Report: Moldova has implemented, with some minor reservations, actions in the field of justice on EC recommendations
Most of the planned actions in the area of justice reform, one of the commitments in the Action Plan for the implementation of the 9 recommendations of the European Commission (EC) in the context of Moldova's application for EU membership, have been implemented with some insignificant reservations. The assessments are contained in the second alternative report, presented by experts from the Institute for European Policies and Reforms, the Independent Analytical Centre "Expert-Grup" and the Legal Resources Centre of Moldova (CRJM).
The Republic of Moldova's commitment in the area of justice covered six actions, of which one was fully implemented without shortcomings, four actions were implemented with some insignificant shortcomings, and one is in the process of implementation, according to the expert from the CRJM, Andrei Nasu.
"The law on the modification of the legal framework related to the disciplinary liability of judges and the activity of the judicial inspection has entered into force, but we have identified certain constraints in this respect. Another development would be that the law on the selection and evaluation of the performance of judges was adopted in June, the two specialized colleges were merged, four judge members and three non-judge members were appointed to the SJC, thus this self-administration body of judges became functional. All candidates to the PSC were heard and decisions were issued on 14 out of 18 candidates," said the expert.
Andrei Nasu said that 4 out of 5 points were awarded for fulfilling this commitment. As for "de-oligarchisation", the experts assess that most of the actions were implemented with some reservations. The score given is 3.7 points out of 5.
"Here, we should note that compared to the first report we see a small evolution in the part related to the score. Initially, the authorities set out to achieve this commitment through a framework law "de-oligarchisation", a law that was endorsed and expertly assessed by the Venice Commission. The Moldovan authorities have decided to change their approach so that de-oligarchisation or the fight against this scourge can be pursued through systemic measures, addressed in a single de-oligarchisation plan", said Ilie Chirtoaca, President of the Legal Resources Centre.
In the European Commission's opinion on the status of candidate country for accession to the European Union, offered to Moldova on 23 June 2022, nine conditions were set out.
According to the report presented by the European Commission one year after obtaining the status of candidate country, the Republic of Moldova has fulfilled three of the nine priorities. Brussels then urged the authorities in Chisinau to focus most on the fight against corruption, the fight against organised crime, including asset recovery and the fight against financial crime and money laundering, as well as on public administration reforms.
Ukraine, which was granted candidate country status together with Moldova, has completed two of the seven priority actions, and Georgia - three out of 12.
