The minister of justice said the process of assessing the integrity and professionalism of the candidates for member of the Superior Council of Magistracy (SCM) goes slower than the authorities anticipated. According to Sergiu Litvinenco, the members of the pre-vetting commission ensure correctness not speed and the new composition of the SCM will be therefore approved only in March, IPN reports.
The minister admitted that the pre-vetting commission works slower than it was projected in 2022 and the authorities’ system cleanup schedule is this way upset.
“All those who want to become members of the SCM and SCP and the Boards of these need to go through this integrity testing. I would like this process to go faster. In March 2022, we planned it would go faster, but the pre-vetting commission that is independent decided that the quality and correctness of decisions are more important than the speed. Indeed, we are behind schedule. But it is important that the commission’s decisions should be based on a vast analysis as we choose a SCM for a six-year term. During six years, the members of the SCM will have to clean up among judges,” Sergiu Litvinenco stated in the program “Emphasis on Today” on TVR Moldova channel.
According to the minister, a new Superior Council of Magistracy will be constituted at the end of March or the start of April. Also, the new composition of the Superior Council of Prosecutors will be decided in June.
“Even with this delay, the pre-vetting commission is close to completing the assessment of the judges who applied to be members the SCM. At the end of this month or the start of next month, decisions concerning all the candidates should exist. This means that the General Assembly of Judges could be held in March to choose those who will work on the SCM from among those who passed the testing. On the other hand, the pre-vetting commission is assessing the non-judges or representatives of civil society who need to be confirmed by Parliament. According to the commission’s timetable, the assessment will be finished in March. Immediately after the commission adopts its decisions, Parliament can come together to choose the SCM members from among non-judges,” said Sergiu Litvinenco.
The pre-vetting commission that assesses the professionalism and integrity of candidates for posts of SCM and SCP members consists of three members designated by the parliamentary groups and three members chosen by the development partners of the Republic of Moldova.
