The chairman of the Vetting Commission, American jurist Scott Bales, said that if he was a judge, he would welcome the assessment process as this is a method for ensuring public confidence in courts. “I think the judges should accept the assessment means by which they can persuade the public that the justice system is integral and correct,” Scott Bales stated for RFE/EL’s Moldovan Service, being quoted by IPN.
The Pre-Vetting Commission focused on the assessment of candidates for SCM and SCP member, while the Vetting Commission will assess the candidates for judge of the Supreme Court of Justice. When this process is over, the commission will focus on the candidates for judge of appeals court and of chief judges and deputies of local courts.
“It is a method to show to the people that you are not a judge who can be suspected of being inappropriately influenced by others, but are an independent judge with ethical and financial integrity,” stated the chairman of the Vetting Commission.
According to him, the candidates had been examined during the past over two months and public hearings on the first subjects will be held next week. “I think both the pre-vetting and the process conducted now by the Vetting Commission reflect the commitment to be meticulous and correct, and the people who are subject to these assessment processes know the criteria and have the occasion of providing information so that the commissions can perform assessments. Based on what I saw, I would not criticize the process,” stated Scott Bales.
The chairman of the Vetting Commission considers the obtaining of information about the candidates for long periods that can vary between five and 12 years is a challenge in the assessment process. This is a challenge, but is not an obstacle.
In the video podcast “On the Agenda” at RFE/RL’s Moldovan Service, Scott Bales also said that the Republic of Moldova has the opportunity and resolve to make significant progress in the justice sector, which is needed for opening the accession negotiations with the European Union, but a lot of work and perseverance will be needed the coming months.
