The commission organizing the selection of candidates for the post of Moldova’s judge at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) approved 3 out of 9 candidatures. The three candidates are Deputy Minister of Justice Vladimir Grosu, lawyer Valeriu Gritco and superior university lecturer Mihail Buruiana, Info-Prim Neo reports. The contest meeting was organized on Monday, July 16, and lasted until late in the evening. The 9 candidates had to take a written test and an interview. Of the three remaining candidates, only one will be chosen by a special commission in Paris. The meeting wasn’t without incidents. Lawyer Vitalie Nagacevschi challenged three of the commission members: Minister of Justice Oleg Efrim, Moldova’s acting government representative to ECHR Lilian Apostol and Cristina Melnic, staffer of the Ministry of Justice. Nagacevschi explained that one of the candidates was Deputy Ministry of Justice Vladimir Grosu, colleague and subordinate of Minister Oleg Efrim and boss and colleague of Lilian Apostol and Cristina Melnic. Minister Oleg Efrim came up with the justification that each candidate’s interview was confidential. “It’s hard to believe that 17 people (members of the commission) could be subjective or manipulated”, declared Oleg Efrim. Another member, the head of the Resource Center for Human Rights Sergiu Ostaf stated that the chairman and the members of the commission fully respected the Regulation regarding the organization of the selection, which took place accordingly. Nine people ran for the ECHR judge’s seat: lawyers Valeriu Gritco, Vitalie Nagacevschi, Ilie Rotaru and Eduard Serbenco, the director of the Legal Resources Center Vladislav Gribincea, Deputy Ministry of Justice Vladimir Grosu, the director of the Center of Analysis and Prevention of Corruption Galina Bostan, assistant judge at the Constitutional Court Veaceslav Zaporojan and superior university lecturer Mihail Buruiana.