Prime Minister Ion Chicu said the justice sector can be cured not necessarily by a reform. According to him, the curing can take place with currently available instruments as well, until an external judge assessment mechanism is agreed, IPN reports.
Presenting to the media the report on the first 100 days of work of the Government after failing to present it in Parliament, Premier Chicu voiced hope that with the restoration of functionality, the Superior Council of Magistracy and also the prosecution service will be able to play an important role in fighting corruption among judges. According to him, in particular, the state bodies will focus on the judges because of whom Moldova already pays hundreds of millions of lei under ECHR judgments.
“We saw that after the payment order for 70 million lei that came this week after Moldova lost a case at the ECHR in 2011, even larger sums will follow. The more serious crimes committed by our judges will cost us more. It’s clear for me who should pay them and I stated this,” said the official, noting that not all the judges are corrupt and many of them deserve respect.
He stated that the justice sector reform strategy should be broadly discussed with civil society, political parties, professionals working in the field, development partners. “In several days, we will stage an event to discuss the reform concept with the assistance of the partners from the Council of Europe, the EU, the U.S. and others, under the auspices of the Premier,” said Ion Chucu, adding that the responsible state bodies will check the integrity of judges and their expenses against the officially declared incomes.
Premier Chicu said that he drafted and passed through the Government bills to amend the legislation and the Constitution so as to reduce political interference in justice. “For example, we voted to exclude the minister of justice from the Superior Council of Magistracy and reduced the President’s power related to the appointment of judges,” he stated. He voiced hope that these changes will be supported by Parliament.
