Minister of Justice Sergiu Litvinenco said an authentic justice sector reform will start when the law on the pre-vetting of the candidates for member of the Supreme Council of Prosecutors (SCP) and the Supreme Council of Magistracy (SCM) starts to be implemented. According to the official, the clearing of the self-managing judiciary bodies of toxic and corrupt elements will represent the first step towards the definitive cleaning of the justice system. Litvinenco noted the bill on the assessment of the candidates for member of the SCP and SCM was agreed with the country’s foreign partners and was appraised by the Venice Commission, IPN reports.
The minister admitted that after the new government took over, the justice sector reform was started only by amending the legislation so as to bring about the real change. The bill on the assessment of the candidates for member of the SCP and SCM will lay the basis of a healthy justice sector in the Republic of Moldova and only upright professionals will be promoted.
“We have the Venice Commission’s expertise on the issue. The bill is essential for starting to clear the justice system of prosecutors and judges who have integrity-related problems. The essence and goal of this bill is to have a SCM and a SCP consisting of upright and honest people. If we have such institutions, the decisions on promotions taken by the SCM and SCP will be based on integrity, correctness and meritocracy and persons who committed abuses, took illegal decisions or have assets whose value is much higher than their legal revenues will not be promoted,” Sergiu Litvinenco stated in a program on PublikaTV channel.
Under the law, the candidates for member of the SCP and SCM will be assessed by a special commission that will determine their professionalism and uprightness and the ratio of their incomes to expenses.
“This pre-vetting is the main bridge that should be passed to launch the processes. It is the first step towards a systemic reform […] The people should know that the SCM and SCP are the institutions that take all the decisions concerning the career of persons working in the judicial system or the prosecution service. A correct and upright SCM will promote only correct and upright persons in the justice system,” stated Sergiu Litvinenco.
In accordance with the bill that was given a first reading, the assessment commission will consist of three members named by the parliamentary groups depending on the number of held seats and of three members delegated by the development partners of the Republic of Moldova. All the commission members will be confirmed by Parliament by the votes of 3/5 of the MPs.
