The Cabinet on April 6 approved two bills to amend and supplement a number of provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova, designed to increase the independence of the legal system and to exclude any interference in the activity of prosecutors and judges, IPN reports.
Thus, the five-year term when initially naming judges to post will be excluded, while the method of choosing judges of the Supreme Court of Justice will be modified. These judges will be named by the President of Moldova at the suggestion of the Supreme Council of Magistracy.
Another novelty concerns the immunity of judges. The judges will enjoy only functional, not yet personal immunity. This means that if acts of corruption or other offenses are committed, the judges will answer in accordance with the law, regardless of their status.
The Cabinet also approved amendments to the Constitution concerning the method of naming the Prosecutor General. This will be appointed by the Head of State, at the suggestion of the Supreme Council of Prosecutors, for a seven-year term, without renewal.
Also, the hierarchically inferior prosecutors will be fired or hired by the Prosecutor General only at the suggestion of the self-management body – the Supreme Council of Prosecutors. This procedure is stipulated in the new Law on the Prosecution Service that was recently adopted and is to take effect in August.
Prime Minister Pavel Filip said the bills to amend the Constitution are aimed at fulfilling the commitments assumed by Moldova before the European Union, through the Association Agreement and the priority reform action roadmap.
