The former president of the Constitutional Court is left with the 800 thousand lei – moral damage for three years of unfounded indictment. Chisinau Court of Appeal rejects the appeal of the Ministry of Justice

The Chisinau Court of Appeal upheld the first court’s ruling that former Constitutional Court (CC) President Domnica Manole received 800 thousand lei from the state budget as moral damage caused by more than three years of being held under indictment and “subject to trial for an act that does not contain the elements of a crime”.

Thus, according to the decision made public on Thursday 13 July, the appeal filed by the Ministry of Justice and the appeal filed by the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (PA) were rejected.

In the grounds of the appeal, the AP indicated that, “considering the circumstances presented, taking into account the mental suffering suffered by the respondent in connection with the initiation of the criminal prosecution and the sending of the criminal case to court, the degree of negative experiences and discomfort suffered with her submission to the criminal prosecution”, the monetary compensation in the amount of 800 000 lei is disproportionate, because Manole was allegedly charged with a less serious crime and no preventive measures were applied against her.

The prosecutors also noted that the determination of moral damage within the limit of 800,000 lei is “disproportionate to the economic and social realities of the Republic of Moldova”.

In the grounds of appeal, the Ministry of Justice disagreed with the first instance decision, stating that the court of first instance, in adopting its decision, had misinterpreted the substantive law rules on the recovery of the damage caused by the unlawful actions of the prosecution bodies, the public prosecutor’s office and the courts, “given that an exaggerated assessment was made of the amount of the moral damage, in relation to all the circumstances of the case”.

“Based on the physical and mental suffering suffered by the applicant, her status and social position, the College considers that the moral damage in the amount of 800,000 lei, charged by the first court, is a justified and real amount of suffering caused, which constitutes a fair satisfaction,” the decision of the Chisinau Court of Appeal states.

The Chisinau Court of Appeals, Centre seat, partially admitted, in February 20223, the claim filed by the lawyer of the President of the Constitutional Court (CC), Domnica Manole, against the Ministry of Justice.

Thus, the court decided to recover the amount of 800 thousand lei for the benefit of the magistrate, from the state budget, as moral damages, caused by “the unlawful actions of the prosecution and the public prosecutor’s office as a result of the unlawful prosecution under Article 307 para. (1) of the Criminal Code, actions that resulted in the acquittal of Domnica Manole by the sentence of the Buiucani Court of 9 August 2019, final and irrevocable of 26 August 2019, on the charge of committing the offence provided for in Art. 307 para. (1) of the Criminal Code, as a result of the waiver of the state prosecutor to the accusation in the court hearing”.

According to the operative part of the judgment of 8 February, delivered by Judge Petru Harmaniuc, another 4 500 lei were paid to the President of the CC by way of expenses for legal assistance incurred during the examination of the civil case.

“For the rest, the claim for compensation of the excess of the moral damage awarded by the present judgment, as well as for the recovery of the amount exceeding the amount of the legal aid expenses awarded to the plaintiff in the present proceedings, is rejected as unfounded,” the document reads.

Domnica Manole sought compensation for non-material damage estimated at the sum of 1 000 000 lei, caused by “unlawful actions of the criminal prosecution bodies, the public prosecutor’s office and the courts, materialised in unlawful criminal liability, with compensation for legal assistance expenses incurred in the examination of this civil case in the amount of 5 000 lei”.

The judgment may be appealed to the Chisinau Court of Appeal within 30 days from the date of delivery of the judgment.

Domnica Manole was acquitted in the case in which she was accused of passing a decision contrary to the law in the “referendum case” in the summer of 2019. The magistrates’ decision then came after the prosecutor on the case, Eugeniu Rurac, dropped the criminal charges.

According to Rurac, the statements of a defence witness and the conclusions of experts were the basis on which the prosecution dropped criminal charges against magistrate Domnica Manole.

Domnica Manole was prosecuted for adopting a decision contrary to the law, namely the pronouncement on 14 April 2016, as a judge at the Chisinau Court of Appeal, of a decision annulling the decision of the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) of 30 March 2016 rejecting the organisation of a referendum proposed by the “Dignity and Truth” Platform and obliging the institution to initiate that republican referendum.

Shortly afterwards, Eduard Harunjen, then acting Prosecutor General, obtained the SCM’s agreement to start the criminal prosecution of the magistrate.

On 4 July 2017, after examining the additional advisory opinion of the Intelligence and Security Service (SIS) on the Chisinau Court of Appeal judge Domnica Manole, the Superior Council of Magistracy decided that she was not compatible with the status of judge and dismissed her from her post.

Although, after Domnica Manole’s appeal to the Constitutional Court, the judges of this institution decided that the verification by the Intelligence and Security Service of candidates for the position of judge, as well as of judges, is unconstitutional, the magistrates of the courts of the Republic of Moldova, up to the SCJ, rejected Domnica Manole’s appeal against the Superior Council of Magistracy and the Intelligence and Security Service for the annulment of two decisions dismissing her from the system.