Moldovan Judges' Evaluation Commission expands: to have more members, stricter rules of work

The Judges' Evaluation Commission has adopted a new regulation for organization and operation, in the context of recent legislative changes regarding the external evaluation of judges and prosecutors.

According to the cited source, the updates target the expansion of the Commission’s composition, the adjustment of the decision-making mechanism, and the establishment of clear rules regarding the management and transmission of information.

According to the new regulations, the Commission will be made up of nine members, four national and five international, and will operate through three evaluation panels instead of two, as it has been previously. Sessions will be deliberative in the presence of at least five members, of whom a minimum of three will be international. In the event of a tie in voting, the decision supported by at least three international members will prevail.

At the same time, the regulation stipulates strict deadlines for the drafting of motivated reports: 30 working days after the hearing, with the possibility of a single extension of up to 15 days in complex cases, with prior notification of the evaluated person.

In cases where a person is subject to multiple evaluation procedures, they will not be conducted simultaneously, with a priority order established in the regulation observed.

Also, clear rules are introduced for managing information at the end of the Commission's mandate. All accumulated data will be transmitted to the Superior Council of Magistracy (CSM) and subsequently destroyed at the Commission's headquarters, under the supervision of a special commission composed of national, international representatives and members of the Secretariat and CSM.