Declaration of civil society organizations on supporting the Reform Strategy of
                                        Centre for Combating Economic Crime and Corruption (CCECC)

We welcome the determination with which CCCEC management, community experts and international bodies (European Commission, UNDP, etc.) undertake efforts to reform substantially the lead agency for combating corruption in Moldova.

We fully support the project on Reform Strategy of CCCEC for transforming it into a modern, independent, efficient and European type institution.

We appreciate the quality of the consultation process involving civil society is being conducted, as well as media and other stakeholders in developing the Reform Strategy of CCCEC.

Main conclusions:

a)     the proposed reform correctly approaches not only the review  of the functional competences, but also the institutional development and consolidation of CCECC as the main anti-corruption  institution.

b)     the proposed reform correctly provides the mechanism of subordination: the main anti corruption institution subordinates directly to Parliament (removing the influence of the Government ),

c)     the proposed reform correctly concentrates the appropriate administrative  competences and recourses only towards  fighting corruption and related crimes,

d)     the proposed reform correctly includes the mechanisms of monitoring,  internal and external civic control over the CCECC activity,

e)     the proposed reform correctly identifies solutions of pluralization of the designation procedure and ensuring  stability in the posts of the lead persons of CCECC  ,

f)       the proposed reform correctly establishes some increased independence guarantees in CCECC activity and its depoliticizing (functional autonomy),

g)     the proposed reform correctly promotes the insurance of conditions and capacities, an appropriate number of workers, endowment with technologies and finances, adequate for the efficient functioning of CCECC.

Key recommendations:

1.      Insuring the competitive and inclusive procedure of nominalization and selection of candidates for the directorate of Center, while conducting public debates with the proposed and submitted candidates.

2.      Changing the role of the Civil Council , so that it will become a component part of the Center’s Board and will  control, together with the external monitoring, conducted  by the civil society, the Center’s performances under the performances’ reports with  comprehensive activity indicators.

3.      Consolidating the system of prevention of illegal pressures and interferences into the activity of workers inside and outside the Center through establishing internal mechanisms of protection and documentation of each case.

4.      Institutional demilitarization through: passing logistic and analytic functions to civil servants, changing the status of personnel implied in investigation and prosecution as “special categories”.

5.      Consolidating the capacity of Center in developing information and analytical materials to assess the risks and impact of corruption in different fields, with generating solutions for preventing the corruption phenomenon. 

Signatures for further contacts:

•          Sergiu Ostaf, Executive Director, Resource Centre for Human Rights (CReDO), Coordinator of Justice and Human Rights group of the National Participation Council (CNP), www.CReDO.md,

•          Vanu Jereghi, Director, Institute for Human Rights, www.idom.md,

•          Veaceslav Tofan, President, Human Rights Information Centre (CIDO), www.cido.org.md,

•          Igor Botan, Director, Association for Participatory Democracy (ADEPT), www.e-democracy.md,

•          Arcadie Barbarosie, Director, Institute for Public Policy (IPP), www.ipp.md,

6 of October 2011