The leader of the Action and Solidarity Party (PAS) Maia Sandu said the current government fully compromises the justice sector reform. By the proposed measures, it tries to further subordinate justice to political interests. In a news conference, Maia Sandu said the proposals formulated by Dodon’s Government, as they appear in the conception and the draft law that were made public, represent a major deviation from the justice sector reform promoted by the Government she led, IPN reports.
The PAS leader noted that the extraordinary, external and authentic assessment of judges is replaced with an internal assessment that will be carried out by persons from the system, according to the existing mechanisms that already proved their inefficiency and didn’t help the country get rid of corrupt judges. “The assessment of prosecutors was generally excluded,” stated Maia Sandu.
The ex-Premier also said that the assessment should be performed by a board managed by the Superior Council of Magistracy, which is to be created by merging two existing boards, for assessing performance and for choosing judges. Through the agency of the Parliament’s legal commission, the political class would become involved in the selection of members of this board that will be in charge of the assessment and career of judges. “Our major fear is that Dodon, through this mechanism, will eliminate the judges who do not play his game from the system,” stated Maia Sandu.
According to the politician, there is no requirement concerning the integrity of the persons who will be chosen to carry out the assessment, as the Venice Commission requires. This way the judges will be assessed as the board members consider right. “We offer the board members discretionary rights to assess the judges superficially. Nothing is said about the assessment of prosecutors in the conception and the draft law. It is yet strange to do the justice sector reform without bringing things in the prosecution service in order and we cannot expect results,” stated Maia Sandu.
PAS MP Sergiu Litvinenko noted the top problem resides in the ending before time of the terms in office of the members of the two boards that are to be dissolved. If this conception is put into practice, the current government will take the assessment and career of judges under full control and persons loyal to the Party of Socialists could enter the new judge assessment and selection commission, who would implement political orders.
The party’s opinion will be transmitted to the Council of Europe, the EU, the Embassy of the U.S. in Chisinau and other development partners for informing them about the criticism and risks posed by the bill on the justice sector reform proposed by the current government.
