The process of extraordinary assessment of prosecutors and judges continues slower because the evaluation commission focuses on quality, not speed, said Minister of Justice Veronica Mihailov-Moraru, according to whom the authorities cannot influence the speed of the assessment, the vetting commissions being absolutely independent entities. In parallel with the extraordinary assessment, future prosecutors and judges who will take over the vacant positions are being trained, IPN reports.
The official admitted that the vetting process goes slower than the authorities anticipated and this is due to the large volume of information that the members of the evaluation commissions analyze.
“We would also like this process to go much faster, but we cannot influence in any way because the commissions are independent. From the discussions I had with members of the evaluation commissions, I found out that they pay great attention to the quality of the process. They prefer to be slower but sure in the process of collecting, contrasting, and analyzing data. The process of motivating decisions also takes a lot of time. They have access to different databases and have a lot of data to analyze. The good thing is that the process is in positive dynamics. The Superior Council of Prosecutors is fully functional. There are 9 out of 12 members at the SCM. Soon the Parliament will decide if the candidates who passed the assessment exercise among civil society will be confirmed as members of the SCM. We have five judges assessed and appointed to the Supreme Court of Justice,” Veronica Mihailov-Moraru stated in the talk show “Emphasis on Today” on TVR Moldova.
The official noted that the place of prosecutors and judges who will not pass the assessment will be taken over by young specialists. The National Institute of Justice is meant to train the new generation of judges and prosecutors.
“The commission sent the questionnaires and started to collect data for the prosecutors of the Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office. Between September and October, a series of interviews will be conducted with the assessed ones, including judges of the Courts of Appeals. It is an ongoing process. It is important that things be done well, that decisions be motivated so that it is understood why a particular person did not pass the assessment. This exercise is not exactly comfortable, but it is an extraordinary temporary exercise that is limited in time. It is more dangerous to commit an act of justice out of self-interest than when this is committed by a beginner. In parallel, we focus on empowerment and training,” stated the minister.
Earlier, the head of the Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office Veronica Dragalin said that after they received notifications from the vetting commission, a number of anticorruption prosecutors tendered their resignations. According to Veronica Dragalin, among the prosecutors who preferred resignation instead of vetting were also persons responsible for managing the bank fraud case.
