The election of members of the Superior Council of Magistracy (SCM) from among judges is a first victory of those who promote the justice sector reform, said political commentator Ion Tăbârță. According to him, the fact that the SCM is fully functional is an important step for continuing the justice sector reform. For their part, representatives of the government said the new SCM should launch the reform at the Supreme Court of Justice and assess the integrity and professionalism of the candidates for judge at this Court, IPN reports.
The chairman of the Party “Dignity and Truth Platform” Dinu Plîngău said the justice system in Moldova is very complex. The election of the new composition of the SCM does not mean full cleanup of the system and increased transparency and depoliticization of processes are needed for the next stages of the reform.
“It is not enough to name apparently upright persons. The state is obliged to institute control mechanisms. At a particular stage, especially when you are promoted to a high post, all kinds of temptations appear and the control mechanisms should work here. It is now important to have more clarity on the part of those who deal with the justice sector reform, as regards the reformation of the Supreme Court of Justice, the assessment of judges. These processes should be depoliticized and more public consultations should be held for the people from the system and society to realize what is going on so as to avoid blockages in the future, like those witnessed when the SCM members were to be elected,” Dinu Plîngău stated in the program “Emphasis on Today” on TVR Moldova channel.
PAS MP Vasile Grădinaru said he was satisfied with the General Assembly of Judges’ decision to name members to the SCM and to this way unlock processes.
“The judges are intelligent persons who realize that the law must be obeyed. We do not want to do the reform alone. This reform will be much more correct if it involves the judges. We take part only at the first stage. The second stage will be the responsibility of this Superior Council of Magistracy. Now the SCM should launch the contest to choose candidates who will occupy the vacant posts at the Supreme Court of Justice. The commission that will assess the candidates for SCJ judge should be constituted,” stated Vasile Grădinaru.
Political commentator Ion Tăbârță said the election of the new composition of the SCM is a success of the government and this body can now unrestrictedly fulfill its duties.
“It is a first victory of the promoters of the justice sector reform. After the SCM extends its representativeness and becomes a fully functional institution, there will be no criticism. This closed system called caste, which didn’t want the justice sector to be reformed, was ultimately penetrated. The judges can be divided into three categories. There are honest and upright judges who want the system to be reformed. There is also the category of those who were fully discredited and also those who were not discredited, but had to provide services to the oligarchic regime and take the requested decisions. It’s clear that the honest ones who want the system to be reformed form a minority,” said Ion Tăbârță.
On Friday, the General Assembly of Judges elected the judges who will serve on the Superior Council of Magistracy as permanent members. These are Vasile Șchiopu, Ioana Chironeț, Maria Frunze and Sergiu Caraman.
