Premier Vasile Tarlev wants to exempt Government from financial responsibilities in cases lost in ECHR

Prime Minister Vasile Tarlev wants to exempt the Government from the financial responsibilities in the cases lost in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). At the meeting of the Council of Ministers of February 21, Tarlev asked the Ministry of Justice to submit proposals in accordance with the international practices that would stipulate, if the court judgments are not executed or incorrect decisions are made, what body or government functionary is to blame. Tarlev says it is not correct that the ECHR condemns the Government and not the Chisinau municipality or the former mayor that did business and did not execute the court judgments, saying a large number of the cases lost in Strasbourg concern the illegalities witnessed by the capital. The Premier said he does not believe that all the judges are corrupt, as it is said about the judicial system of Moldova. But, according to him, it is not good when the judges do not have responsibilities but only powers and life immunity for them and their families, a good salary and the possibility of examining the cases in reasonable terms of one hour to several years, depending on someone’s interest. The ECHR in the past 20 months found Moldova guilty in about 30 cases. At the end of last year, the Government was to pay about five million lei in 25 cases lost. Overall, Moldova lost 50 cases in the Court in Strasbourg. For the first time it was sentenced in December 2001. Experts say Moldova has the largest number of cases lost in the ECHR per capita. [Note Info-Prim Neo:] About a year ago, on 9 March 2006, the Moldovan Parliament approved the Law No. 238, which says that the state has the right to regress against the persons whose activity, intentionally and through serious fault, constituted a reason for adopting a decision regarding the compulsory payment of the sums set by court decision or by agreement to solve the case outside the court. The sums fixed by court decision or by agreement to solve the case outside the court were to be fully refunded, under a decision by the court, by the persons that intentionally and through serious fault conditioned the compulsory payment of these sums by the Republic of Moldova. The governmental agent was obliged to inform the Prosecutor General and Supreme Council of Magistrates about all the cases when, by court decision, Moldova was to pay sums of money. At the same time, the law stipulates that the Ministry of Finance is to incontestably pay the sums intended to fairly repair the damage and reimburse other expenses, as well as the sums set by the agreements to solve the case outside the court, even if the state budget law envisaged or not money for this purpose. The law entered into force after published in the Official Gazette of Moldova on 14 April 2006, but it was never applied so far.