Candidates for position of judge or prosecutor to be allowed to retake exam in Moldova

Candidates for the position of judge or prosecutor will be allowed to retake the exam, if they did not get a general average of at least 8.00 at the initial exam. This provision is included in a draft law amending the Law on the National Justice Institute (INJ), adopted by the parliament in the second reading today.

According to the document, INJ trainees will be admitted to the retake session, without losing their status and without the obligation to repay the scholarship received during their studies. If the candidate still does not obtain a general average of 8.00 at the retake session, he/she will be required to reimburse the scholarship received to the institute.

The legislative initiative was drafted by a group of MPs from the Action and Solidarity Party's (PAS) parliamentary faction, following proposals submitted by the INJ. The draft contains provisions that clarify the rights of trainees during their initial training. Thus, they will benefit from mandatory health insurance for the entire period of their studies, including during the suspension of initial training due to health reasons. At the same time, absence from initial training courses due to temporary incapacity for work will not be considered a disciplinary offense, and the trainee will not lose their scholarship and will not be expelled. Absences will also be considered justified in the case of a relative up to the second degree.

Another amendment provides that INJ trainees may request the suspension of initial training courses in the event of temporary incapacity for work or a state of health that makes it impossible to participate in training activities. After the cause of suspension ceases, trainees will be reintegrated into the same academic year or the following year, depending on the circumstances, and they will not be required to repay the scholarship for the suspension period.

At the government’s proposal, the document was supplemented with provisions allowing trainees to transfer from the category of candidates for the position of prosecutor to the category of candidates for the position of judge or vice versa. The transfer will be carried out within at most one month from the issuance of the enrollment order, based on a reasoned application and by order of the director.

The legislative amendments will enter into force on the date of publication in the Official Journal.

The first class of trainees was admitted to the National Justice Institute in September 2007 and graduated in March 2009. Since its establishment so far, the INJ has trained 17 graduating classes, providing the justice system with 265 candidates for the position of judge and 351 candidates for the position of prosecutor.