The 21 decisions by the Supreme Court of Justice, by which the decisions taken by the pre-vetting commissions were annulled, do not influence the path of the reforms started in the justice sector, said Minister of Justice Veronica Mihailov-Moraru. According to her, the authorities respect the decisions of the court, but the arguments of the SCJ judges were practically similar for all the 21 challenges, IPN reports.
The minister noted that the authorities’ indignation does not refer to the candidates’ right to submit challenges if they do not agree with the pre-vetting commission’s decisions. The authorities’ dissatisfaction refers to the non-observance by the SCJ of the legal time limit for examining challenges and the fact that the decisions were taken practically one after another, the same day.
“The way in which the Supreme Court of Justice examined and adopted those decisions is what generated bewilderment and indignation. These challenges, under the special law, should have been examined during ten days. But we ascertained that they were published all together - 21 decisions to annul the decisions of the pre-vetting commission - at a distance of several months. We do not speak about particular aspects of each case, but these decisions contain primarily similar arguments. There are also specific arguments, but they are mostly similar. We respect the court decisions,” Veronica Mihailov-Moraru stated in the program “Public Space” on Radio Moldova channel.
According to the minister, now that the Supreme Court of Justice annulled the pre-vetting commission’s decisions, the candidates are to be reassessed. The SCJ’s decisions do not stop the justice sector reform and do not hamper the holding of the General Assembly of Prosecutors set for August 23.
“Now the pre-vetting commission is to reassess these candidates. These decisions do not affect the composition of the SCM or the pace of other launched reforms, including the organization of the General Assembly of Prosecutors and the formation of the SCP. Later, the extraordinary assessment mechanism is extremely necessary for society so that we ultimately solve the problem of poor image of the judiciary and are able to advance in our commitments regarding the European integration. This is a country commitment,” said Veronica Mihailov-Moraru.
After Prime Minister Dorin Recean criticized the Supreme Court of Justice’s decisions, the institution issued a press release in which it recommends the political class, the government, interest groups, the media and any person to refrain from humiliating labeling, public lynching and televised justice.
