25 judges, including those rejected in 2022 by Maia Sandu, ask the Superior Council of Magistracy to appoint them before they reach the age limit
25 judges ask the Superior Council of Magistracy (SCM) to be appointed until they reach the age limit. Among the applicants are the 13 judges rejected in 2022 by Moldovan President Maia Sandu.
The list is due to be considered at a meeting on 23 and 24 May, according to the SCM agenda.
In the summer of 2022, the presidency sent a request to the Superior Council of Magistracy (SCM) regarding the rejection of the applications of 13 judges, out of a total of 40 magistrates, for appointment as judges until they reach the age limit. The Presidency’s application states that the applications of the 13 magistrates were mainly rejected on the grounds of disciplinary sanctions imposed on some magistrates.
List of the 13 magistrates rejected by President Maia Sandu:
Victoria Hadîrcă, judge at the Chisinau Court of Appeals
Silvia Slobodzean, judge, Straseni Court
Lucia Bagrin, Judge, Chisinau Court of Appeals
Rodica Berdilo, Judge, Chisinau Court of Appeals
Lorina Ciubotaru, Judge, Chisinau Court of Appeals
Olga Ionascu, Judge, Chisinau Court of Appeals
Victoria Sanduța, Judge, Chisinau Court of Appeals
Angela Vasilenco, Judge, Chisinau Court of Appeals
Dragos Crigan, Judge, Chisinau Court of Appeals
Marcel Gandrabur, Judge, Chisinau Court of Appeals
Veaceslav Martînenco, Judge, Chisinau Court of Appeals
Serafim Vasilache, Judge, Chisinau Court of Appeals
Iurie Movilă, Judge, Orhei District Court
Some of the magistrates on the list were appointed as judges on 15 March 2017 by decree of the then President of Moldova Igor Dodon.
Victoria Hadîrcă was previously under criminal investigation for corruption.
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On 12 April 2019, the College for the Evaluation of Judges’ Performance awarded Judge Silvia Slobodzean of the Straseni Court (central seat), as a result of her performance evaluation of judges, a Very Good rating with a final accumulated score of 77 points.
On 25 June 2019, the Plenum of the Superior Council of Magistracy conferred grade V (five) qualification to Judge Lucia Bagrin, from the Chisinau Court. On 22 March 2019, the College for the Evaluation of Judges’ Performance awarded the magistrate Lucia Bagrin from the Chisinau Court of Appeals (Centre seat), as a result of the evaluation of judges’ performance, the qualification Very Good, accumulating a score of 77 points, reports magistrat.md.
Rodica Berdilo is the magistrate who declared Andrei Năstase’s mayoral mandate invalid. Rodica Berdilo, the magistrate who ruled that the local elections in the mun. Chisinau won by Andrei Nastase was appointed to the post by decree of President Nicolae Timofti in May 2016. Previously, her candidacy was approved by the College for the Career and Selection of Judges of the Superior Council of Magistracy (SCM) in November 2015.
Lorina Ciubotaru, Angela Vasilenco, Dragoș Crigan, Marcel Gandrabur, Veaceslav Martînenco, Serafim Vasilache and Iurie Movilă were appointed as judges of the Chisinau Court of Appeals for a five-year term on 15 March 2017.
In September 2021, Magistrate Olga Ionașcu of the Chisinau Court of Appeals, Buiucani office, was suspended from her position as judge by the Superior Council of Magistracy (SCM) after, according to the SCM decision, she was found to have committed judicial misconduct. At the time, Judge Olga Ionașcu was disciplined by the SCM with suspension from her post, including for failing to meet the deadlines for drafting court decisions and sending copies of them. In October 2018, Olga Ionașcu, a magistrate at the Chisinau Court of Appeals, was found guilty of “violating, for reasons attributable to the judge, the deadlines for carrying out procedural actions, including the deadlines for drafting judgments and transmitting their copies to the participants in the process, if this directly affected the rights of the participants in the process or other persons”. Ionașcu has been a judge since March 2017.
In June 2021, Judge Victoria Sanduța won her lawsuit against the Superior Council of Magistracy (SCM), asking for the annulment of the decision by which, in March 2019, she was transferred, without her consent, from the Chisinau Court, Centre seat, specialized in civil matters, to the Ciocana seat, specialized in misdemeanour matters and the work of the investigating judge. A decision to this effect was issued by the Supreme Court of Justice on 2 June 2021.
Also Victoria Sanduța is the magistrate who previously came out several times in front of the press and criticized the judicial system.
The Moldovan president can reject once only the candidacy proposed by the Superior Council of Magistracy for appointment as a judge for 5 years or until the age limit is reached, and only if there is undeniable evidence of incompatibility of the candidate with the post, violation of the law or violation of the legal procedures for selection and promotion. Refusal of appointment or reappointment shall be made within 30 days of receipt of the proposal.
