The bill concerning the assessment of judges could be remitted to the Venice Commission for examination in its plenary meeting of June 2020. Experts of the Council of Europe (CoE) consider it is unacceptable to hasten the process only for being able to remit the bill to the Venice Commission for appraisal at its plenary meeting of this March, IPN reports, quoting the Government’s press service.
Prime Minister Ion Chicu on January 20 had a meeting with members of the ad-hoc working group for the justice sector reform led by Christos Giakoumopoulos, Director General of Human Rights and Rule of Law of the Council of Europe. The working group was set up by the Council of Europe to assist Moldova in implementing the justice sector reform.
The head of the CoE delegation underlined the necessity of actively engaging all the interested parties in drafting the bill on the justice sector reform. “We are here to help, to minimize the risks. We will be partners in this process. We are ready to offer the necessary support to the Republic of Moldova, in terms of consultancy, and technical assistance in successfully implementing the justice sector reform,” stated the official.
The CoE experts recommend the Government of Moldova to ensure a veritable process of public discussions on the bills, with all the interested parties, including judges and civil society. Later, the bill could be sent to the Venice Commission for consideration. The sides agreed that the bill on the assessment of judges could be remitted for appraisal at the plenary meeting of this June.
Prime Minister Ion Chicu said the Government is fully committed to optimizing the justice system and welcomed the cooperation with the foreign partners and the domestic partners in this process. He noted that society will be permanently informed about the reform process.
