Project on reform of Supreme Court of Justice submitted for public consultation

Chisinau, August 29 /MOLDPRES/- The Ministry of Justice submitted for public consultation a draft law on the reform of the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ). It will also be sent to the Venice Commission for expertise.

According to the Ministry of Justice, by 6 September the institutions responsible in justice sector, as well as non-governmental organizations are to come up with proposals and recommendations to improve the draft law.

Under the document's authors, the composition of the CSJ will be changed and the number of judges will be reduced from 33 to 20 by 1 June 2023, when the new composition of the CSJ will begin to work. CSJ magistrates will be selected by the Supreme Council of Magistracy (CSM), through a public competition, based on merit. 13 judges will be selected from career judges, and seven others - from non-judge lawyers (lawyers, prosecutors, university teachers).

The project sees carrying out extraordinary evaluation of the current judges of the CSJ, as well as of the candidates for the seven positions intended for non-judges. This will be carried out in two stages: the assessment of ethical and financial integrity, and that of professionalism.

The first stage is entrusted to the independent Commission for evaluating the integrity of candidates for the position of member in the self-administration bodies of judges and prosecutors (Pre-vetting Commission), which will consider the ethical and financial integrity of both the current judges of the CSJ and of candidates for vacant positions in the CSJ. In this context, it is proposed to extend the mandate of the Pre-vetting Commission by another year.

If the candidate will pass the first stage of the evaluation by the pre-vetting Commission, then the CSM, through the Judges' Performance Evaluation Board, will evaluate the candidate on a third criterion - the professionalism relevant to the position. Also, the SCJ will be the main authority responsible for ensuring the uniform interpretation and application of legislation in the judicial system.

The working group for the development of the CSJ Reform Concept, which includes representatives of the CSJ, the Superior Council of Magistracy, the Courts of Appeal, the Chisinau District Court, the Superior Council of Prosecutors, the Moldovan Lawyers' Union, the Parliamentary Commission on rules and immunities etc. contributed to working out the draft law.

Photo: Ministry of Justice