Moldova’s image at foreign level is affected by the delay in reforming the justice sector and the development partners deride the Moldovan authorities when they ask for more money for reforms from the foreign donors, said lawyer Stanislav Pavlovschi, former ECHR judge, quoted by IPN.
In an interview for Radio Free Europe, Stanislav Pavlovschi said the €60 million (almost 1.9 billion lei) offered by the EU is sufficient to completely destroy the Moldovan justice and to build another one, but this is rather improbable by the 2016 deadline set by the EU. 2016 will see other cases of violation of the right to a fair trial and of the principle of equality of parties.
“We do not have the probation standard in the criminal procedure and the guiltiness level cannot be measured without this standard. The high-ranking officials of the Prosecutor General’s Office do not know what a probation standard is. How can we thus speak about the justice reform? The nice buildings, luxury offices and personal toilets for judges are indeed important, maybe primordial for them, but we should also think about the interests of society,” said the lawyer.
He underlined that the prosecutors in Moldova flagrantly break the law. “The prosecutor investigates the case and then personally indicts the person and sends the case to court. The reform of the prosecution service is stagnant. This reform in our country was reduced to one element: the method of naming or electing the prosecutor general. This is the greatest problem faced by the prosecution service. The people affected by the illegalities committed by prosecutors should think about this,” stated Stanislav Pavlovschi.
As to the raise in the salaries of judges and prosecutors, the former ECHR judge said there are many judges in Moldova who do their job honestly and indeed have a hard life. For these judge the increase in pays is a step that should have been taken 3-4 years ago. But for those who got used to living from bribe, the salary will never be enough. The honest judges should not suffer because of the corrupt judges, while before demanding that the judges obey the deontological norms, the state should create minimal conditions needed for decent living.
