Judges in the Republic of Moldova can become only the graduates of the National Institute of Justice or of other institutions if they attended refresher courses at this Institute. According to a study made by the Legal Resources Center, 80 posts were vacant in the legal system last May, but only 14 persons who trained to become judges graduated from the National Institute of Justice by this March.
Contacted by IPN, jurist at the Legal Resources Center Ion Guzun explained that the lower number of graduates is due to the fact that the number of vacancies in the legal system wasn’t determined by the Supreme Council of Magistrates, which decided the number of candidate accepted annually at the National Institute of Justice.
According to Ion Guzun, until now the judges were elected from among graduates of other institutions, who had an experience of five years in justice. No refresher courses were required. Starting with 2013, the vacancies for judges can be filled only by graduates of the National Institute of Justice. The graduates of other institutions, who have at least two years of experience in justice, must attend refresher courses at the Institute.
“No assessment was carried out to determine for example the number of judges needed for the next five years. If an estimate is made, the number of students at the National Institute of Justice will be at least three times higher,” stated Ion Guzun.
Gheorghe Budeanu, of the Institute’s Public Relations Division, has told IPN that 15 persons will be accepted for training as judge, while 20 for training as prosecutor the next academic year. Admission starts on July 1.
