The Pre-Vetting Commission has sent the new non-judge candidates for the Superior Council of Magistrates (SCM) the 5-year Declaration form, thus starting the evaluation procedure. The nine candidates, declared eligible by the Parliament to participate in the competition, are to return the completed declaration, as well as any other documents required on a case-by-case basis, to the Commission by e-mail within 7 days of the request, by the end of 25 May 2023.

Declaration for 5 years, according to Art. 9 para. (2) of the Law no. 26/2022 on some measures related to the selection of candidates for the position of member of the self-administrative bodies of judges and prosecutors, includes information on the personal assets and interests of the candidates, as well as the list of close persons in the judiciary, prosecutor’s office and public service. Candidates who have not previously been subject to the declaration of assets and personal interests under Law No 133/2016 are required to complete declarations of assets and personal interests for each of the last five years (period 2018 – 2022) for which an annual declaration has not been submitted.

After receiving the declarations from the candidates, the Pre-Vetting Commission will analyse the income and property of the candidates and their families, based on extensive research of relevant data collected from public information systems, accumulated from natural and legal persons, and subsequent communication with the candidates.

According to Article 9 para. (2) of Law No. 26/2022, failure to submit the 5-year declaration and annual declarations, where relevant, on time shall constitute grounds for the Commission to find that the candidate has not passed the assessment.

The Pre-Vetting Commission notes that last week it sent a completed example of the 5-Year Declaration to candidates for the purpose of advance information, but also to allow more time for preparation of the information required to complete the document. In addition, candidates were sent the Ethical Integrity Questionnaire which, unlike the 5-year Declaration, is voluntary. The Ethics Questionnaire requests primary information regarding the candidate’s ethical integrity and is due to the Commission by June 1, 2023.

The template of the 5-Year Declaration, answers to the most frequently asked questions related to its completion, and the Ethical Integrity Questionnaire can be accessed on the Commission’s website – https://vetting.md/chestionare/.

Following the decision of the Committee on Legal Affairs, Appointments and Immunities of 5 May 2023, the Parliament forwarded to the pre-vetting committee the list of nine non-judge candidates for the position of member of the Superior Council of Magistracy. Among them are self-employed lawyers, lawyers and representatives of civil society and academia, who will go through the pre-vetting committee’s financial and ethical integrity vetting process in order to become eligible for permanent membership of the SJC.

The 9 persons admitted to the competition are: Aliona Corcenco, Iulian Muntean, Ana Tipa, Veaceslav Gutan, Leonid Chirtoaca, Vitalie Sîli, Nicolae Agachi, Vanu Jereghi and Lucia Popescu.