The Moldovan lawyers came together for their annual congress on Friday, April 30. Unlike the previous years, this year's congress was attended by a number of senior officials, including Acting President, Prime Minister, Minister of Justice and Prosecutor General. The congress took place at the Palace of the Republic and the sitting of the Parliament was canceled, Info-Prim Neo reports. According to the report on the lawyers' work since the last congress that was presented by the head of the Board of the Bar Association Gheorghe Amihalachioaie, the number of the Association's members increased by 213. Gheorghe Amihalachioaie said the Bar Association is proud that a part of its members became high-ranking state officials, like Moldova's Acting President, Speaker Mihai Ghimpu, Deputy Speaker Alexandru Stoianoglo, Minister of Justice Alexandru Tanase and others. Speaking about the problems faced by the lawyers, Gheorghe Amihalachioaie said more and more lawyers work without a license and a large part of them are convicted. Some of the lawyers refuse to participate in training seminars, but escape disciplinary punishment. Gheorghe Amihalachioaie voiced hope that things will change after the law on advocacy is modified in second reading. Amihalachioaie added that representatives of the power did not attend the congress the previous years, the lawyers being considers an opposition of the Communist government. “Do not be angry with Voronin (Vladimir Voronin, the former head of state – e.n.) as he does not deserve standing in front of you,” said Mihai Ghimpu. He stressed he pines for the time when he worked as a lawyer as he was freer then. “The profession of lawyer is the best one. One should have two values: freedom and the preeminence of the law. I ask you to continue defending the human rights and the law,” Mihai Ghimpu said to the lawyers. At the end of his speech, Mihai Ghimpu asked his former colleagues to accept him back when his term in office as Head of Parliament expires. Premier Vlad Filat said the work of lawyers must be fully regulated. He stressed that the lawyers who have worked for more than 10 years in the field must enjoy promotion opportunities and that the legislation concerning the fiscal aspect of the lawyers' work must be improved. “The lawyers must be lawyers not accountants,” he said. Prosecutor General Valeriu Zubko, who is a also a lawyer by profession, urged the lawyers to behave with integrity. “It is not right to transform the criminal cases into political one. Some of the lawyers do not use the legal instruments, but ask the political authorities to intervene and solve cases,” Zubko said. More than 800 lawyers from Moldova took part in the congress.