JUDGE COMPETENCE: CURRENT SCIENTIFIC VIEWS

Abstract

The particular competence of a judge is known to be a key measure of the ability to hold the office of a judge and the administration of just justice. In addition, often in domestic legal studies, the jurisdiction of a judge is considered exclusively in a systematic relationship with other elements of legal status. The article summarizes the conceptual aspects of the formation and development of a judge’s competence. Key areas of research on the competency of a judge are outlined. It has been found that a number of dissertation studies have highlighted general issues regarding the judge’s competence in the context of changes that have taken place in the judiciary in recent years. It is revealed that the scientific researches of the last years do not sufficiently cover the relevant issues from the point of view of its interpretation as the process of formation, development and evaluation of the judge’s competence. It is established that at the theoretical level, the competence of a judge is investigated in the framework of forming recommendations on the formation and development of the judicial corps, increasing the authority of the judiciary and its confidence on the part of the population. Conceptual studies of the dynamics of the development of conceptual foundations of the judiciary in the context of Ukraine’s European integration aspirations have a special place. The assertion of the right to a fair trial in these studies is accompanied by increased attention to the competence of the judge, on one hand, as an element of his independence and, on the other, as part of the concept of “competent court”. At the application level, individual elements of the judge’s competence - professional, social and psychological competence - are explored, and attempts are made to find compromise mechanisms for assessing jurisdiction in view of the likely threat to the independence of the judge, which is a promising area for further research.