The Constitutional Court has rejected an appeal by a number of judges who unsuccessfully sought to become members of the Superior Council of the Judiciary (CSM).

The judges – Victor Sandu, Stanislav Sorbalo, Veronica Cupcea, Ion Chirtoacă, Vitalie Stratan, Aureliu Postică, Iurie Bejenaru, Angela Bostan, Mihail Bușuleac, Nicolae Șova, and Vladislav Holban – failed to pass the evaluation administered by the Pre-Vetting Commission.

The appellants complained in particular that criteria such as “serious doubts (of corruption)”, “reprehensible (conduct)” or “(legally) inexplicable (decisions)” used by the Commission for dismissing candidates are too vague and allow it an overly broad discretionary margin.

Further, they claimed that the term of “past 15 years” during which candidates are supposed to keep records of their income and assets is “excessive”, because for some candidates the term goes as far back as to their school years.

In rejecting the appeal, the Constitutional Court stated that “the decision to apply for such positions implies that the candidate has admitted that he or she will be checked for compliance with the standards of ethical and financial integrity established by law”.

Coming together after a four-year hiatus, the General Assembly of Judges on March 17 was supposed to delegate four members to the CSM. But it chose to postpone the matter until April 28, arguing that only five candidates successfully passed the pre-vetting and that appeals from unsuccessful candidates were yet to be heard.