Moldovan president to appoint prosecutor general under legislative amendment of Constitution

Chisinau, 25 November /MOLDPRES/- Prosecutor General will be appointed by President following a proposal by the Superior Council of Prosecutors (CSP), under a legislative amendment of the Constitution of Moldova. The parliament adopted the document in the first and second reading today.

Deputy Justice Minister Nicolae Esanu said that the amendment was referred to three articles defining the prosecution institution, the function of prosecutor general and of those subordinated, as well as the CSP activity. “Need to amend the supreme law came after passing the new law on prosecution, which changes, inter alia, the way of appointing prosecutor general and minimizes the impact of politics on the prosecution institution,” Esanu said.

Under the draft, the head of state will appoint prosecutor general following a proposal by CSP for a 7-year-mandate, which cannot be renewed. At the same time, candidate for the Prosecutor General position is appointed following a public contest organized by CSP and forwarded to the president. The head of state, like in the case of judges, may reject the candidate just once. The refusal must be motivated, and following a repeated proposal made by 2/3 of CSP members, the president is obliged to sign a decree on appointing prosecutor general.

At the same time, the prosecutor general is dismissed from office by the president following a proposal by CSP, under the legislation, for objective reasons and under a transparent procedure.

The new amendments will enter into force upon publication in the Official Journal (Monitorul Oficial) of Moldova.

(Reporter A. Plitoc, editor M. Jantovan)