Survey: The number of experts who believe judges are independent has increased over the past two and a half years. Perceptions of judges, prosecutors and lawyers about justice and corruption

When asked to what extent they agree with the statement that judges are independent in 2023, 91% of judges, 76% of prosecutors and only 52% of lawyers answered in the affirmative. In 2020, 84% of judges and 22% of lawyers shared this view. These figures confirm that the number of experts who believe judges are independent has increased over the last two and a half years, with the number of lawyers sharing this view increasing the most – by 2.4 times.

The data was presented by the Moldovan Legal Resources Centre (LRCM) in the survey “Perception of judges, prosecutors and lawyers about justice and corruption”.

When asked whether they agree with the statement that in 2023 prosecutors are independent, 56% of judges and 67% of prosecutors answered in the affirmative. Only 33% of lawyers agreed with this statement. In 2020 this question was asked only to prosecutors, and 61% of prosecutors answered in the affirmative.

In 2023, 92% of judges, 78% of prosecutors and 51% of lawyers agreed with the statement that judges’ decisions are taken without outside influence. In 2020, 83% of judges, 65% of prosecutors and only 26% of lawyers agreed with this statement.

When asked in 2023 how confident they were that judges would pass a legal judgement if respondents or their relatives went to court, 91% of judges, 81% of prosecutors and 62% of lawyers said yes. These figures are much higher than in 2020, when 85% of judges, 72% of prosecutors and only 47% of lawyers answered yes.

When asked in 2023 to what extent they are confident that prosecutors will give a legal decision in cases of respondents or respondents’ relatives, 79% of judges, 87% of prosecutors and only 47% of lawyers answered in the affirmative. These figures are higher than in 2020, when 61% of judges, 79% of prosecutors and only 33% of lawyers answered yes.

Who influences judges and prosecutors?

When asked who influences judges, judges most frequently answered that it was politicians (27%) and the press (23%). Prosecutors and lawyers also put these two categories at the top of the ranking, but a large number of prosecutors and lawyers added that judges are also influenced by the SJC and other judges.

When asked who influences prosecutors, the highest number of respondents also mentioned politicians and the press, adding the General Prosecutor’s Office, other prosecutors and the National Anti-Corruption Centre (NAC) to the top.

According to the Public Opinion Barometer, in 2023 public confidence in the judiciary was at the same low level as in 2011, when the justice reform started. 82% of judges and prosecutors believe that this is due to politicians’ attacks on justice. This view is shared by 53% of lawyers. 89% of judges and 88% of prosecutors believe that the low level of trust is also due to “the unjustified image created by the media”, a view also shared by 51% of lawyers. 54% of judges, 67% of prosecutors and 87% of lawyers believe that low trust is also due to illegal decisions taken by some judges and prosecutors. Only 14% of judges and 28% of prosecutors believe that low trust is due to the behaviour of most judges and prosecutors. In contrast, 73% of lawyers answered yes to this question.

“These figures suggest that judges and prosecutors believe that low trust in the judiciary is mainly due to factors beyond their control, while the vast majority of lawyers believe that low trust is due to illegalities admitted by judges and prosecutors and the failure to apply sanctions for these misconduct,” the LRCM notes.

Both judges, prosecutors and lawyers were asked to what extent they agree with the external evaluation announced by the authorities – vetting. More judges support the reform (40%) than do not (35%), and 25% of judges are neutral. Among prosecutors, 39% disagree with external review, 27% support it and 35% are neutral. The vast majority of lawyers support the reform. 71% of lawyers supported it and only 18% of lawyers said they did not support it. A similar question was asked in the 2020 survey. The number of supporters of this reform increased from 2020 to 2023, from 21% to 40% for judges, from 25% to 27% for prosecutors and from 64% to 71% for lawyers.