Head of state says Moldovan justice sequestrated by personal interest of several judges

Chisinau, 20 March /MOLDPRES/ - We find out that the justice has been sequestrated by the personal interest of several judges, who left criminals at large, who allowed the theft of one billion dollars to remain unpunished or invalidated democratic elections. President Maia Sandu made statements to this effect at the end of a today’s meeting of the Supreme Security Council (CSS).  

The Moldovan head of state noted that the general assembly of judges had been held with the infringement of the law. ‘’For instance, the law does not envisage the possibility of interrupting the meeting. Moreover, the people who were involved in the organization and managing of this meeting were in conflict of interests. Some of them were reconfirmed to office, while the others were not allowed by the evaluation commission to run for the Superior Council of Magistracy (CSM). All the judges managed to show at this meeting is that the justice had rotted and is not able or cannot be treated. Some judges proved that their goal is not to do justice, but to compromise the justice. Why some of the judges did not want to have a functional CSM? Namely this institution is the self-governance body from the judicial system, which proposes the candidacies for the judges from all over the country. If there is no CSM, no judges can be appointed, detached, promoted and neither disciplinary measures can be applied against some of them. Judges invoked the situation of the need to consider the contestations of those who failed to pass the exam, but we should remind that the law reads quite clearly that the contestations should be examined during ten days; so, the term has expired and this justification is unserious. Some of the judges on last Friday ruled to block all processes from the system and put obstacles to changes in justice; those who cannot justify either their wealth or the abuses committed or the protection of corrupt people gave lessons of morality to the citizens,’’ Maia Sandu said.      

The Moldovan president specified that the actions of some judges would not hinder the changes in the system. ‘’The independence of the judges does not mean the independence of corruption. In this context, the Superior Security Council came up with the following decisions and recommendations. The first recommendation regards the speeding up of the creation of the Superior Council of Magistracy. CSM is to be functional in 30 days. Also, the parliament will appoint members non-judges, who passed the Commission’s evaluation and CSM will be made up of these members and it will work no matter what the judges decide. The parliament will prepare the legal framework for the creation of the Anticorruption Court in a short period and subsequently the new CSM will announce a contest for the selection of judges for the Anticorruption Court. This Court, just as I have earlier said, will investigate the big corruption files and will deal with the corruption from the justice system. This Court must be functional in three months at the latest. We also discussed the need to accelerate the bringing of young judges to the judicial system and here the task is of the Justice Ministry, along with the National Justice Institute. Time is ripe to bring young people to the judicial system and not relatives of corrupt judges,’’ Maia Sandu also said.        

The head of state came up with a call to the judges who want to be part of the processes of cleaning the justice, of regaining of the prestige of the profession of judge and of edifying a strong and independent judicial system. ‘’I saw that there are also judges who choose to do their job with dignity. Your involvement, of the honest judges is decisive now. Prove that the strength of the judge comes from his/her integrity and no longer tolerate the desperate shout of the corruption be stronger than your voice. We need a justice independent of corruption, which is to do justice, so that we manage to edify a European country and reestablish the citizens’ trust in justice and in the state Republic of Moldova,’’ the Moldovan president added.