	From 36 to 40 years old (persons*)	41 years and older  (persons*)	TOTAL
1.	Local court judges	0	136	266	402
1.1.	Administrative court judges	0	3	1	4
1.2.	Judges of commercial courts	0	1	0	1
1.3.	Judges of general courts	0	132	265	397
2.	Candidates for the position of judge	2712	2098	1542	6352
2.1.	Court staff	1096	872	514	2482
2.2.	Prosecutor's Office employees	848	511	331	1690
2.3.	Attorneys	216	217	223	656
2.4.	Military personnel	70	69	74	213
2.5.	Representatives of other professions	482	429	400	1311
TOTAL		2712	2234	1808	6754

 

 Local court judges who intend to be transferred to another local court are mostly over 40 years old (66%), there are no judges younger than 36. This trend is justified by the long break in the possibility of exercising a judge’s right to transfer to another local court.

Among the candidates for the position of judge, almost half  of them (43%) are persons aged 30–35, and 76% of candidates are younger than 41.

Courts staff and Prosecutor’s office employees are the youngest categories: aged 30–35 — 44% and 50%, respectively.

Attorneyes, military personnel and other professions representatives have a relatively even distribution of age groups.

Regional composition of participants admitted to the second stage of the qualification exam (testing of general knowledge in the field of law and specialisation of the local  general court)

No.	Region	Judges (persons)	Candidates for the position of judge (persons)						TOTAL
			Court staff	Prosecutor’s Office employees	Attorneys	Military personnel	Other professions representatives	Total
1	Vinnytsia Oblast	14	106	78	26	9	51	270	284
2	Volyn Oblast	9	87	45	20	0	41	193	202
3	Dnipropetrovsk Oblast	40	191	244	51	11	93	590	630
4	Donetsk Oblast	48	20	11	2	2	5	40	88
5	Zhytomyr Oblast	16	92	62	21	8	33	216	232
6	Transcarpathian Oblast	6	55	34	17	2	39	147	153
7	Zaporizhzhia Oblast	14	63	65	16	5	40	189	203
8	Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast	8	69	44	20	4	49	186	194
9	Kyiv Oblast	13	166	70	55	17	107	415	428
10	Kirovohrad Oblast	17	64	59	16	5	31	175	192
11	Luhansk Oblast	28	0	0	0	0	0	0	28
12	Lviv Oblast	7	203	95	46	17	117	478	485
13	Mykolaiv Oblast	16	69	65	16	5	24	179	195
14	Odesa Oblast	20	128	102	55	22	78	385	405
15	Poltava Oblast	24	101	65	26	12	60	264	288
16	Rivne Oblast	12	96	56	34	8	35	229	241
17	Sumy Oblast	22	66	61	22	4	35	188	210
18	Ternopil Oblast	5	62	33	17	5	31	148	153
19	Kharkiv Oblast	18	198	96	33	13	83	423	441
20	Kherson Oblast	9	17	9	0	2	7	35	44
21	Khmelnytskyi Oblast	10	98	42	10	5	25	180	190
22	Cherkasy Oblast	11	64	45	29	6	28	172	183
23	Chernivtsi Oblast	7	53	36	14	3	18	124	131
24	Chernihiv Oblast	25	54	75	15	8	34	186	211
25	Kyiv City	3	359	198	95	40	244	936	939
26	Another country	0	1	0	0	0	3	4	4
TOTAL		402	2482	1690	656	213	1311	6352	6754

 

The city of Kyiv confidently leads in the number of people wishing to become judges —14% of all participants.

The largest participation of candidates for the position of judge was provided by the city of Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Lviv, Kharkiv, Kyiv and Odesa Oblasts – together over 49% of the total number of candidates.

 II. Success rate of passing the testing of general knowledge in the field of law and  specialisation of  the local general court

279 persons, or 4% of the total number of participants, did not appear for the test:

1. Local general court judges – 26 persons, or 6% of the total number of persons in this group;
2. Candidates for the position of judge – 253 persons, or 4% of the total number of persons in this group;

• court staff – 62 personss, or 2% of the total number of persons in this group;
• Prosecutor’s Office employees – 83 persons, or 5% of the total number of persons in this group;
• attorneys – 22 persons, or 3% of the total number of persons in this group;
• representatives of other professions – 75 persons, or 6% of the total number of persons in this group;
• military personnel – 11 persons, or 3% of the total number of persons in this group.

The minimum acceptable test score is 75 points, or 112,5 points in case of applying the 1.5 coeficient.

The maximum test score is 100 points or 150 points in case of applying the 1.5 coeficient.

Success rate of the second stage of the qualification exam “Testing of general knowledge in the field of law and knowledge of the specialisation of the local general court”
No.	Place of work	74 points or less (or less than 111 points applying a coefficient of 1.5)		from 75 to 89 points (or from 112.5 to 133.5 points applying a coefficient of 1.5)		from 90 to 94 points (or from 135 to 141 points applying a coefficient of 1.5)		from 95 to 100 points (or from 142.5 to 150 points applying a coefficient of 1.5)		TOTAL
		persons	%	persons	%	persons	%	persons	%	persons	%
1.	Local court judges	2	0,5%	19	5,1%	29	7,7%	326	86,7%	376	100,0%
1.1.	Administrative court judges	0	0,0%	0	0,0%	0	0,0%	4	100,0%	4	100,0%
1.2.	Judges of commercial courts	0	0,0%	0	0,0%	0	0,0%	1	100,0%	1	100,0%
1.3.	Judges of general courts	2	0,5%	19	5,1%	29	7,8%	321	86,5%	371	100,0%
2.	Candidates for the position of judge	73	1,2%	781	12,8%	1082	17,7%	4163	68,3%	6099	462,4%
2.1.	Court staff	24	1,0%	271	11,2%	394	16,3%	1731	71,5%	2420	183,5%
2.2.	Prosecutor's Office employees	11	0,7%	172	10,7%	288	17,9%	1136	70,7%	1607	121,8%
2.3.	Attorneys	6	0,9%	92	14,5%	125	19,7%	411	64,8%	634	48,1%
2.4.	Military personnel	6	3,0%	37	18,3%	44	21,8%	115	56,9%	202	15,3%
2.5.	Representatives of other professions	26	2,1%	209	16,9%	231	18,7%	770	62,3%	1236	93,7%
TOTAL		75	1,2%	800	12,4%	1111	17,2%	4489	69,3%	6475	100,0%

 

In accordance with the decision of the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine dated May 12, 2025, No. 105/zp-25, the passing score for the second stage of the qualification exam (testing of general knowledge in the field of law and knowledge of the specialisation of the relevant court) is determined on the basis that candidates admitted to the third stage are those who have scored not less than 75 percent of the maximum possible score, in a number three times greater than the projected number of vacant judicial positions in local courts, namely: 4 200 – in local general courts.

If two or more candidates for the position of judge receive the same lowest passing score of the second stage of the qualification exam, all such candidates shall be admitted to the third stage of the qualification exam.

Based on the results of the second stage of the qualification exam – testing of general knowledge in the field of law and knowledge of the specialisation of the local general court – by decision of the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine dated August 27, 2025, 4 489 persons were admitted to the third stage.

III. Composition of participants admitted to the third stage of the qualification exam –  testing of cognitive abilities (local general court specialisation)

A total of 4 489 persons were admitted to testing of cognitive abilities (local general court specialisation)

 1) by the composition of the participants:

a) judges of local courts – 326:

- judges of administrative courts – 4;

- judges of commercial courts – 1;

- judges of general courts – 321;

b) candidates for the position of judge – 4 163:

- court staff – 1 731;

- prosecutor’s office employees – 1 136;

- attorneys – 411;

- representatives of other professions – 770;

- military personnel – 115.

Gender composition of participants admitted to the third stage of the qualification exam – testing of cognitive abilities (local general court specialisation)

No.	Place of work	Women		Men		TOTAL
		persons	%	persons	%	persons	%
1.	Local court judges	183	56%	143	44%	326	100%
1.1.	Administrative court judges	3	75%	1	25%	4	1%
1.2.	Judges of commercial courts	0	0%	1	100%	1	0%
1.3.	Judges of general courts	180	56%	141	44%	321	98%
2.	Candidates for the position of judge	2231	54%	1932	46%	4163	100%
2.1.	Court staff	1199	69%	532	31%	1731	42%
2.2.	Prosecutor’s Office employees	431	38%	705	62%	1136	27%
2.3.	Attorneys	211	51%	200	49%	411	10%
2.4.	Military personnel	4	3%	111	97%	115	3%
2.5.	Representatives of other professions	386	50%	384	50%	770	18%
TOTAL		2414	54%	2075	46%	4489	100%

 

Among the participants admitted to the third stage of the qualification exam, there is a higher percentage of women:

women — 2 414 persons, or 54% of the total number of participants;

men — 2 075  persons, or 46% of the total number of participants.

The highest rate of female participation was recorded among court staff — 69% and judges – 56%; the highest percentage of men — among military personnel (97%) and prosecutors (62 %).

There is a relative gender balance in the categories of attorneys and representatives of other professions.

Overall, the results indicate an appropriate level of gender representation in the selection procedure.

Age composition of participants admitted to the third stage of the qualification exam – testing of cognitive abilities (local general court specialisation)

* age at the time of submitting documents for participation in the selection
No.	Place of work	From 30 to 35 years old		From 36 to 40 years old		41 years and older		TOTAL
		persons*	%*	persons*	%*	persons*	%*	persons*	%*
1.	Local court judges	0	0%	115	35%	211	65%	326	100%
1.1.	Administrative court judges	0	0%	3	75%	1	25%	4	1%
1.2.	Judges of commercial courts	0	0%	1	100%	0	0%	1	0%
1.3.	Judges of general courts	0	0%	111	37%	210	65%	321	98%
2.	Candidates for the position of judge	1821	44%	1376	33%	966	23%	4163	100%
2.1.	Court staff	765	44%	623	36%	343	20%	1731	42%
2.2.	Prosecutor's Office employees	590	52%	324	29%	222	20%	1136	27%
2.3.	Attorneys	142	35%	137	33%	132	32%	411	10%
2.4.	Military personnel	41	36%	37	32%	37	32%	115	3%
2.5.	Representatives of other professions	283	37%	255	33%	232	30%	770	18%
TOTAL		1821	41%	1491	33%	1177	26%	4489	100%

 

Local court judges who intend to be transferred to another local court are mostly over 40 years old (65%), there are no judges younger than 36 years old among them.

Among candidates for the position of judge, 77% are younger than 41 years old.

Courts staff employees, Prosecutor’s Office employees are the youngest categories: aged 30–35 — 44% and 52% respectively.

Attorneys, military personnel and other professions representatives have a relatively even distribution of age groups.

Regional composition of participants admitted to the third stage of the qualification exam – testing of cognitive abilities (local general court specialisation)

No.	Region	Judges		Candidates for the position of judge (persons)												TOTAL
		(persons)		Court staff		Prosecutor’s Office employees		Attorneys		Military personnel		Other professions		Total
		persons	%	persons	%	persons	%	persons	%	persons	%	persons	%	persons	%	persons	%
1	Vinnytsia Oblast	10	6,0%	68	43,0%	43	27,2%	9	5,7%	6	3,8%	32	20,3%	158	94%	168	3,74%
2	Volyn Oblast	9	6,4%	60	45,8%	36	27,5%	13	9,9%	0	0,0%	22	16,8%	131	94%	140	3,12%
3	Dnipropetrovsk Oblast	28	6,5%	140	34,8%	167	41,5%	32	8,0%	9	2,2%	54	13,4%	402	93%	430	9,58%
4	Donetsk Oblast	38	60,3%	13	0,0%	8	0,0%	1	0,0%	2	0,0%	1	0,0%	25	40%	63	1,40%
5	Zhytomyr Oblast	12	7,9%	63	45,3%	37	26,6%	16	11,5%	3	2,2%	20	14,4%	139	92%	151	3,36%
6	Transcarpathian Oblast	6	5,1%	44	39,3%	27	24,1%	11	9,8%	2	1,8%	28	25,0%	112	95%	118	2,63%
7	Zaporizhia Oblast	12	10,4%	35	34,0%	38	36,9%	9	8,7%	0	0,0%	21	20,4%	103	90%	115	2,56%
8	Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast	7	5,3%	52	41,3%	33	26,2%	14	11,1%	0	0,0%	27	21,4%	126	95%	133	2,96%
9	Kyiv Oblast	10	3,8%	111	44,4%	45	18,0%	27	10,8%	9	3,6%	58	23,2%	250	96%	260	5,79%
10	Kirovohrad Oblast	14	10,2%	50	40,7%	45	36,6%	8	6,5%	2	1,6%	18	14,6%	123	90%	137	3,05%
11	Luhansk Oblast	25	100,0%	0	0,0%	0	0,0%	0	0,0%	0	0,0%	0	0,0%	0	0%	25	0,56%
12	Lviv Oblast	6	1,7%	152	44,7%	69	20,3%	35	10,3%	8	2,4%	76	22,4%	340	98%	346	7,71%
13	Mykolaiv Oblast	12	9,0%	47	38,8%	46	38,0%	13	10,7%	1	0,8%	14	11,6%	121	91%	133	2,96%
14	Odesa Oblast	16	6,2%	84	34,6%	66	27,2%	38	15,6%	11	4,5%	44	18,1%	243	94%	259	5,77%
15	Poltava Oblast	23	10,8%	75	39,7%	47	24,9%	19	10,1%	8	4,2%	40	21,2%	189	89%	212	4,72%
16	Rivne Oblast	9	5,7%	68	45,6%	40	26,8%	17	11,4%	5	3,4%	19	12,8%	149	94%	158	3,52%
17	Sumy Oblast	18	12,3%	46	35,9%	42	32,8%	18	14,1%	1	0,8%	21	16,4%	128	88%	146	3,25%
18	Ternopil Oblast	4	3,8%	44	43,1%	29	28,4%	12	11,8%	4	3,9%	13	12,7%	102	96%	106	2,36%
19	Kharkiv Oblast	12	4,2%	137	49,6%	66	23,9%	21	7,6%	8	2,9%	44	15,9%	276	96%	288	6,42%
20	Kherson Oblast	8	26,7%	11	50,0%	9	40,9%	0	0,0%	0	0,0%	2	9,1%	22	73%	30	0,67%
21	Khmelnytskyi Oblast	10	7,6%	65	53,7%	27	22,3%	8	6,6%	2	1,7%	19	15,7%	121	92%	131	2,92%
22	Cherkasy Oblast	11	9,6%	43	41,3%	28	26,9%	15	14,4%	3	2,9%	15	14,4%	104	90%	115	2,56%
23	Chernivtsi Oblast	5	5,3%	40	44,4%	27	30,0%	11	12,2%	2	2,2%	10	11,1%	90	95%	95	2,12%
24	Chernihiv Oblast	18	12,5%	38	30,2%	53	42,1%	7	5,6%	5	4,0%	23	18,3%	126	88%	144	3,21%
25	Kyiv City	3	0,5%	244	42,0%	108	18,6%	57	9,8%	24	4,1%	148	25,5%	581	99%	584	13,01%
26	Another country	0	0,0%	1	0,0%	0	0,0%	0	0,0%	0	0,0%	1	50,0%	2	100%	2	0,04%
TOTAL		326	7,3%	1731	41,6%	1136	27,3%	411	9,9%	115	2,8%	770	18,5%	4163	93%	4489	100,00%