Justice reform strategy approved in first reading

The Parliament adopted the justice sector reform strategy for 2011-2016 in first reading, Info-Prim Neo reports. The legal commission for appointments and immunities endorsed the strategy, but said that members of the Supreme Court of Justice and the Supreme Council of Magistrates and some of the MPs were against tapping the work phones of judges and against testing them with the polygraph. “We must take this into account when the strategy is examined in second reading,” said the commission’s head Victor Popa. Minister of Justice Oleg Efrim said that in order to combat corruption measures will be taken to improve the work conditions, including raising the salaries, excluding the immunity in cases of corruption, introducing the punishment with imprisonment and removing the corrupt judges from the system. “We drafted bills that lay down the criteria and methods of appointing and promoting judges,” said the minister. He informed that the financial resources needed to implement the strategy have not been yet determined, but the EU is ready to offer over €50 million to Moldova for reforming the justice system. The justice sector reform strategy was passed by the votes of 53 of the 55 MPs attending.