Civil society organisations see a tense situation in the justice sector and come up with solutions to overcome the crisis

Civil society organisations are concerned about the tense situation i`n the justice sector. According to experts, the crisis is caused by a number of factors coming from both inside and outside the judiciary. In this regard, several organisations come up with a number of findings and recommendations to overcome the crisis.

In a joint statement published on Thursday 6 April, civil society organisations argue that the tense situation in the judiciary is caused, inter alia, by the order of the Commission for Exceptional Situations (CSE) of 31 March 2023, which ordered the banning of resignations of judges of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Republic of Moldova (SCJ) and the suspension of previously submitted applications for resignation. According to the signatory organisations, the emergency situation should not be used to intervene with measures that pursue purposes other than those for which it was introduced.

Another factor relates to the resignations of SCJ judges, submitted on the eve of Parliament’s approval of the new law on the SCJ. “This leads, in practice, to a deadlock in the work of the SCJ by mid-April 2023,” the signatories note.

At the same time, the General Assembly of Judges postponed the election of judges to the Superior Council of Magistracy (SCM) until 28 April 2023. The reason for this postponement relates to the appeals against the decisions of the pre-vetting commission, which remained unresolved by the SJC, although the legal deadline for examining the appeals had passed.

“Also worrying are the public statements made by the Chairman of the General Assembly of Judges, Anatolie Turcan, who has developed certain intentions of unauthorized surveillance and collection of information about certain candidates for membership in the SCM. In this regard, civil society organisations call on the Prosecutor’s Office to investigate these intentions”.

Other recommendations of the signatory organisations include making public all the circumstances behind the CSE decision of 31 March 2023, ensuring an inclusive dialogue to operationalise the new composition of the SCM and voting on eligible candidates to the SCM.

Moreover, the current SJC “should adjust, with the involvement of interested judges, the draft Rules of the General Assembly of Judges before the next General Assembly, and the judiciary should ensure that the Constitution is respected and that the duties incumbent on them under the statute and the oath of judges are performed with honour and without bias”.

The signatory organisations also recommend that Moldova’s development partners provide support to the national authorities to promote the announced reforms, including by implementing the changes recommended by the Venice Commission.

Joint statement of civil organisations:

Statement by organisations on the Judicial System by Ziarul de Gardă on Scribd

Signatory organisations include:

• Embassy of Human Rights;
• Independent Analytical Centre “Expert-Grup” (Expert-Grup);
• Center for Investigative Journalism of Moldova (CIJM);
• Legal Resources Centre of Moldova (CRJM);
• WatchDog.md Community (WatchDog.md);
• Institute for Public Policy (IPP);
• Institute for Human Rights in Moldova (IDOM);
• Institute for European Policies and Reforms (IPRE);
• Laboratory for Development Initiatives (LID Moldova);
• Transparency International Moldova (TI-Moldova);