The reform of the prosecution service and its importance in society were debated in the international conference “Prosecution service reform: European standards and good practices” that was staged in Chisinau by the Council of Europe. The event forms part of the Support to the Criminal Justice Reform in Moldova Project that is financed by the Government of Denmark, IPN reports.

The conference participants discussed the role of the prosecution service in society, the importance of modernizing it and gave international experiences as example. “The project of which today’s event forms part has two major objectives: the reform of the prosecution service and the reform of the ombudsman’s institution. We hope that the new draft law on the prosecution service, which is now in Parliament, will be passed and we will be able to go to the next stage, which is the most important one – the implementation of this law,” said Ghenadie Barba, deputy head of the Council of Europe Office in Chisinau.

“Currently, we are going through important changes - the modernization of the prosecution service. The necessity of more profound changes is objective and derives both from the international recommendations and the commitments made by Moldova at national and foreign levels. Society wants changes and wants the prosecution service to enjoy more confidence,” said Moldova’s Prosecutor General Corneliu Gurin.

The participants in the event said that at institutional level Moldova needs to exchange experience with other states and to borrow goods practices in this field. “The instruments offered by the legislation on the prosecution service are not enough for making justice acceptable to everyone. The change must be a permanent process if it’s aimed at meeting the people’s expectations. The new law on the prosecution service that was adopted by Parliament in the first reading is a good example in this regard. It is a good act that should be developed together with a series of other documents,” said Minister of Justice Vladimir Cebotari.

In the event, foreign experts shared their states’ practices as regards the structure, status, role and powers of the prosecution service in the criminal justice system.