Deputy Parliament Speaker Vlad Batrîncea, of the PCRM-PSRM Bloc, urges the parliamentary majority to swiftly consider the recommendations of the Venice Commission, to amend the law on the prosecution service and to ensure the independence of the Prosecutor General’s Office. According to the MP, the European experts’ opinion is very harsh and if the recommendations of the Venice Commission are ignored, Moldova will be isolated at foreign level, IPN reports.
Vlad Batrîncea said the critical opinion of the Venice Commission is a yellow card shown to the parliamentary majority that adopted amendments to the law on the prosecution service and also to the judges of the Constitutional Court, who didn’t warn about these deviations.
“It is a blow to the populism promoted by those who now govern the Republic of Moldova. It is the harshest opinion of the Venice Commission during the 30 years of independence. The Constitutional Court was also given a bad mark by the partners, the experts of the Council of Europe as the decisions adopted by Parliament are absolutely political and create political instruments for controlling the prosecution service. The Republic of Moldova risks being isolated and penalized as we now speak not about the European Union’s institutions, but about the European institutions that set down the principles of law for the whole continent,” Vlad Batrîncea stated in the program “Direct Access” on NTV Moldova channel.
He noted the arbitrary modification of the composition of the Superior Council of Prosecutors created preconditions for suspending Prosecutor General Alexandr Stoianoglo.
“It is criticized the removal from the composition of the Superior Council of Prosecutors of the prospector general, of the prosecutor of Gagauzia and of Dumitru Pulbere for the reason that he reached retirement even if the law provides that the person should complete the duties if this is in tenure. Furthermore, Alexandr Stoianoglo was abusively removed. In accordance with the law, if the prosecutor general is suspended, he is replaced by one of his deputies. The Venice Commission’s conclusions are very clear. The law on the prosecution service should be reviewed as soon as possible, the independence of the prosecution service should be ensured and the Council’s composition should be restored by reintroducing the prosecutor general,” stated Vlad Batrîncea.
The Venice Commission’s opinion about the law on the prosecution service says the legislative amendments were made hastily, in the absence of broad discussions with civil society. The European experts criticized the modification of the composition of the Superior Council of Prosecutors, saying such a move gives the impression that any parliamentary majority can change this composition in the own interest. They recommended that the work of the Council should be regulated in the Constitution so as to avoid eventual arbitrary amendments to the law, and that the current procedure for assessing the prosecutor general should be modified by introducing clearer assessment criteria.
