In 2014, civil society would like greater transparency to exist in the legal system as this will lead to a qualitative change in justice, said the director of the Resource Center for Human Rights (CReDO) Sergiu Ostaf, who heads the National Participation Council.
Contacted by IPN, Sergiu Ostaf said greater transparency means full and easy access to all the court decisions. The access to such information should be ensured in several minutes, not in several weeks, as now. “This way, we will have democratic control on the way justice is done in Moldova,” stated the expert.
Another expectation of 2014 is transparency in the work of the Supreme Council of Magistrates, the Qualification Board, the Disciplinary Board and the Assessment Board. “It is important to have access to all the meetings and the related materials so that we can easier find information about the punishment, promotion and appraisals of judges,” said Sergiu Ostaf.
Another objective that should be achieved in 2014 is to fully transfer the responsibilities related to justice management from the Ministry of Justice to the Supreme Council of Magistrates, namely the Judicial Supervision Department. “We must finally complete the process of ensuring shelf-government in the legal system,” said the representative of civil society.
Sergiu Ostaf said increased transparency is needed in the work of the Prosecutor General’s Office, as regards the summing up of the prosecution and indictment strategies. “We also expect the Supreme Council of Prosecutors to be a body that guarantees the autonomy and independence of the prosecution service,” he said.
As to the corruption combating measures, the CReDO director said the public procurement process should be more transparent. According to him, over 8 billion lei is lost from the state budget through irregularities at public tender contests. “The people cannot see the bids and winners of tender contests by simply accessing a website. If we can control the use of public money, we will be able to significantly contribute to corruption combating,” stated Sergiu Ostaf. He added that privatization must also be a transparent process, free from speculations.
