Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on February 26, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 25, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleUkraine sets up high-level courts as part of reforms to meet IMF conditions and bolster EU membership bid.
KYIV (Reuters) - Ukrainian lawmakers on Wednesday approved a measure that would allow for the setting up of new courts to settle high-level political disputes, as part of a reform effort being closely watched by Kyiv's Western partners.
The courts' creation is a condition set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for it to continue its $15.6 billion financing programme for Ukraine.
The Kyiv-based courts, which would hear cases involving state institutions, such as ministries or other central agencies, would replace a body that was dissolved in 2022 after years of corruption allegations.
Lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak said on social media the measure to create them was passed with 234 votes and that the judges of the proposed courts would be appointed with the help of foreign advisers.
An IMF delegation is in Kyiv for talks on continuing the fund's loan programme.
Ukraine has accelerated its reform drive during the war with Russia, launching corruption cases against sitting lawmakers and senior ministers and refreshing its judiciary.
The campaign is central to Kyiv's bid to join the European Union, which has prioritised eradicating the high-level graft that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and other senior officials have said Ukraine is able to continue its reforms while fending off Russia's full-scale invasion.
(Reporting by Dan Peleschuk; editing by Barbara Lewis)
The new courts are designed to settle high-level political disputes and are part of Ukraine's reform efforts.
The creation of these courts is a condition set by the IMF for continuing its $15.6 billion financing programme for Ukraine.
Judges of the proposed courts will be appointed with the assistance of foreign advisers.
Ukraine has intensified its reform efforts during the war with Russia, focusing on launching corruption cases against lawmakers and refreshing its judiciary.
The reforms are central to Ukraine's bid to join the European Union, which prioritizes eradicating high-level corruption.
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