I have no illusion about a quick change of the situation in the judiciary. Info-Prim Neo interview with Vladimir Grosu, Moldova's governmental agent at the ECHR

[ - The European authorities have been persistently demanding that Moldova improve the performance of its judiciary. What else shall be done to take the judiciary issue out of Moldova's list of democratic drawbacks?] - The judicial system as any other systems or institutions in Moldova or in other countries does not lack deficiencies, which, of course, generates potential for breeches of rights and consequent complaints to the European Court of Human Rights. Taking into account that such states as France, Germany, or Great Britain are still periodically fined by the ECHR for errors of justice, I have no illusions as to a quick change of the situation in this respect in Moldova. However their errors and deficiencies are of another sort than ours. I think one of the key issues is to have the actors in this system acknowledge their responsibilities. When they realize that there are no small details when you're making justice, as for instance not subpoenaing someone for a trial duly, then the most important change will occur, the rest will come by itself. [ - The penalties applied to the Moldovan government by the ECHR have skyrocketed to millions of euros this year. How much blame does the judiciary deserve for this wastage of tax-payers' money?] - As a matter of fact, I don't agree with how the accent is placed in this question: again, it is habitual for the Moldovan media to put the amounts lost at ECHR first and not the actual causes for the fining, which is much more important. No doubt the society must be informed of this aspect, too, but it should not form the dominant part of the information. Concerning the blame of the judiciary for these fines, it certainly must share part of it in many cases, and the judiciary has to find the courage to recognize it. But at the same time I must say this blame cannot be attributed exclusively to the judicial system. The problems of this system reflect the problems existing in the whole society. In a developing society, which undergoes permanent reform, the cause of some failures cannot be attributed only to some institutions, ignoring the role of other social actors. [ - Although the Law on the Governmental Agent allows it, there are not known cases of starting legal proceedings against the public servants who were to blame for the Government's failure in the European Court. Why is that? Will we ever be able to witness such investigations?] - Penal proceedings following ECHR decisions are not known since many do not want to see them. But they exist. Now, the general prosecutor, after being informed by the governmental agent, has started 4 regress proceedings. Two investigations have been started against the former transportation minister, following the judgments adopted by the ECHR in the cases of Ungureanu vs. Moldova and Bita and others vs. Moldova, in which the European Court found that the Transportation Ministry had failed to enforce or delayed the enforcement of some previous judgments concerning the plaintiffs. Two other investigations were started against some policemen whose illegal actions caused the violation of the rights guaranteed by the European Convention in the cases of Gutu vs. Moldova and Corsacov vs. Moldova. All these cases are now being heard by courts. [ - How do you think was the year 2008 for the relationship between the ECHR and Moldova?] - I consider 2008 to be the year of a stronger dialogue between the ECHR and Moldova, a constructive dialogue in which the two parties have learnt many things about each other, while the cases lost by the government, which by the way were much fewer than in 2007, are but an aspect of this communication. An addition to this dialogue was the election of a new Moldovan judge, and also the decisions which found no violation of the applicant's rights (the case of Flux 6 vs. Moldova, that many have read, but few are those who noticed it), by strike-off decisions, in which the ECHR got persuaded by the Government's good faith to remedy multiple situations and to promote the human rights. All these factors have shed a different, and I hope, positive light on the things that were perceived otherwise earlier.