The law on the external evaluation of judges and prosecutors, which was voted in final reading on 31 July, will be re-examined by Parliament after President Maia Sandu returned it to the Legislature for amendments.

The draft law is the first item on the agenda of the sitting to be held on Thursday 17 July, after Parliament convened for an extraordinary session on 16-17 August.               

According to the report of the Committee on Legal Affairs, Appointments and Immunities, the draft law will be amended, following the “proposals” of the Head of State, so that “the findings of irrevocable court decisions shall be taken into account, on a mandatory basis, by the Evaluation Commission, except for decisions which the Evaluation Commission considers arbitrary or manifestly unreasonable. The Evaluation Committee may only rule on breaches of the rules of ethics and professional conduct, without ruling on the legality of the decisions in question”.                          

At the same time, the commissions that will evaluate judges and candidates for the position of judge of the Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ), as well as the one that will evaluate the rest of the judges and prosecutors, will be able to challenge the decisions of the Superior Council of Magistracy (SCM) and the Superior Council of Prosecutors (SCP) regarding the persons they have examined.                      

“President Maia Sandu did not promulgate the law on the external evaluation of judges and prosecutors and returned it to the Parliament for reconsideration in the extraordinary session of 17 August 2023,” the spokeswoman of the head of state, Irina Gotisan-Sotnic, confirmed to ZdG.               

The document addressed to the President of Parliament by the President for the re-examination of the Law was published online on Wednesday 16 August. Its veracity was confirmed by the President’s spokeswoman.                

The reasons cited by Maia Sandu are the different standards of ethical integrity requirements set for the evaluation of judges and candidates for the position of judge of the Supreme Court and for the external evaluation of judges and prosecutors. In addition, the head of state pointed out that the latest law adopted by the Parliament does not indicate that irrevocable court decisions should be taken into account in the evaluation process, and that the decisions of the SCM and the PSC should be challenged.                     

Parliament will convene in extraordinary session on Thursday 17 July. The permanent bureau approved the decision to convene Parliament, at the request of the Speaker, Igor Grosu.                          

The draft agenda for the plenary session of the extraordinary session of Parliament, approved by the permanent bureau, includes draft legislation submitted by the government for priority consideration, as well as a number of legislative initiatives by MPs regulating various areas.                       

Parliament will ratify the grant agreement with the World Bank, signed on 9 August 2023. The financial assistance of $88.4 million, provided by the United States and Switzerland, is available until 30 September 2023. The “Restart” reform of the social assistance system, which provides for amendments to 19 laws, will also be approved in second reading.                          

The second reading will approve the draft providing legislative instruments to support energy vulnerable households, as well as the draft amendment to the Education Code, which will provide more facilities for young professionals in the education system. Parliament is also due to consider draft amendments to the Real Estate Cadastre Law, the Law on Preventing and Combating Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism and the State Security Law.                  

According to Parliament’s Rules of Procedure, if Parliament is not in ordinary session, it may meet in extraordinary or special sessions at the request of the President of the Republic of Moldova, the Speaker of Parliament or one-third of MPs.