Arseniy Yatsenyuk: Key issue in carrying out justice reform is effectiveness of staff

There should be a reduction in the Civil Service while improving its efficiency. Salaries will be increased due to savings on payroll, Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk stressed at a meeting of the Collegium of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine on Monday, June 22.

Arseniy Yatsenyuk underlined that the implementation of reforms needed a staff of very high quality: "It is impossible to attract experts for the Civil Service, if salaries for government officials stay at the current level. We are deceiving ourselves. You cannot fight corruption if you have the totally corrupt Civil Service due to the lack of salary, which covers at least minimum living standards of a public servant."

The Prime Minister appealed to the Ministry of Justice, having emphasized that there should be a reduction in the Civil Service while improving its efficiency: "Everything you will save on payroll, we leave to you. Due to this, raise salaries. The economy in the country will be activated- and I hope that 2016 will allow us to demonstrate the first steps of economic growth – we will increase the social standards and salaries for government employees as well."

"The key issue is the effectiveness of staff. Ukraine annually produces 14,000 professional lawyers. Is it difficult to choose?" he said.

Arseniy Yatsenyuk also underlined that open competitions for heads of justice departments at various levels and their deputies in the Justice Ministry "have to go publicly and transparently": "There must be a new quality of Ukrainian justice, you represent."

The Prime Minister expressed gratitude to the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine for its work on "Europeanization of Ukrainian justice," which the Ministry conducted in a difficult period for the country: "Starting with electronic trading system of the seized property and ending with a  completely new high-quality system of issuing certificates to destroy the awful Soviet red tape."

He has highlighted that today Ukrainian citizens have access to the online services of the Ministry of Justice, they have the opportunity to avoid standing in line and get a particular document or to hold a particular legal action without personal contact with an official, without standing in lines for hours in and without bribes."