The Europeans Union and the Government of Moldova have launched a technical assistance project in order to support the building of an independent and transparent judicial system. The project has four basic components and will be implemented over the next three years. It forms part of a €10 million technical assistance program, IPN reports.

Justice Minister Oleg Efrim told a news conference that the project aims to support the Government’s reform in the justice sector. One of the major goals is to provide technical assistance to all the legal system institutions involved in the reformation process. Another objective is to strengthen the capacities of the Coordination and Monitoring Mechanism.

Prime Minister Iurie Leanca said the assistance offered by the EU represents considerable support to Moldova’s development. “I’m convinced that this project will help us build fair justice. Time has come to pass from the problem identification stage to the problem solving one. We are not the first post-Soviet state fighting corruption in the legal system, but Moldova cannot delay dealing with this problem,” he stated.

Head of the EU Delegation to Moldova Dirk Schuebel said the justice reform will directly influence the relations between Moldova and the European Union. “The protection and promotion of the rule of law, the human rights and democracy are essential for stability, correct justice and ensuring of equal opportunities for all the people. We hope that the project launched today will contribute to achieving one of the most important objectives on the path to development – creation of fair and equal justice for everyone,” stated the official.

The €2.2 million Project to Support the Coordination of Justice Sector Reform in Moldova will be implemented in 2013-2015. It is supported by the EU and is implemented by Altair Acesore (Spain), in cooperation with ICON-INSTITUTE Consulting Group (Germany), the German Foundation for International Legal Cooperation (IRZ) and the Penal Reform Institute of Moldova (IRP).