Parliament passes bill that allows taking legal action against judges without Superior Council of Magistrates’ consent

After about two hours of debates, the MPs adopted in first reading the bill that allows instituting legal proceedings against judges by only notifying the Superior Council of Magistrates, the President of Moldova, or, depending on the case, the Parliament, Info-Prim Neo reports. The Opposition MPs opposed the adoption of the bill, saying that it gives the Prosecutor General’s Office too many powers (the Office can take legal action – e.n.) and undermines the judges’ independence. But the Communist MPs backed the amendments, saying they will help fight corruption in the legal system. The MP of the Moldova Noastra Alliance Party Ion Plesca said that the bill is one more step towards suppressing the independence of the judiciary. This bill is aimed at intimidating the judges and at keeping them under the control of the governors and of President Vladimir Voronin, he said. This and other proposals for amending the legislation on the judiciary, which have been submitted in the past few years, show not intention to strengthen it but to diminish its independence, Ion Plesca said. The leader of the Democratic Party Dumitru Diacov said that the bill is a step backwards and it creates a new situation, when the independence of the judiciary will be questioned. He said that there are many problems in the field but they should not be solved this way. Diacov proposed sending the bill back to the Government for improvement. Deputy Speaker Iurie Rosca, the leader of the Christian Democratic People’s Party, said that such a decision means retreat, criticism, suspicions and weakening of the judicial powers. He said that the fact that though drafted long ago, the bill is discussed now, before the parliamentary elections, is rather suspicious. The judges are those that administer justice and the justice administers certain conflicts, including electoral. We must not spare the judges of responsibility before the law, but the Superior Council of Magistrates must have the right to decide whether to accept or not the applications filed by the Prosecutor General’ Office, Rosca said. On the other hand, the Communist MP Anatol Zagarodnyi said that the bill will exclude the possibilities of destroying or hiding evidence and will prevent the crimes that can be committed by judges. The judges in the West do not enjoy such a guarantee as the immunity, the MP said. The bill was passed. On the proposal of the legal commission for appointments and immunities, the bill will not apply only to the judges of the Constitutional Court. Under the present law, the Prosecutor General is entitled to start criminal proceedings against judges only with the consent of the Superior Council of Magistrates and of the President or, depending on the case, of the Parliament, in the conditions stipulated by the Penal Code. Many jurists consider that the amendments to the law on the status of judge are aimed at subordinating the judiciary to the executive. The president of the Superior Council of Magistrates Nicoale Clima said that the amendments to the given law will seriously affect the principle of independence of the judicial authority.