The head of the Center for Public Authorities Monitoring and Initiatives Ion Dron called upon the parliamentary groups and unaffiliated MPs to take attitude to the legislative initiatives proposed by President Nicolae Timofti and a group of Liberal-Democratic MPs concerning the amendment of articles referring to the Supreme Council of Magistrates (CSM).

In a news conference at IPN, Ion Dron said the legislation now says that the candidate for judge rejected by the head of state or Parliament can be put forward again by the CSM by the votes of two thirds of its members. The head of state proposes that the naming or promotion of a judge should be approved by the CSM by the votes of all the members attending the meeting, while the bill submitted by the Lib-Dems says by the unanimous vote of its members.

Ion Dron underlined that the head of state repeatedly expressed his dissatisfaction when he had to sign decrees to name or promote judges, at the initiative of the CSM.

“Given that today only six of the 12 members of the CSM are elected, the adoption of these bills will mean nothing else but the taking over of the CSM by factors from outside. The executive power will take it over in order to gain political control, through the agency of the minister of justice, while the legislative power will take control through the prosecutor general and the three titular professors designated by Parliament as members of the CSM,” said Ion Dron.

He added that if the proposed legislative initiatives are passed, the members of the CSM will become decorations that will transform Moldova into a lame state with two powers instead of three.

The Supreme Council of Magistrates consists of 12 members. Six are judges, three are titular professors, while the other three are ex officio members: the Council’s president, the minister of justice, and the prosecutor general.