President Maia Sandu sent back to Parliament the strategy for ensuring the independence and integrity of the justice sector for 2021-2024 and the action plan for implementing it. The official argued that without several key elements that are to be included in this document, the strategy cannot achieve the declared goals, IPN reports.

Maia Sandu noted the document should have envisioned the mechanism for external assessment of judges and the launch of a viable reform in the anticorruption system. Among the necessary elements were also mentioned the ensuring of the effective checking of property and interest statements of judges and prosecutors and the drafting and tabling of a bill to amend the Constitution so as to provide for the confiscation of the property that cannot be justified by civil servants and functionaries. “I request Parliament to incorporate these measures into the strategy. We cannot approve strategies that look well on paper, but do not bring about real changes in the justice sector,” stated President Sandu.

The strategy for ensuring the independence and integrity of the justice sector for 2021-2024 and the action plan for implementing it were passed by Parliament at the end of last November. The policy document contains three strategic intervention directions, namely: independence, responsibility and integrity of justice sector players; access to justice and quality of justice; efficient and modern management of the justice sector. The strategy and plan were adopted by the votes of the Socialist MPs and the MPs of the For Moldova Platform that includes the MPs of the Shor Party.