The Bloc of Communists and Socialists (BCS) informed experts of the Venice Commission and the Council of Europe about the inadmissibility of the law on the assessment of the integrity of judges and prosecutors. Socialist MP Grigore Novac said that a number of recommendations of the Venice Commission were ignored when this law was adopted and the independence of the judiciary is undermined, IPN reports.

In a press briefing, Grigore Novac said that these changes are improper for a democratic state and will have dangerous effects. These actions of the PAS majority compromise the justice sector reform in Moldova. “We want to remind the Venice Commission that its earlier recommendations haven’t been taken into account. We want to warn our partners that the Republic of Moldova failed to do the justice sector reform,” stated Grigore Novac.

Maxim Lebedinschi, a member of the Executive Committee of the Party of Socialists, said the parliamentary majority ignored the BCS MPs’ proposal to set up a working group for adjusting the draft to the Venice Commission’s recommendations. He warned about the lack of a broad consensus on this bill on the parliamentary platform and inside civil society. The MP said the situation concerning the future members of the assessment commission, representatives of a number of states, is uncertain and this can be interpreted as foreign interference in Moldova’s internal affairs. “The Socialists and Communists do not oppose the justice sector reform, but this reform should not turn into a witch hunt,” stated Maxim Lebedinschi.

Last week, the parliamentary majority gave a final reading to the bill on the assessment of the integrity of candidates for members of the Superior Council of Magistracy and the Superior Council of Prosecutors, adopting it by the votes of 63 MPs of the Party of Action and Solidarity. The MPs of the Bloc of Communists and Socialists left the sitting in protest, while those of Șor Party didn’t come to the sitting, accusing the parliamentary majority of being “a vote machine.