Prime Minister Maia Sandu claims that "the so-called general assembly of judges, which took place on Friday, was conducted with flagrant violations of the procedure". After the sitting where six judges of the Superior Council of Magistracy (CSM) were dismissed, the chief of the executive said that "all so-called decisions have no legal effect and cannot be taken seriously", IPN reports.
According to the prime minister, the meeting of the General Assembly of Judges took place in the absence of the quorum stipulated by law and by disregarding the legal grounds for the withdrawal of the mandate of CSM members. "I firmly believe that only the judges have to decide who are the CSM members delegated by them. But it is inadmissible for this to happen by flagrant circumvention of legal provisions”, mentions Maia Sandu in a Facebook post.
According to her, the Friday events "show once again that self-cleansing of the judicial system is impossible". "Therefore, we will firmly proceed further with the reform of the Supreme Court of Justice and the judiciary as a whole, including through the external evaluation of judges," says the head of cabinet.
The General Assembly of Judges, convened on Friday, September 27, in an extraordinary meeting, decided to dismiss the six judges delegated to the Superior Council of Magistracy. These are the members Victor Micu, Luiza Gafton, Petru Moraru, Nina Cernat, Anatolie Galben and Dorel Musteaţă, who is also interim chair of CSM.
The extraordinary meeting was convened at the initiative of a group of judges by the decision of the Chisinau Court of Appeal, after the CSM rejected the magistrates' request to convene the General Assembly.
Although initially there was a quorum shortage, the assembly being attended by 186 judges, in the second part of the day, the meeting was declared deliberative. At the meeting were present 202 judges of the 396 incumbent judges. The assembly decided that the next extraordinary meeting will take place on October 25, when new members will be appointed to the CSM.
