It’s not true that only lawyers take bribe or mediate bribe. Info-Prim Neo interview with Janeta Hanganu, director of the Associate Law Office “Hanganu, Tanase and Partners”

[- During two years, the Government of Moldova, with the assistance of the Millennium Challenge Corporation, had implemented the Threshold Country Program aimed at reducing corruption in five areas, including justice. Can we say that the level of corruption in the judiciary system decreased after these two years?] - As far as I know, this program did not aim to reduce the number of corruption cases, but create appropriate conditions for the administration of justice. What was really obvious was the fact that several courts of law were outfitted with audio and video equipment for recording the hearings. It is not yet functional. Maybe this measure will have a certain effect. At least, the judges will behave differently if they know that the hearings are recorded and will provide additional evidence about the trial to the sides, who will not need the clerk’s records. Also, several courts were renovated. Practically speaking, I don’t think that the bribes offered and taken during the last two years in courts were lower. [- The police, first of all the Center for Combating Corruption and Economic Crime, often report cases when the lawyers are caught in the act of taking or mediating bribe. At the same time, there was no case of corruption involving judges or prosecutors. Does this mean that the lawyers are the most corrupt employees in the system?] - It is not true that only the lawyers take or mediate bribe. It seems to me that this is a deliberate and constant choice of the authorities to make public namely the cases involving lawyers. It is easy to accuse the lawyers and say that they are to blame for corruption, trying thus to divert attention away from judges, prosecutors and prosecution officers. But, given that the judge and the prosecutor take decisions in a case, it is clear that they are the first to be affected by corruption. The story that the lawyers mediate bribe is also not true. In fact, the lawyers filed complaints to the Commission of Ethics and Discipline of the Bar Association of Moldova, saying that the judges steal their clients. More precisely, the judges tell the clients not to pay money to the lawyer, but come directly to them. I agree that some of the about 2,000 lawyers could be involved in cases of corruption, but I am also certain that the percentage of judges that take bribe (out of the about 5000 judges) is much larger. Also, there are fees for prosecutors, for arrest warrants, for closing a legal case. [- What is the size of these fees?] - I cannot say precisely. I only heard that the postponement of a trial costs between 100 and 300 euros, depending on the gravity of the case or how urgent it is, the arrests warrants – 3,000 to 5,000, depending on how famous the case is, how important the person is or how serious the offence is. [- The Government of Moldova was found guilty by the European Court of Human Rights for violating the right to fair redress in a large number of case. We can say that this is due to the high level of corruption in the Moldovan legal system? How seriously do they affect Moldova’s image at international level?] - It is hard to prove that these violations were committed because of corruption alone. I can yet say with certitude that the phenomenon of corruption damages Moldova’s image, firs of all its image of country for investments and legal businesses. The investors are afraid of coming to such countries, where the bribe is more important than the law.