Moldovan parliament speaker says Constitutional Court's independence must be protected, no matter criticism brought

Chisinau, 30 June /MOLDPRES/ - The first congress of the Association of Constitutional Justice of the Countries of the Baltic and Black Sea Regions takes place in Chisinau today. The event is titled Role of Constitutional Courts in Protection Democratic Values, and brings together chairpersons and judges from Romania, Ukraine, Georgia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Cyprus, Turkey, representatives of the Venice Commission and international organizations, MPs, representatives of the academic environment, civil society and diplomatic corps,  the parliament’s communication and public relations department has reported.       

Parliament Speaker Andrian Candu and President Nicolae Timofti opened the congress.

In his speech, the parliament speaker said that such international events opened the way to an exchange of expertise, needed to protect the common values laid down in the Constitution: state of law, democracy, sovereignty, territorial integrity, justice and fundamental rights.

“The protection of the concerned values should be made with joint efforts by all the state powers; yet, the role of a court of constitutional jurisdiction is overwhelming as guardian of the balance of state powers. In an emerging democracy, such as our country, the independence of the Constitutional Court must be protected, no matter the criteria and observations it is sometimes subjected to, especially on behalf of political sector. The attitude towards the decisions by the constitutional court shows the level of political maturity of the political actors and the society on the whole,” Andrian Candu said.    

According to the speaker, the Constitutional Court’s rulings are criticized not only in Moldova, but also in states with democratic traditions. Candu noted that the High Court had not remained indifferent to the imperatives of the rule of law state, referring to some decisions, under which “extremely important aspects for Moldova have been made clear.” It is about the fact that a person cannot be under arrest more than 30 days within a warrant and 12 months in all, as well as the election of the president by citizens’ direct voting.

“Sixteen years after the last constitutional reform, the High Court brought clarity in the provisions of the Electoral Code on the election of the president. This is a decision which upset the political life and completely changed the political agenda in Moldova. A decision which may be to the liking of somebody and the others may dislike it, but it is a decision which brings a fundamental change and will put an end to crises triggered by the failure to elect the president in parliament,” Andrian Candu noted.   

The speaker also said that, by its work, the Constitutional Court asserted itself as a solid institution of interpretation and protection of constitutional norms, which was also confirmed in the conclusions of the report by the EU experts’ mission on assessing the Moldovan law–enforcement institutions.    

“We are happy with the fact that, under the report, the Court is well-organised and its decisions are in line with the EU’s quality standards. The Constitutional Court has become a free institution, which keeps an eye on the observance of the Constitution, not only on the taking of the decision on interpreting constitutional provisions; it is also an institution which creates, managing to take into account all challenges, both from Moldova and the region, to bring the international and regional jurisprudence in Moldova as well,” Candu added.  

The first congress of the Association of Constitutional Justice of the Countries of the Baltic and Black Sea Regions was organized by the Constitutional Court, which holds the chairmanship of the Association in 2016, and with the support of the EU Project, Support to Constitutional Court of Moldova.

(Editor M. Jantovan)