The Vetting Commission has completed the evaluation of candidate Mihail Lvovschi for the position of judge at the Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ) and submitted its report to the Superior Council of Magistracy (SCM), with the proposal that the external evaluation should not be approved. According to the criteria set out in Law 65/2023, a candidate is considered not promoted if it is found that one or more criteria of financial and ethical integrity, as stipulated in Article 11, have not been met.

The report sent to the SCM contains details of the assessment, the relevant facts and the reasons behind the Commission’s conclusion and has also been sent to the candidate, according to a statement from the Vetting Commission.

“At this stage of the process, the Vetting Commission is only entitled to inform about the outcome of the assessment. The next step is the examination of the results of the assessment by the SCM in a public meeting, where a decision will be taken based on the information provided by the Vetting Commission and a reasoned decision will be issued in respect of Mihail Lvovschi. The evaluation report will be published on the Vetting Commission’s website within 3 days after the adoption of the decision by the SCM, in accordance with Law 65/2023 and the Regulation on the organisation and functioning of the Commission,” the Commission says.

So far, the Vetting Commission has submitted six evaluation reports to the SCM, five of which were with a proposal for promotion and one recommended non-promotion. The SCM has examined three of these, accepting the Vetting Commission’s proposal and finding promotion.

The Vetting Commission conducts the external evaluation of judges and candidates for the position of judge at the SCJ under the provisions of Law 65/2023. The evaluation involves detailed verification of the financial and ethical integrity of the subjects. For the assessment of ethical integrity, the period of review is up to 10 years.

The Commission verifies whether the subject has admitted in his/her professional activity arbitrary behaviour or conflicts of interest incompatible with the position held. For the assessment of financial integrity, the review period is up to 12 years. The Commission verifies the subject’s compliance with the tax and legal rules governing the declaration of assets and personal interests, the manner of acquisition of assets owned or possessed, as well as the expenses related to the maintenance of those assets and the sources of income.