The Venice Commission, at the request of the Ministry of Justice, will formulate an opinion about the bill to amend the Law on the Superior Council of Magistracy. (SCM) The Commission’s President Gianni Buquicchio, who is in Moldova on a visit, said it is strange why the bill about which an opinion was requested is given the final reading today, December 20, IPN reports.
Gianni Buquicchio told a news conference that in the morning the minister of justice handed over a request to pronounce on the bill concerning the SCM to him. The opinion is to be issued as a matter of urgency, by the end of next January. “I must admit that I was surprised when I learned yesterday in Parliament that this amendment bill is to be adopted today. I wondered what the Venice Commission’s opinion serves for if this amendment bill will have been adopted. But the minister assured me that this opinion is as important as it will be taken into account in an eventual improvement of the law,” stated the official.
He noted that Moldova needs a serious justice sector reform and this reform is urgent. But the reform should be of a high quality and time is needed in this regard. “Headway must be made on this reform without losing time, but also without hurrying. It is important that this reform be correct, global,” said Gianni Buquicchio.
Minister of Justice Fadei Nagachevski said the President of the Venice Commission was familiarized with what the political class aims to do to improve justice in Moldova. Gianni Buquicchio’s views are extremely important for the justice sector reform and his opinions and the opinions of the Commission will definitely be taken into account.
“I also hope that Mister Buquicchio’s visit to the Republic of Moldova will clarify the problems we have between the SCM and judges of the judicial system as we first of all need a broad political consensus for doing a stable, credible reform. The judicial power should itself realize the necessity of this reform,” he stated.
Asked by journalist why the Ministry of Justice, as the author of the bill to amend the law on the SCM, didn’t ask to put off the examination of this bill in the final reading given that the Venice Commission was requested to pronounce, Fadei Nagachevski said the urgency was explained to the foreign partners. He will provide additional explanations in a news conference later.
