The MP of the Moldova Noastra Alliance Party Gheorghe Susarenco intends to challenge in the Constitutional Court the amendments to the Law on the Status of Judge aimed at modifying the method of initiating legal proceedings against judges, if they are passed by the Parliament, Info-Prim Neo reports.
Gheorghe Susarenco forms part of the legal commission for appointments and immunities, which examined the modifications that enable the Prosecutor General to take legal action against judges without the consent of the Superior Council of Magistrates, but by only notifying it of this. Susarenco says that though he was against it, the bill was adopted by the majority vote of the communist MPs from the commission and will be submitted to the Parliament for consideration. The MP is sure that the amendments will be passed by the vote of the Communist majority of the Parliament. As former judge of the Constitutional Court, Susarenco says that the jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court of Moldova as regards the material and other guarantees of the independence of judges is univocal. For many times, the Court pronounced on certain matters and declared legislative provisions unconstitutional, stressing that the guarantees of the judges cannot be restrained, the MP said.
Gheorghe Susarenco considers that the bill that proposes modifying the method of filing a lawsuit against the judges put forward by the Government is another step towards suppressing the independence of the judicial system in Moldova. This initiative, which is backed by the Prosecutor General Valeriu Gurbulea, is aimed at intimidating the judges and keeping them under the control of the present government and of President Vladimir Voronin in particular, Susarenco said.
According to the cited source, for several times the President of Moldova put up ideas and made statements to the detriment of the judiciary at the general assemblies of judges. Voronin called on them to make decisions in the interest of the state, especially in civil matters. He said that Moldova has too many judges and prosecutors, even if the Council of Europe recommended raising the number of judges in Moldova because they are overburdened, the parliamentarian said.
Gheorghe Susarenco says that the Ministry of Justice’s argument that the special status of the judge makes the taking of immediate investigation measures impossible are groundless. The practice has shown that when there was incontestable evidence, the Superior Council of Magistrates consented to taking legal action against the judge. Susarenco also said that the intention to offer the judges the same guarantees as the ones enjoyed by the MPs is unjustified because the parliamentarians are not exposed to the same risks as the judges. Though in the civilised states, the judges do not benefit from immunity, international experts consider that in the former Soviet-states where the democracy is only developing such guarantees are necessary in order to protect not only the judicial system but the citizen too, Gheorghe Susarenco stressed.
[The president of the Supreme Court of Justice Ion Muruianu] is also against the amendments that change the method of starting legal proceedings against judges. He shares the position of the Superior Council of Magistrates, of which he forms part, and considers that the modification of the Law on the Status of Judge will seriously affect the principle of independence of the judicial authority. The judge said that by this initiative the authority of the Council, which is empowered by law to defend the independence of the judiciary, is undermined.
The parliamentary commission for appointments and immunities is examining a bill for amending a number of legislative documents concerning the status of judge. Under the proposed amendments, the General Prosecutor can take legal action against judges without the consent of the Superior Council of Magistrates and, depending on the case, of the chief of state or of the Parliament, only by notifying the Council. The Ministry of Justice, who drafted the bill, argued that the amendments will help exclude the misinterpretation of the legislation regarding the inviolability of judges, which gives the judges a special status and many times this makes the immediate investigation of judges, even in cases of flagrant offences, practically impossible.
