The Constitutional Court (CC) declared as inadmissible the request to raise the exception of unconstitutionality of Article 33 of the Law on Local Public Administration by which the legality of the suspension of Dorin Chirtoaca from the post of mayor general of Chisinau municipality was to be examined. The application was submitted by judges of the Appeals Court who accepted a request made by Tatiana Iovu, lawyer for the suspended mayor Dorin Chirtoaca, IPN reports.
The CC held that based on the provisions of Article 5 of the Law on the Status of Local Elected Officials, the mandate of the mayor starts when it is validated and lasts until it expires or before this if particular legal conditions for suspending the mandate before time appear. At the same time, under the challenged legal provisions, if an offense is committed the mayor can be suspended from post until the court passes a definitive judgment in this case.
Also, the CC noted that it is the prerogative of the court of law to suspend the mayor, as it is stipulated in the Penal Procedure Code and the Law on Local Public Administration.
According to Tatiana Iovu, Article 33 of the Law on Local Public Administration does not clearly provide who can request the court to suspend the mayor and how an eventual suspension can be challenged.
