Chisinau Court of Appeals judge threatens with protest

Dionis Panov, a judge of the Chisinau Court of Appeals, intends to stay at the door of the meeting hall of the Disciplinary Board of the Superior Council of Magistrates until the Board takes a decision in his case. Prosecutor General Valeriu Zubco requested that the Disciplinary Board institute disciplinary proceedings against judge Dionis Panov because he broke the terms of editing court decisions in a number of cases, Info-Prim Neo reports. In the July 30 meeting of the Disciplinary Board, Dionis Panov explained that he has a heavy workload because he is helping another judge who is on sick leave. ”If the Prosecutor General had invited me to discuss the problem, the disciplinary punishment wouldn’t have been imposed on me,” said the judge, specifying that he has examined over 800 cases since the start of the year. The Board expressed surprise, saying the figure is rather high. “I worked without Sundays and rest days. If you find a judge that is as assiduous as me, I will quit,” Dionis Panov exclaimed. The Disciplinary Board decided to postpone taking a decision in Dionis Panov’s case in order to analyze the statistical data that will be provided by the judicial inspectorate. “We want to make a well-founded decision and thus need proofs,” said the Board’s chairman Nicolae Rosca. Dionis Panov was to go on leave in the middle of June, but he said he will not go because he will not be able to rest while waiting for the judgment. “I will stay by the door until a decision is taken,” he said. After the meeting of the Board, Dionis Panov sat in the chair near the door and said he will ask his wife to bring him crisp bread.