Judicial powers have been clearly defined, expert

The strategy for reforming the civil procedure as a component part of the justice reform was finished and will be sent to the Government for examination after it is appraised by experts. The strategy was worked out by a joint working group consisting of specialists of state institutions and representatives of civil society. Contacted by Info-Prim Neo, lawyer Viorel Chetrusca, expert of Promo-Lex Association in the justice reform process, said changes were made mainly to the rules of civil procure. The reform envisions optimizing the judicial powers. “The first court will deal with all kinds of cases, the Court of Appeals will no more examine litigation objections, while the Supreme Court of Justice will be a cassation court that will not adopt new decisions, but will determine if the norms were applied correctly,” said Viorel Chetrusca. According to the expert, if the Supreme Court of Justice establishes that the norms were applied incorrectly, it will send the case to the Court of Appeals or the first court – the district court - for reexamination. Viorel Chetrusca said the strategy includes the proposal that the judge should issue the decision with motivation in the same hearing or to present the motivation later, but in public hearing, which earlier generated heated discussions among experts. The justice reform is based on four elements: reformation of the civil procedure, reformation of the penal procedure, judicial organization and reformation of the prosecutor’s office. Working groups were created in all the four areas to draft relevant bills.