A number of civil society and public policy experts are to be trained within the project “Securing integrity, efficiency and independence of the justice system in Moldova – Justice4Moldova”. There will be implemented training programs, worked out analytical notes and legal opinions and produced alternative reports on the implementation of the Strategy for ensuring the independence and integrity of the justice sector for 2022-2025, IPN reports.
The project was launched by the Institute for European Policies and Reforms (IPRE) in partnership with the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR). In the launch, IPRE executive director Iulian Groza said the major objective is to increase the role of civil society and the mass media in strengthening the independence, integrity, efficiency and responsibility of the justice system of the Republic of Moldova. The capacities of civil society and experts for designing and promoting policies in the justice sector in a transparent and responsible way, in accordance with the European rule of law standards, the human rights and the Association Agreement with the EU, will be strengthened.
According to Iulian Groza, civil society experts will be empowered to conduct advocacy and awareness-rising activities in the justice sector in partnership with national and international policy organizations and the media. “The citizens are the main beneficiaries of this project. We hope that by the activities of this project, we will further increase the role or the responsibility of actors from the justice and anticorruption sectors. We will together strengthen the capacities of the nongovernmental sector and the mass media in monitoring and implementing policies in justice, while the justice and anticorruption institutions will benefit from expertise and the contribution of counterparts from the nongovernmental sector and the mass media,” noted the IPRE executive director.
Alan Davis, IWPR director for Asia, Eurasia and Europe, said that in the Republic of Moldova, the organization he represents will contribute to developing the capacities for countering disinformation. “Our institution’s efforts in this project center on the implementation of a training and capacity development program for investigative journalists and integrity experts,” stated Alan Davis.
Attending the event, Minister of Justice Veronica Mihailov-Moraru said the reforms announced by the Government and the Ministry are complex. It goes to the vetting mechanism, the revision of the internal assessment and disciplinary accountability mechanisms, etc. “Evidently, the role of society and the media should be much greater than it is at present,” stated the minister.
The Head of the EU Delegation to Moldova Jānis Mažeiks noted that this project is extremely important to ensure a functional justice system that is the foundation stone for a democratic and stable country. “Therefore, supporting reforms in the justice sector is the key point in our cooperation with the Republic of Moldova,” said the European official.
Petru Culeac, executive director of Soros Foundation Moldova, said that this is a project that comes to facilitate the complete involvement of all the central actors of civil society and the academia in monitoring the justice sector reform. Since the Republic of Moldova declared its independence, it has always seen “reforms”, including in the justice sector. But the results didn’t always meet the expectations, including due to the capturing of the justice system. In time, progress has been made, but the situation in justice changes too slowly and this sector continues to experience multiple problems. A qualitative leap is needed and more consistent efforts should be made therefore.
The project “Securing integrity, efficiency and independence of the justice system in Moldova – Justice4Moldova” is financed by the EU and co-financed by Soros Foundation Moldova. The implementation period of the project is March 2023 – February 2026.
