The contest to fill the post of president of the Supreme Court of Justice was put off as acting president Ion Muruianu challenged the appraisal of the Security and Information Service (SIS). The Service said Ion Muruianu should not take part in the contest as many of the cases examined by the European Court of Human Rights were lost because of him, Info-Prim Neo reports. Ion Muruianu disputed the SIS's appraisal and is expecting a decision within 30 days. “If they wanted they would see that all the candidates have the same convictions. I do not want to comment. It is their viewpoint. I only informed about the discriminatory behavior and partiality of the Service,” said the acting president of the Supreme Court of Justice. He also said that the SIS made similar appraisals earlier, but the Supreme Council of Magistrates did not consider them an impediment hindering the person from running for the post of Supreme Court of Justice president. “I will not allow damaging my reputation when I do not deserve,” said Ion Muruianu. The ECHR convicted Moldova in eight cases that had been examined by Ion Muruianu. “The decisions in four of them wee confirmed by higher national courts that involved some of my opponents who run for this post. Another four were unanimously passed by the Board of the Supreme Court of Justice,” he stated. The president of the Supreme Council of Magistrates Nicolae Timofti said the decision to postpone the contest was taken by the entire Council. The Association for Participative Democracy and the Center for Legal Resources called on the Supreme Council of Magistrates to ensure transparency in the process of selecting the president of the Supreme Court of Justice. The NGOs say the Council has not yet published candidates' CVs on its website and it is not clear when the meeting where the Council will take a decision as regards this contest will take place and what selection criteria will be used. “Given politicians' statements that they will not support a certain candidate and the apparently political reasons for withdrawing a candidate from the contest, it may seem that the candidate will be selected according to political preferences so as to obtain control over the Supreme Court of Justice and a decisional majority in the Supreme Council of Magistrates,” the NGOs said. Besides Ion Muruianu, the presidency of the Supreme Court of Justice is contested by Constantin Gurschi, Raisa Botezatu, and Nicolae Timofti.