The law on the reformation of the prosecution service will be adopted by Parliament by the end of the current legislative session, Speaker Andrian Candu said in an international conference on the issue held in Chisinau. The foreign experts and representatives of Moldova’s development partners, who attended the event, voiced hope that the bill will be approved together with the proposals formulated by the Venice Commission, IPN reports.
“There is a conception, a finished bill, and there are also the recommendations formulated by the Venice Commission. That’s why we must not lose time and must make the necessary effort for the law to be adopted by the end of the current parliamentary session, which is by end-July. It is probably the case to reduce the number of administrative procedures so as to hasten things and to accelerate the pace. Society is waiting for results. The reform of the prosecution service is one of the most important elements of the justice sector reform and I hope that we will see this bill in Parliament as soon as possible,” stated Andrian Candu.
Sergiu Diaconu, the Premier’s senior state adviser on the reform of the law enforcement bodies, said the law enforcement bodies in a functional state must function efficiently, equidistantly and without political influence, being based on the interests of the people and the state. “The justice sector reform is done not because this thing was recommended by the development partners, but because the Moldovan people must be sure that their rights are protected and that any crime will be punished,” he stated.
In the same connection, section head at the EU Delegation to Moldova Wicher Slagter said the reform of the justice system is a top priority of the EU – Moldova relations and the Moldovan authorities enjoy the entire support of the EU in this respect. A proof is the provision of €60 million in budget support and of €10 million in technical assistance. Owing mainly to the deficiencies in the process of reforming the prosecution service, the EU diminished the second tranche by €1.8 million. The EU is impatiently waiting for the bill to reform the prosecution service to be adopted.
The head of the Council of Europe Office in Chisinau Jose Luis Herrero said that by joining the Council of Europe in 1995, Moldova pledged to transform the prosecution service into a service that complies with the standards of the Council of Europe, but the country has yet a lot to do to depoliticize this service and to ensure its functioning. Over the last few years, the Council of Europe offered Moldova assistance for developing democracy and is ready to continue to provide support. For the purpose, in 2014-2016 Moldova will receive €18 million in assistance. A new program of assistance in the area of criminal justice is to be launched soon.
