President Igor Dodon announced that today he will promulgate amendments to the Law on the Prosecutor's Office, which change the general prosecutor selection procedure. The announcement was made by the head of state within the "Moldova în direct" program at the public television station Moldova 1. The candidate for the position of general prosecutor will be selected by the Superior Council of Prosecutors (CSP) based on a list put forward by the Ministry of Justice.
The president said that the Law on the Prosecutor's Office might be challenged at the Constitutional Court. "Some experts claim that some provisions could be unconstitutional, however, our colleagues and ourselves decided to go on with this project. If necessary, we will continue to defend our position at the Constitutional Court. The bill will be signed into law tomorrow, it will enter into force within the course of the next few days, then we will begin the process”, said the head of state.
In the president's opinion, selecting a general prosecutor with integrity is very important, however, the selection of such a candidate does not imply that system change will happen in Moldova overnight. "Selecting the general prosecutor is just the beginning of the process. We will continue with the evaluation of judges, prosecutors and many other things. We should not focus only on the general prosecutor”, said Igor Dodon. In his opinion, people's social problems should not be ignored.
The Parliament amended the Law on the Prosecutor's Office on September 16. According to the new procedure, the Ministry of Justice will set up a commission that will put forward a list of candidates to the CSP, which will select the general prosecutor. The commission will include the minister of justice, a former prosecutor or judge, an international expert with extensive experience in the field of prosecution or anti-corruption, a representative of civil society, a national expert appointed by the President of Parliament and a psychologist. The members of the commission must have an impeccable reputation and have at least ten years of experience in their field of expertise.
