Public confidence in Moldovan justice increased over past years - PM says

Chisinau, 3 April /MOLDPRES/- Citizens’ trust in Moldovan justice has increased in recent years. Prime Minister Pavel Filip made the statement for a Romanian newspaper.

“What happens in justice matters a lot about perception. I asked colleagues in charge of surveys that when addressing the question of how you see things changed in court, ask people whether they have been involved with justice or not. I was pleasantly surprised to see that those who related it said things changed somewhat for the better. Those who had no tangency said that things were very bad. This tells us that it is judged at the level of perception and what is heard in media,” he said.

The premier voiced confidence that things are going in the right direction. “I recall that at the beginning of the mandate, in April 2016, a survey was conducted showing that confidence in justice was 7-8 per cent. After one year, confidence in law reached 24 per cent. It was very low, but it grew three times. It is very important to implement all the reforms we have proposed. What can government do about it? To work out draft laws and to promote them in parliament. Overall, we have done so. We approved a law on the prosecutor’s office, and there are currently specialized ones – anticorruption and organized crime and special cases. Also, the judicial reform was done by approving judicial map. However, it is not just about applying laws, it is about the correct implementation of these laws and the awareness of those working in the field,” Filip said.

The premier also said “at present, the legal framework gives judges and prosecutors an absolutely sufficient independence, and statements about insufficient independence or influence of judges and prosecutors are slightly exaggerated.”

(Reporter A. Ciobanu, editor M. Jantovan)