Law on external evaluation of judges, prosecutors published in Moldova's Official Journal

Chisinau, 22 August /MOLDPRES/ - The Decree on promulgation and the Law on the external evaluation of judges and prosecutors were published in the today’s issue of the Official Journal (Monitorul Oficial) and entered into force.   

The document was reexamined at an extraordinary parliament meeting, after it had been returned by President Maia Sandu.

The document contains proposals and improvements which do not diminish the importance of the new regulations adopted. The letter on reexamination, submitted to parliament by the Moldovan president, reads that ‘’the exercise of external evaluation is accompanied by a lot of risks and to reduce them, legislative counterbalances are needed.’’   

At the same time, under the new provisions, the commissions for the evaluation of judges and prosecutors will take into account the irrevocable court rulings, except for the ones which are regarded as arbitrary or obviously unreasonable. More exactly, the decisions by the Superior Council of Magistracy (CSM) and of the Superior Council of Prosecutors (CSP) will be able to be appealed also by the evaluation commission, not only by the subjects subjected to evaluation. The appeal will be submitted to the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ), where it will be considered in a period of 30 days by a panel made up of the first three judges who passed the evaluation and did not work at CSJ till 31 December 2022.   

The legislative initiative which provides for the external evaluation of judges and prosecutors was adopted by the parliament in late last July. The draft law represents the third stage of the vetting mechanism and the last stage of the justice system’s reform. This is also one of the basic conditions which come from the Moldova-European Union Association Agreement.   

The present law enters into force on the date of its publication in Moldova’s Official Journal. The parliament, in a period of 40 working days after the date of its entry into force, will confirm the nominal composition of the commission for the evaluation of prosecutors. The powers of the Commission for the evaluation of judges are exercised by the evaluation commission set up under the Law No 65/2023 on the external evaluation of judges and candidates for the office of judge of the Supreme Court of Justice. The government will undertake the measures necessary, in order to ensure the implementation of the present law, including will contact, in a period of 5 working days after the entrance into force of the present law, the development partners and the parliament, so that they nominate the members of the commission for evaluation of prosecutors. The Justice Ministry, in five working days after the confirmation of the nominal composition of the commission for evaluation of prosecutors at the latest, will ensure the organization of its first meeting; will ensure the payment of monthly allowances for the members of the evaluation commissions. The Commission for evaluation of prosecutors, in ten working days after the confirmation of the nominal composition at the latest, will elect its head; in 20 working days after the confirmation of the nominal composition at the latest, will elaborate and approve its own regulation on organization and work, including the way of organization and work of the secretariat.       

On the period of the enforcement of the present law, additionally to the conditions for acceding to the aforementioned positions, judges and prosecutors can hold the concerned offices on the condition that they passed the external evaluation. The judges and prosecutors who were in office on the date of the entrance into force of the present law and who passed the evaluation, continue their work as judge or, as case may be, as prosecutor. If the good work of one or more courts of appeal is seriously hit by the number of vacant positions, the Superior Council of Magistracy can transfer, as temporary measure, through derogation from the provisions of the Law No 544/1995 on the status of judge, judges from lower instance courts who meet the criteria related to the holding of the office of judge of the court of appeal. The temporary transfer will be ceased at the occupation of at least one half of the positions of judge of the concerned court of appeal and the temporary transferred judges return to the offices held ahead of the transfer.     

The independent commission for evaluation, set up under the Law No 26/2022 on measures related to the election of candidates to the office of member of the self-management bodies of judges and prosecutors (in continuation Law No 26/2022) will finish the evaluation of the applications submitted till 1 September 2023. The concerned commission will continue its work till the completion of the consideration of the appeals submitted against its decisions.  

Source: monitorul.gov.md