The Independent Integrity Assessment Commission of candidates for membership in the self-administrative bodies of judges and prosecutors (Pre-Vetting Commission) heard between 30 November and 3 December Judge Aliona Miron of the Supreme Court of Justice and Judge Stanislav Sorbalo of the Balti Court of Appeal, Centre, Judge Vasile Șchiopu of the Ungheni Court, Judge Sergiu Caraman of the Criuleni Court, Nicolae Șova of the Chisinau Court, Centre, and Judge Ecaterina Buzu of the Orhei Court, who are standing for election to the Superior Council of Magistrates (CSM).

During the hearings, members of the Commission asked questions about the financial and ethical integrity of some members, issues related to some bank accounts of candidates and family members, donations of houses, obtaining apartments at preferential prices and other topics. We invite you to read the full profiles of the candidates below.

Aliona Miron: Promoted to the CSJ after the CSM requested a review of her case

Aliona Miron will be a judge at the CSJ since September 2021. Previously, for 13 years, she worked only at the Chisinau Court. The judge was voted in by Parliament after the CSM requested a re-examination of her file, after the Legal Committee examined her candidacy for promotion to the CSJ in March 2021, but her name, following a closed-door session, did not reach the Parliament’s plenary for the voting procedure.

Miron is among the magistrates who were given apartments at a preferential price, in a block specially built for magistrates of the Rascani Court, although she owned several real estate properties at the time.

According to the information in the declaration of assets and interests for 2021, the Miron family owns a 190-square-metre residential house, obtained in 2018 following a contract for the alienation of the property, with the condition of lifetime maintenance, another house of 130 square metres, obtained following an inheritance contract, and two apartments of 140 and 76 square metres, respectively, the last one being purchased at a preferential price. The judge’s family owns some agricultural land obtained through inheritance and two cars: Volkswagen Multivan, manufactured and bought in 2012 for 553 thousand lei, and Mercedes E 220, manufactured in 2004 and bought in 2011 for 8 thousand euro. The Miron family also owns an F 8505T motorcycle, manufactured in 2007 and bought in 2013 for 17.5 thousand lei. In 2015, the Mirons took out a debt of 5 thousand euros, to be repaid by 2025 with an interest rate of 0 percent, and in 2021 a loan of 40 thousand lei. Last year, the magistrate reported salary income of 375 thousand lei.

Earlier, Miron told ZdG that the housing she received in 2018 belonged to her parents, who built two identical houses, and all the properties, except the one purchased at a preferential price, she obtained before becoming a judge. “If I had known there would be this kind of talk, I really would never have taken it,” Miron said in reference to the apartment in the magistrates’ block.

Stanislav Sorbalo: Resignation that cost Moldova 1.7 million lei

Stanislav Sorbalo works at the Balti Court, central office. He returned to the judiciary in 2020 after 11 years of trying to prove he was illegally dismissed.

The dismissal came after the then Prosecutor General Valeriu Gurbulea asked the CSM for authorisation to initiate a criminal case against Sorbalo, on the grounds that he had knowingly made a decision contrary to the law. Sorbalo challenged the CSM’s decision in higher courts, but his claims were rejected. Subsequently, the magistrate appealed to the ECtHR, and in 2019, the government agent initiated a friendly settlement procedure with the magistrate. In July 2020, the CSJ issued a final decision annulling the 2009 CSM decision dismissing Sorbalo. Thus, the judge returned to the system. Advertisement

Along with the reinstatement decision, the CSM also ordered the payment of 1.7 million lei.

In a comment to ZdG, Sorbalo had previously mentioned that throughout the time he had not worked in the system he had lived off his wife’s salary, as well as the disability pension of one of his children. He says he wants to become a member of the CSM in order to “raise the prestige of the system and not to admit the illegalities that were committed by the former Council in 2009”.

The magistrate reported last year a salary income of about 224 thousand lei and his wife, employed in the State Tax Service, was paid about 184 thousand lei, according to his most recent declaration of assets and personal interests.

The Sorbalo family has lived in a 243.9 square metre house since 2007, with an indicated value of 825 thousand lei. In 2020, the judge’s family added two cars to their garage: a Ford Kuga, manufactured in 2017, and a Lada 21214, manufactured in 2010. In 2021, the magistrate purchased a photovoltaic system, worth 183 thousand lei, and took out a loan of 100 thousand lei, with an interest rate of 2%. Also last year, the magistrate’s wife, who works as a senior inspector in the State Tax Service, received dental services worth about 110 thousand lei.

Vasile Șchiopu: Modest wealth and explanations of inherited assets

Vasile Șchiopu was the president of the Ungheni Court until the beginning of 2021, when he was appointed to act as interim president of the court until it is completed in the manner established by law.

In 2021, the plenary of the CSM designated the Ungheni and Balti courts as pilot model courts under the USAID Model Courts Project. Later, in an interview for expresul.md, he spoke about the workload and wondered “How can we talk about quality for such a large workload?”.

According to the declaration of wealth and personal interests for 2021, the magistrate, together with his wife, who works mostly in the public sector, being a doctor at the Ungheni Family Doctors’ Centre and at the Ungheni District Hospital, have owned, since 1992, a 146.7-square-metre residential house and another 85.9-square-metre real estate, estimated at about 163 thousand lei. At the same time, in 2019, the family came into possession of another dwelling house and two other real estates, whose total indicated value reaches approximately 15 thousand lei, assets obtained by inheritance contract. The Șchiopu family also owns, as of 2019, two intravillous lands with an area of 0.2916 ha and another land in other categories of land, which is in the civil circuit, of about 0.13 ha. Under movable assets, Vasile Șchiopu indicated a Honda CRV car, purchased in 2017 for 180 thousand lei.

Vasile Șchiopu about the assets inherited in 2019: “They are assets inherited by my wife, from my parents, after their death. The house is located on a plot of land, one of the real estate assets indicated is the land on which the house is located. Plus, across the road from the house is another piece of land. It is land of the house, but separated from the road, and is registered as separate real estate, respectively. It is an old house, built in the 1960s”

Sergiu Caraman: He sued the CSM for not appointing him as vice-president of the court

Sergiu Caraman has been a magistrate since 2012 and has been working at the Criuleni Court since 2018.

In 2019, Caraman sued the CSM because in the competition for the position of vice-president of the Criuleni Court, held in July 2019, his opponent Alexandru Motricală was declared the winner. The court of first instance dismissed the application as unfounded, and subsequently the CSJ put an end to the case, declaring inadmissible the appeal filed by the magistrate.

Caraman is the judge who in a January 2021 ruling restored to office the socialist chairman of the Dubasari district, Grigore Filipov, previously suspended by a decision of the Dubasari district council, in which he was accused of several illegalities and incompetence. Last year, Caraman applied to be admitted to the bar.

According to the declaration of personal assets and interests for 2021, Caraman owns, as of 2019, an apartment of about 50 square meters with an indicated value of 493 thousand lei. In 2018, Caraman’s wife received from her parents a 150 square meter residential house with a cadastral value of 603 thousand lei. The dwelling, which is located in the town of Durlesti, was later returned. The Caramans also own an apartment in the town of Floresti, purchased in 2014 for 40 thousand lei, while the market value of the property is 145 thousand lei. The difference is justified by the magistrate by the condition of the property. Officially, the magistrate declares that he owns a Toyota Corolla car, manufactured in 1999, which he took possession of in 2018. Last year, the judge reported a total salary of 265 thousand lei. He declares debts of more than 1.3 million lei, having taken out three loans and a loan.

The judge owns shares and stakes in several American public companies, including Microsoft Corporation, Meta Platforms Inc, which owns and operates the social networking site Facebook, The Walt Disney Company, Intel Corporation, Lockheed Martin Corporation (a leading American company and aerospace manufacturer specialising in military, security and advanced technologies) and Alibaba Group Holding. Caraman declares debts of more than 1.3 million lei, after taking out three loans and a loan.

Ecaterina Buzu: Preferential price apartment and new car

Ecaterina Buzu has been a judge since 2012 and is currently working at the Orhei Court.
In October 2014, the Performance Appraisal College of Judges found that Buzu allegedly commits several violations while examining cases, such as “not paying special attention to the examination of each case, not showing sufficient ability to organise work time” or “violating deadlines for drafting court decisions”. The magistrate was therefore rated “insufficient” in the evaluation. The judge appealed to the CSJ, disagreeing with these findings, but the Supreme Court rejected her request. Buzu was assessed again over a year and a half later, in May 2016. At that time, the magistrate received a “good” rating, which narrowly allowed her to remain in the judiciary.

Ecaterina Buzu is the magistrate who examined the case of the Orhei minor who was raped in December 2014 with the participation of three young men, which scandalised public opinion. In January 2016, only one of the perpetrators, tried for deprivation of liberty and not rape, was sentenced to two years in prison with execution. Two others did not go to court, one of whom was removed from prosecution by the prosecutor.

According to the information in the declaration of assets and personal interests for 2021, Ecaterina Buzu owns a residential house and three plots of land in the village of Peresecina in Orhei district. Last year, Buzu signed an anti-contract for the sale-purchase, at a preferential price, of an apartment in a special block built for employees of the judicial system in the districts of Moldova. The market value of the apartment is 1.2 million lei, but the magistrate will pay only 700 thousand lei. Also last year, the judge bought a Volkswagen Passat, manufactured in 2007, for €10 000. Buzu says that in 2021 she took out a loan of 700 thousand lei from Moldindconbank. In 2021, she reported salary income of 247 thousand lei. Another 50 thousand lei she got from the sale of a Renault Megane car, manufactured in 2006, which she had owned since 2013.

Nicolae Șova: He left Moldova without Zimbru. Millions in purchases and the apartment at a preferential price, sold shortly after purchase

Nicolae Șova has been the vice-president of the Chisinau Central Court since November 2021, having been in the system since 2005. Previously, the CSM plenary proposed to the Moldovan Parliament to appoint Nicolae Șova as a judge of the CSJ until the age limit of Nicolae Șova was reached, but in March 2021 the Parliament rejected his candidacy. Nicolae Șova is the husband of the nephew of CSJ judge Ala Cobăneanu’s brother.

Sova is the magistrate who, in December 2017, by a decision of the Chisinau Court, obliged AO “Clubul de Fotbal Zimbru” to pay to “Agroselect Semences Trading” the amount of 52 789 099 lei as a rent debt. He also ordered the collection from “Clubul de Fotbal Zimbru” of court costs of 50 thousand lei. Due to the debts, in March 2020, the football club announced the withdrawal of the senior team from all football competitions organized under the auspices of the Moldovan Football Federation.

According to the declaration of wealth and personal interests for 2021, last year Sova received a donation of a 134.7-square-meter residential house, which would be worth about 624 thousand lei. Also last year, he bought a house of 170 square meters. Șova says he bought the property for 484 thousand lei, its market value being 1.3 million lei. For building materials and repair services, Șova says he paid 380,000 lei out of pocket. The judge also declares an apartment in the Rascani sector of the capital registered in the name of his wife, a notary by profession, and obtained as a donation in 1996. Although he had this property, in 2014 the judge requested and obtained the right to the apartment at a preferential price. Thus, in 2017, the magistrate became the owner of a 72.2 square metre apartment located on Roman Street in Chisinau, in a block for judges. In 2020, the magistrate sold the apartment.

Also last year, Șova bought a Toyota RAV4 car, manufactured in 2021, for which he indicates he paid 544 thousand lei. Since 2006, he has owned a Citroen C3, said to be worth 120,000 lei, and since 1995 he has owned a BMW 315, manufactured in 1982, which is listed in his declaration as worth 5,000 lei. In 2021, the Sova family repaid 147 thousand lei to Victoriabank SA, thus ending a loan taken out in 2012. The magistrate declares a debt of 600 thousand lei, after having taken out a loan in 2016 that matures in 2029. The income of the Sova family in 2021 amounts to 1.8 million lei, 266 thousand lei being the magistrate’s salary income.