Minister of Justice Veronica Mihailov-Moraru said the General Assembly of Judges set for this Friday is a long-awaited and very important event, also for the future of the justice sector reform. She called on all the judges to assume responsibility and take part in the General Assembly of Judges so as to select members for the Superior Council of Magistracy (SCM) and the Council becomes functional, while the justice sector reform continues, IPN reports.
In a news conference, Veronica Mihailov-Moraru said the General Assembly of Judges is to also select candidates who passed the pre-vetting for serving on the SCM. The current situation in the justice system is due to the fact that the self-managing bodies were inefficient.
“We should not forget that justice is ultimately a public service. The internal conflicts, including those from the judicial system, should not be solved at the expense of the public interest. I call on all the judges to assume responsibility and take part in the General Assembly and to choose members for the SCM,” stated the minister.
Veronica Mihailov-Moraru also said that all the measures were taken for the General Assembly of Judges to take place. The designing of a bill to deal with the situation when the Assembly cannot be convoked is one of these measures. “I’m confident that the judges, especially the honest, devoted and courageous ones, will place the citizens’ interest, the law at the forefront and will contribute to restoring confidence in justice,” said the official.
The Superior Council of Magistracy scheduled the General Assembly of Judges for March 17.
Parliament on Thursday gave a final reading to the bill that provides that if the posts of SCM head or acting head are vacant, the General Assembly of Judges will be convoked and opened by the minister of justice. If the General Assembly of Judges is not held because a quorum is not present, the reconvened assembly will be held during a shorter period of time and the quorum for the rerun General Assembly will be reduced to 1/3.
