Moldovan top court ascertains circumstances justifying exercising interim duties of Moldova's president

Chisinau, 20 October /MOLDPRES/ - The Constitutional Court (CCM) has ascertained the circumstances justifying the interim duties of Moldova’s president for exercising the constitutional obligation of appointing a minister to office.

The CCM magistrates found out, as circumstance which justified the exercising of the interim duties of Moldova’s president within the procedure of  reshuffling the defence minister, the president’s deliberate refusal to fulfill his constitutional duty of appointing the candidacy repeatedly put forward by the prime minister; this represents temporary impossibility to exercise the concerned power, under the Article 91 of the Constitution.      

The Court ruled that, according to the Article 91 of the Constitution, in the consecutiveness of exercising the interim duties, the parliament speaker or the prime minister will issue, as acting Moldovan president, the decree on the appointment of the defence minister to office and will receive his oath.  

The Constitutional Court’s ruling is final, cannot be subjected to any appeal, enters into force on the date of adoption and is published in the Official Journal (Monitorul Oficial) of Moldova.  

On 12 September 2017, Prime Minister Pavel Filip put forward to President Dodon the candidature of Eugen Sturza for the position of defence minister; the head of state turned down this proposal. Subsequently, the PM repeatedly put up the same candidacy, which was again rejected by the head of state.

Eugen Sturza is bachelor of finance and worked in Moldova’s cabinet during 2009-2013. Afterwards, Sturza held the office of head of the office of the Moldovan prime minister in the cabinet led by Iurie Leanca. Presently, he is the deputy leader of the European People’s Party of Moldova.  

(Reporter A. Zara, editor L. Alcaza)