Twelve lawyers of the Chisinau Bar Association, who are members of the group “Lawyers for Lawyers”, will compete in a team for the executive posts in the self-management bodies of the Bar. In a news conference at IPN, members of the group said it is for the first time that the lawyers compete for such posts in a team, by uniting their efforts, as they want to contribute to reforming the Bar.

The 12 lawyers are: Natalia Molosag, Mihai Lupu, Vladislav Gribincea, Veaceslav Turcan, Feodosia Tascic, Nicolae Rosca, Dorin Popescu, Laura Urschi, Eduard Digore, Ana Beriozchin, Tudor Osoianu, and Mariana Kriklivaya.

Laura Urschi said that no major changes occurred in the Bar since the declaration of the country’s independence, but a democratic society cannot exist without independent, apolitical, transparent, powerful and honest advocacy. Moldova’s Bar is yet to be improved.

Vladislav Gribincea stated that the team will work based on a set of principles such as the efficiency of the self-management bodies, decisional transparency, zero tolerance of corruption, exclusion of conflicts of interests and promotion of lawyers with irreproachable reputation and solid professional training. He called on all the lawyers to come to the General Assembly of the Chisinau Bar Association on April 24 and to support the changes in advocacy. “We call upon all the lawyers of the country to delegate trustworthy persons to represent them at the Lawyers Congress on May 22. On April 24 and May 22, there will be elected different bodies of the Bar,” said Vladislav Gribincea.

Eduard Digore said the Bar takes an active part in administering justice, but so far didn’t do much to positively influence justice. “We consider things can be changed by powerful, reformed and transparent advocacy. We can do this only by internal reformation, the major objective being to reform the Bar and to raise it to the top of the elite of Moldovan society,” he stated.

Natalia Molosag voiced hope that the lawyers of the Chisinau Bar Association will mobilize and will solve together two problems faced by the Moldovan advocacy: lack of transparency in decision-making at the Council of the Lawyers Union and insufficient development of the potential of the lawyers.

The term in office of the members of the Council of the Lawyers Union is four years, of the dean of the Chisinau Bar Association – two years, while of the members of the censorship commission and the commission for ethics and discipline – four years.