Speaker: Venice Commission’s recommendations on evaluation of judges to be examined and integrated into draft law

Chisinau authorities will analyze the recommendations issued by the Venice Commission in its opinion on the external evaluation of judges and will integrate them into a draft law wherever they are relevant. Speaker Igor Grosu made the  statement.

He emphasized that the Venice Commission’s opinion does not oppose the political decision to extend the process of external evaluation in the judicial system, but contains recommendations related to the safeguards granted to judges and to the exceptional nature of this measure.

“I have not seen that the Venice Commission is against the political decision of a state regarding the external evaluation or non-evaluation of judges. The Commission has certain recommendations regarding safeguards for judges and the extraordinary character of this process. These are recommendations that we must examine and take into account,” Grosu said.

According to him, the comments made by European experts will be examined, and the relevant provisions will be included in the final text of the law.

“We will review the recommendations; obviously we will analyze all of them, and those that are relevant we will incorporate into the draft law, as we have done before,” he said.

Grosu reiterated that the authorities’ objective is for all judges to be subject to the same evaluation standards.

“I find it fair that all judges are placed in equal conditions. If the judges from the Courts of Appeal, the Superior Council of Magistracy, the Superior Council of Prosecutors and the Supreme Court of Justice have gone through this exercise, then we cannot speak about exceptions. We aim for equal conditions for all judges,” Grosu affirmed.

Asked about warnings by some experts that the evaluation might lead to the departure of some magistrates from the system, the head of the Legislature dismissed these concerns.

“I have heard such forecasts before, that everyone will leave and the system will be left without judges. Those who have carried out their duties correctly and have nothing to hide will continue to work in the system. At the same time, we will encourage young graduates of the National Institute of Justice to join the system,” Grosu declared.

He noted that the decision to continue the external evaluation of all judges was also driven by problems identified in the functioning of the judicial system. According to Grosu, some controversial decisions are issued in first-instance courts, are subsequently challenged before already evaluated courts, and are sent back for reconsideration, which generates delays and affects the efficiency of the act of justice.

“Analyses have shown that we must continue this evaluation, and we have assumed this politically,” Igor Grosu concluded.

The Venice Commission has taken a position on the Justice Ministry’s intention to strengthen the mechanism for verifying the integrity of judges. The Commission clarified that “the initiative is compatible with European standards” and recommended a number of normative improvements. According to the Ministry of Justice, by requesting the Venice Commission’s opinion, the institution ensured an independent assessment of the initiative.

“The Ministry’s concept aims to establish a mixed mechanism for verifying the integrity of judges, which combines internal evaluation, carried out by the Board for the Evaluation and Selection of Judges, with external evaluation conducted by the Commission for the Evaluation of Judges. Through this initiative, the Ministry has sought to strengthen public trust in the judicial system and to develop a coherent framework for integrity verification at the level of the self-governing bodies of the judicial authority,” the institution announced.

The Commission also notes that certain elements can be improved to enhance the predictability, transparency and protection of the rights of the evaluated judges.