Minister of Justice Oleg Efrim challenged a decision of the Disciplinary Board, by which judge Grigore Zubati was punished by being given a warning only, in the Supreme Council of Magistrates. The judge earlier issued a decision whereby he transferred a plot of 670 square meters to judge Mihail Ciugureanu, without the consent of the Chisinau Municipal Council. The minister considers that this penalty is too mild given the disciplinary deviations committed by Grigore Zubati, Info-Prim Neo reports. According to a communiqué from the Ministry of Justice, the legislation provides that the sale and transfer of property is the exclusive prerogative of the local public authorities. Consequently, the court does not have the right to decide which plot and to whom it must be transferred as well as its price. The Disciplinary Board emphasized that Grigore Zubati violated the legal norms concerning the conflict of interest when he accepted to examine the application of his colleague Mihail Ciugureanu, without informing the president of the Court of Appeals or of the Supreme Council of Magistrates. Oleg Efrim considers that by his actions, Grigore Zubati prejudiced the authority of the judicial power and the prestige of the profession, arousing doubts as to his impartiality and objectivity in this post. He also believes that the Disciplinary Board examined the case superficially and subjectively and issued the decision based only on the unfounded and unsubstantiated explanations of Grigore Zubati. Therefore, Oleg Efrim requested the Supreme Council of Magistrates to impose a harsher penalty on Grigore Zubati. In 2012, Grigore Zubati received another warning, which was then transformed into a reprimand.