The candidate for the position of Prosecutor General shall be selected by the Superior Council of Prosecutors (CSP) based on a list proposed by the Ministry of Justice. The Parliament voted today, September 16, in the first reading, the amendments to the Law on the Prosecutor's Office, IPN reports.
The candidate for the position of prosecutor general is chosen through public competition, must have at least ten years of professional experience in law, five years as prosecutor or judge and eight years as lawyer or criminal prosecution officer.
The candidates included in the list to be proposed by the CSP will be selected by a commission set up by the Ministry of Justice. The commission will include the Minister of Justice, a former prosecutor or judge, an international expert with extensive experience in the prosecution or anti-corruption field, a civil society representative, a national expert appointed by the Speaker of Parliament and a psychologist. The members of the commission must have an impeccable reputation and at least ten years of experience in the speciality field.
The same amendments excluded the polygraph testing of candidates because it was not "a scientific method accepted at European or international level".
The Democratic Party and the Șor Party did not support this draft law. Democratic MP Vladimir Cebotari has announced that he would contest this draft at the Constitutional Court.
According to the Minister of Justice, Olesea Stamate, there is a need to speed up the passing of this draft in order to "reset the Prosecutor's Office and to be sure that this institution is headed by an honest and professional prosecutor".
Dan Perciun, ACUM Bloc, PAS group MP, argues that it depends on the next prosecutor general whether people will have access to justice. "We have inherited a ruined justice system. The judiciary annulled elections, the Prosecutor's Office initiated criminal cases, this system must be stopped, dismantled and built from ruins. This draft is a first step in this direction,” said Dan Perciun.
The CSP announced last week that seven candidates applied for the position of Prosecutor General. This competition will be declared null and void once the Parliament passes this draft in second reading.