Five new judges appointed to Supreme Court
Ana Cucerescu, Alexandru Negru, Sergiu Stratan, and Gheorghe Stratulat from the Chisinau District Court, along with Elena Croitor, have been appointed as the new judges of the Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ). The decree promoting them was signed by President Maia Sandu on July 3.
Some magistrates at the Chisinau Court were managing cases with significant political implications, including banking fraud, "Kuliok" (illegal party financing). These appointments partially complete the composition of the Supreme Court of Justice, which is supposed to consist of 20 judges.
Elena Croitor and Ana Cucerescu were selected in the competition organized by the Superior Council of Magistracy (CSM) on June 15, 2026 for the vacant positions at the SCJ. Elena Croitor obtained the highest score - 89.5 out of 100, and Ana Cucerescu - 77 points.
Judges Negru, Stratan and Stratulat had won a previous competition, in February 2026, and had been proposed to the president. Until the signing of the decree, Negru and Stratulat were working at the SCJ on temporary transfer.
The appointments reduce, at least partially, the staff shortage that has slowed down the examination of appeals to the supreme court and exposed the state to possible convictions at the European Court of Human Rights for exceeding the reasonable time limit.
Elena Croitor
Elena Croitor comes from an academic and justice reform background, with experience at the Ministry of Justice and in rule-of-law programs, including the American Bar Association for the Rule of Law (ABA ROLI).
She holds a PhD in law and taught for years at the Faculty of Law of the State University of Moldova. Croitor passed the external evaluation, with the report being accepted by the SCM on March 17, 2026.
Ana Cucerescu
A magistrate at the Chisinau Court in Buiucani, Cucerescu has over 14 years of experience in the judicial system. She was appointed judge in September 2011 at the Bălți District Court, temporarily transferred to the Chisinau District Court in September 2015, and in November 2018 she was permanently appointed, by transfer. Her name became known through high-profile cases: she sentenced Iurie Roșca to six years in prison in August 2024, and the governor of Gagauzia, Evghenia Guțul, to seven years in prison on August 5, 2025.
Cucerescu presided over one of the two panels specializing in banking fraud and received for examination the file of the former head of the Anticorruption Prosecutor's Office, Viorel Morari, in which the injured party is Veaceslav Platon.
The SCM validated his assessment on April 7, 2026, in the context of the detention of activist Anatol Mătăsaru, on whose behalf the magistrate had filed a complaint. Prior to the sentence in the Guțul case, the judge was allegedly subjected to pressure and intimidation.
Sergiu Stratan
A judge at the Chisinau Court in Buiucani, Stratan specializes in criminal cases, including corruption cases investigated by the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office. He graduated from the National Institute of Justice in 2013, was appointed judge in 2015 and confirmed until the age limit in 2020.
In 2024, he served as interim vice president, then interim president of the Buiucani seat. Publicly, he is known as the president of the panel examining the case concerning banking fraud, the Plahotniuc episode, leading the panels in the cases concerning Vlad Plahotniuc and Alexandr Stoianoglo.
Alexandru Negru
Appointed judge in 2014 at the Buiucani Court, Negru was confirmed in 2019, by decree of then-President Igor Dodon, until reaching the age limit. Before the magistracy, he worked at the municipal enterprises "Servicii Locative Râșcani" and "Servicii Locative Centru".
Negru specializes in corruption cases and was temporarily transferred to the SCJ starting with April 1, 2025. In May 2026, he became the judge-rapporteur who took over the "Kuliok" case, in which former President Igor Dodon is on trial, following the departure of magistrate Ghenadie Eremciuc from the SCJ.
Gheorghe Stratulat
Appointed as a judge in April 2014 for a five-year term at the Centru Court in Chișinău, Stratulat was also temporarily transferred to the SCJ starting on April 1, 2025. He graduated from the initial training of the National Institute of Justice.
According to public data, he has appeared in at least nine disciplinary procedures, all of which were dismissed as unfounded. In the hearing at the SCM, he invoked his accumulated experience: in 11 years he examined various categories of files, from the interpretation of wills to criminal cases regarding human trafficking.
The Supreme Court of Justice is the supreme court of the Republic of Moldova, with the role of ensuring the uniform interpretation and application of legislation, and has a legal composition of 20 judges. The personnel crisis was triggered by the external integrity assessment (vetting) launched in 2023, which led to mass departures from the supreme court.
The selection of new judges is conducted through a competition at the Supreme Judicial Council and an external evaluation, and their appointment to office is made by decree of the President of the Republic.
