The General Assembly of Judges set for March 26 was put off for another date that will be decided later, as the Superior Council of Magistracy (SCM) agreed on March 23, IPN reports.

SCM acting head Luiza Gafton said that owing to the pandemic situation, the General Assembly of Judges cannot be held on March 26. She made reference to the National Extraordinary Public Health’s commission by which the holding of assemblies and professional meetings is banned. Also, there is no other legal framework that would enable to convene the assembly in a different way.

In January, the SCM decided that the ordinary General Assembly of Judges would take place on March 26. The judges were to elect a standing member of the SCM from among judges and a substitute member and also a number of members of the constituent boards. There will be presented the progress reports for 2020 of the SCM and the Supreme Court of Justice.

In 2019, after the Superior Council of Magistracy rejected the judges’ request to call the General Assembly, a group of judges convoked the extraordinary sitting in September. Then the participants decided to dismiss the six judges delegated to the Superior Council of Magistracy. In several days, the Council filed a challenge, asking to annul that decision. A new General Assembly of Judges, where to choose a new composition of the SCM from among judges, was set for October 25, but this didn’t have a quorum. In the middle of this January, the SCM scheduled the General Assembly of Judges for March 13, but this was put off owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. The meeting set for October 23 also didn’t take place.