Moldovan president says reform to be finished for most important justice bodies till parliamentary elections

The justice reform is nearing completion, aiming to consolidate a responsible and independent system. President Maia Sandu today made statements to this effect during the “At 360 Degrees” programme on the public broadcaster Radio Moldova. The head of state said that, by the ordinary parliamentary elections, the reform would be finished for the most important justice bodies, while for prosecutors, it is just beginning.

The president noted that, at present, the institutions in the justice field were more functional than they had been a few years ago, with a significant role being attributed to the evaluation of judges.

“I believe that this external evaluation has a certain impact; it has led to some cleansing, at least among judges. Among prosecutors, it is just beginning; here the process was unfortunately delayed. The sooner the process is completed, the better it is for all honest people in the system; but I still believe that a part of the reform is achieved and I think we start seeing the results,” the president declared.

At the same time, the head of state emphasized that Russia continued to interfere in Moldova's judiciary, using various tools to intimidate judges.

“Yes, there are big problems, including because the Russian Federation spends large sums to interfere with the act of justice, in order to intimidate those who work in the system and who must take decisions on cases behind which people of  Russia stand. The Kremlin tries to overwhelm us on all these dimensions, including political and electoral corruption. I believe that the institutions today are handling things better than before.

We want to have an independent and responsible system, independent not to do as one pleases, but to observe the law. During Plahotniuc's time, it was easier to impose a certain decision, but we know all imposed decisions were bad and illegal. Now it's a different kind of system, it is being built, being cleansed, and we will need to bring new people into the system; these people will have to learn,” Maia Sandu opined.

Referring to the extraordinary evaluation of judges and prosecutors, Maia Sandu said this was not an ideal process, but it was the best one that could be got.

“This is the only way we can bring order to the system. The most important step is that we are at the stage of completion. It is better to have a system where not all judges have enough experience, but all judges are honest and will learn, than to have a system where you have experienced people, but many of them are corrupt,” Maia Sandu also said.

The impact of the parliamentary elections on the viability of the justice reform, according to the president, can only be determined by the citizens' vote.

“It depends on the citizens to make ensure that the next parliamentary majority will be one that values the rule of law and supports the reforms to continue.

For the most important justice bodies, the reforms will be largely completed by the elections. As for the evaluation of prosecutors, some things have been postponed, and there are risks, if there is no parliamentary majority willing to continue making proper order in the system. Everything depends on the citizens,” the president added.

Maia Sandu did not rule out the Kremlin's involvement in the parliamentary elections and emphasized that Moldovans must decide for their country, not Russia. The president condemned acts of voters’ corrupting, noting that those who sell their votes sell their country too.