The General Assembly of Judges, convened on Friday, September 27, in an extraordinary meeting, decided to terminate from their position the six judges delegated to the Superior Council of Magistracy. These are the members Victor Micu, Luiza Gafton, Petru Moraru, Nina Cernat, Anatolie Galben, and Dorel Musteaţă, who is also interim chair of the CSM, IPN reports.
The General Assembly of Judges, scheduled for 10.00, started late, with speeches given by magistrates from the rostrum. And this because initially there was a quorum shortage, 186 judges being present in the room.
Ghenadie Pavliuc, vice-chairman of the Chisinau Court, said that the judges kept coming late because they "are influenced by groups within the CSM, including on the telephone." According to the magistrate, judges are threatened with disciplinary proceedings and criminal cases. Pavliuc also said that the chairmen of some courts were called by members of the CSM that in fact had been appointed to the Council by the magistrates.
Alexei Paniș, a judge at the Chisinau Court, has said that he has been working in the justice system not for a long time, only since the spring of 2017, but for him that is enough time to understand how detested judges are in the society. According to him, it is obvious that there are problems in the judiciary and a change is inevitable.
Another judge, Ion Ciocan, mentioned that the magistrates were not interested in politics because judges are independent a priori. According to him, the judges gathered owing to the determination of the 87 signatory judges to receive answers to several questions. The magistrate has also said that the judges are not against the changes in the legislation, only that they want to be involved in this process.
Lilia Mitrofan, a judge from the Chisinau Court, has said that the last events divided the system into two groups - "in ours and yours " which is very visible. According to her, the legislature has promoted several draft laws, but some judges from the Chisinau Court, Centre headquarters have developed a notification stating that they do not agree with them.
Present at the Assembly, the CSM member, Victor Micu, has said there has never been such a situation in the Republic of Moldova and that he regrets that it came to that. He said that he thought it necessary to be present at this assembly, because both he and his colleagues had been delegated to the Council namely by these judges. "I will conform to your decision. If you believe that you can entrust me the mandate to represent your interests in the CSM, then let me keep my mandate. If not, then withdraw it. I will comply with any decision, "noted Victor Micu.
In the second part of the day, the meeting was declared deliberative, with 202 judges out of the 396 incumbent judges. The agenda was approved, and at about 18.00, the secret voting took place.
As a result, for the dismissal of Dorel Musteaţă, acting chairman of the CSM, voted 166 judges, and 16 magistrates voted against. For the dismissal of Victor Micu - 118 judges voted, and 57 - against. 167 magistrates voted for the dismissal of Luiza Gafton, Nina Cernat and Petru Moraru, while 15 were against. 162 magistrates voted for the dismissal of Anatolie Galben, and 20 - against.
The next extraordinary meeting of the General Assembly of Judges was set for October 25, when new members will be appointed to the CSM.
On September 20, the Chisinau Court of Appeal pronounced a decision by which the Superior Council of Magistracy was obligated to convene the General Assembly of Judges. In order to enforce the decision, the Chisinau Court of Appeal rendered on September 24 a conclusion by which it ordered the summoning of the extraordinary meeting of the Assembly on September 27. As a result, the CSM announced that there was no legal basis for the judges' participation in the General Assembly on the grounds that the decision was not final. The council lodged an appeal, but the Supreme Court rejected the CSM's request to suspend the decision of September 20.
