--- title: "Lawyers in Chisinau push back against state encroachment " url: https://radiomoldova.md/p/84929/lawyers-in-chisinau-push-back-against-state-encroachment published: 2026-09-12T09:34:55Z language: en author: "Dumitru Petruleac" section: "Justice" source: radiomoldova.md --- # Lawyers in Chisinau push back against state encroachment > Moldovan lawyers warned on Thursday that state encroachment threatens judicial independence, speaking at an international conference in Chisinau addressing artificial intelligence, professional secrecy, and stalled European human rights treaties. ![](https://storage.radiomoldova.md/images/fe9521b3-3ea2-49d3-aa94-905792d33f3d.jpg) Moldovan lawyers warned on Thursday that state encroachment threatens judicial independence, speaking at an international conference in Chisinau addressing artificial intelligence, professional secrecy, and stalled European human rights treaties. The fourth edition of the International Conference of the Moldovan Bar Association brought together legal professionals and public officials from Moldova, Romania, Ukraine, France, and Azerbaijan. Participants debated the delicate boundary between law enforcement powers and procedural safeguards. **Constitutional balance and the role of defense counsel** *“The independence of the lawyer is not a privilege of the profession, but a guarantee for the citizen,”* said Anatolie Barbăcar, president of the Moldovan Bar Association. He stressed that any statutory restriction on personal liberties must maintain legal grounds, a legitimate purpose, and strict proportionality. *“Security cannot justify unchecked power, and freedom cannot remain an abstract formula stripped of institutional guarantees,”* Barbăcar said. He cautioned authorities against meddling in legal representation, noting that defense attorneys remain the primary institutional counterweight to executive overreach. ![](https://storage.radiomoldova.md/images/7f25e112-874e-4701-b754-db70e3fd06f3.jpg) Presidential adviser on justice affairs Veronica Mihailov-Moraru affirmed that national security imperatives must not erode fundamental legal standards, even during regional emergencies. *“The lawyer is one of the guardians of the rule of law,”* Mihailov-Moraru said. *“When challenging an executive measure or demanding adherence to due process, counsel does not work against the state, but reinforces its institutional legitimacy.”* **Artificial intelligence and professional secrecy** Delegates also examined the growing role of technological tools in modern jurisprudence. While artificial intelligence can accelerate case law indexing and argument structuring, participants agreed it cannot replace attorney judgment. *“Artificial intelligence can assist legal work, but it cannot assume professional liability, the duty of verification, or loyalty to the client,”* Barbăcar said. *“The lawyer remains solely responsible for assessing relevance, detecting error, and assuming ownership of the legal instrument.”* Mihailov-Moraru underscored that digitalization requires robust data protection protocols to shield attorney-client confidentiality. She noted that digital file repositories require stringent safeguards against unlawful state surveillance. ![](https://storage.radiomoldova.md/images/ea82cf38-8397-44a3-90ba-2c4edd7e7d9d.jpg) **Legislative coordination and wartime challenges** Lawmakers acknowledged procedural shortcomings in current lawmaking. Igor Talmazan, secretary of the parliamentary legal affairs committee, called for tighter cooperation with the bar as Moldova accelerates legislative harmonization with the European Union. *“Certain bills slip past us without being read cover to cover because the workload is immense,”* Talmazan said. *“We rely heavily on cooperating with the bar when deficiencies threaten fundamental rights or the legal profession itself.”* ![](https://storage.radiomoldova.md/images/d140aecc-cbed-4d1f-b0de-e0e865c2bef7.jpg) Romanian Senator Cătălin-Daniel Fenechiu highlighted the necessity of institutional dialogue, while stressing that autonomy requires self-regulation. *“You cannot overhaul a profession without consulting it,”* Fenechiu said, adding that disciplinary mechanisms must prevent the defense of unlawful conduct. ![](https://storage.radiomoldova.md/images/8eb5b851-ff66-44c7-86ab-17d5c1ad6fd7.jpg) Ukrainian National Bar Association President Lidiya Izovitova described how war compounds pressure on defense counsel. She cautioned against conflating attorneys with their clients and warned that compromised legal defense jeopardizes democratic survival. *“Without an independent advocate, free from hidden interests, the right to defense risks remaining merely on paper,”* Izovitova said. ![](https://storage.radiomoldova.md/images/4eee1a0d-576e-4e8f-8fe2-bbfbca2a2097.jpg) **Council of Europe treaty stalls at ratification stage** Conference speakers highlighted the Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of the Profession of Lawyer, adopted in March 2025 and signed by Moldova two months later. The treaty establishes international safeguards against warrantless searches, wiretapping, and arbitrary interference. However, human rights attorney Vadim Vieru of the Promo-LEX Association warned that diplomatic signatures provide no real protection without domestic ratification. The convention requires eight ratifications, including six from Council of Europe member states, before entering into force. *“We have a treaty signed by nearly everyone, yet activated by none,”* Vieru said, recalling multiple European Court of Human Rights rulings condemning past state abuses against Moldovan attorneys. *“What prevents us from moving from signature to ratification?”* Translation by **Iurie Tataru** *** **RELATED COVERAGE** * [Moldova passes law on state liability for judicial errors](https://moldova1.md/u/f04d87c0-9353-4db3-93ab-fc9c5e103783) * [Moldova closes 73% of ECHR cases under CoE supervision](https://moldova1.md/u/66d1f83f-026a-40fc-8c41-3dfd77244abf) * [Moldova passes law on personal data in criminal justice](https://moldova1.md/u/a9ba7418-d0f1-422a-abd5-56ca77f9935f) * [Moldova fires graft-linked official and names ECHR representative](https://moldova1.md/u/265419b2-9568-4fb0-8635-fdfa31186120) * [Venice Commission rapporteurs visit Chișinău to assess the new Parliament Code](https://moldova1.md/u/63b98cf5-e15b-4a18-b141-c56c9a5a6cd2)