Following the Joint Opinion of the Venice Commission and the Directorate General of Human Rights and Rule of Law of the Council of Europe on the draft Law on the external assessment of judges and prosecutors adopted by the Venice Commission at its 134th Plenary Session of March 10-11, the Commission and the Directorate expressed their satisfaction with the constructive attitude of the Moldovan authorities, which followed the majority of the recommendations of the March 2023 Opinion. They yet formulated a series of other recommendations that would further align the document to the European requirements, says the adopted Opinion.

This concerns the recommendations regarding the status and functioning of the Assessment Commissions, the grounds for vetting of judges and prosecutors, the improvement of the assessment proceedings as well as reducing the negative consequences of the vetting measures.

At the same time, some of the recommendations have been followed in part and the measures taken to address such recommendations are still insufficient. Notably, the role of the members of the Assessment Commissions on the international quota has not been sufficiently secured and should be increased.

Likewise, the procedural safeguards for the judge/prosecutor concerned should be provided in greater detail, including the right to a private hearing, “inaccessible evidence” or bona fide ownership defenses. More tools ensuring the principle of proportionality, including the plurality of sanctions, could be envisaged in the draft Law. The Commission and the Directorate acknowledge that the drafters made significant steps to heed those recommendations, and recommend exploring the ways of their further implementation, says the Opinion.