Nongovernmental organizations express their concern about a recent order signed by the vice president of the Centru branch of the Chisinau City Court Gennady Pavliuc, which can cause confusion and can lead to the restriction of the journalists’ access to the court of law. The NGOs ask the court’s administration to review the order, IPN reports.

In a press statement, the NGOs say the order concerning the access to the court’s building, which provides, among others, that the press will have access to the courtrooms depending on the available places, was made on June 20. An absolutely new request is for the press to be accredited by the Broadcasting Coordination Council, but this authority does not have such a legal power.

The signatories note that in November 2016, the Superior Council of Magistracy annulled its own regulations concerning the access to courts of law that were published in the Official Gazette. These stipulated a number of restrictions, in particular for journalists, which were classed as abusive.

The statement reiterates that the role of the media is to inform the citizens about any event that can influence their life, rights and interests and one of the obligations of the authorities is to ensure the proper functioning of the institutions and mechanisms that provide the given information. For the purpose, the journalists can make recordings, film and take pictures and can attend the public hearings of the courts of any level.

The media NGOs request the administration of the Chisinau City Court to review the order that can lead to the restriction of access to hearings of public interest, as it happened on June 19, when the results of the early mayoral elections held in Chisinau were invalidated. These call on the Superior Council of Magistracy, which manages the judicial system, to maintain an open climate in the justice sector and to support the press in its efforts to cover important public events.

The statement was signed by the Independent Journalism Center, the Association of Independent Press, the Electronic Press Association, the Association of Independent Tele-Journalists, the Association of Investigative Reporters and Editorial Security, the Journalistic Investigations Center, the Center “Acces-Info” and the Committee for the Freedom of the Press.