Annual Report of the Judicial Vetting Commission: progress, challenges, and perspectives

The Judicial Vetting Commission has submitted its annual activity report to the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova, in line with the legal requirement to do so by 31 March each year. The document outlines the Commission’s work under the three laws governing the external evaluation process, highlighting key achievements, challenges, and perspectives.

Since the launch of its activities, the Commission has received 152 subjects for evaluation, of which 49 evaluations were completed during the reporting period. An evaluation process can take on average six months, though durations range between three and fourteen months, during which thousands—or even tens of thousands—of pages of information are analyzed. The pass rate among the 49 completed evaluations stands at 61%.

The most frequent reasons for non-passing evaluations are related to financial integrity. In 15 cases, subjects failed to meet the legally established criteria; in 12 of these, discrepancies were identified between assets, income, and expenditures (inexplicable wealth). In one case, the value of inexplicable wealth exceeded 1.5 million lei. There was also a case involving non-payment of taxes.

With regard to ethical integrity, 12 cases were identified in which subjects did not meet the criteria. In four of these, the individuals had issued arbitrary decisions in violation of legal norms and had breached rules related to conflicts of interest. Other irregularities included violations of ethical and professional codes of conduct, and failures to comply with legal provisions on incompatibility and asset declarations. In one evaluation conducted under the pre-vetting procedure, multiple breaches were identified, including a request to purchase an apartment at a preferential price and irregularities in the field of construction.

Throughout its activity, the Commission has been involved in 16 court disputes. In 9, the Supreme Court of Justice ruled in favor of the Commission’s decision, while seven cases remain pending. Additionally, 4 members of the Commission have been summoned in a lawsuit against the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova. This lawsuit was initiated by a subject of evaluation.

The report draws attention to several challenges affecting the evaluation process. One such issue is the existence of three separate laws regulating evaluation procedures (Laws 26/2022, 65/2023 and 252/2023), that pose challenges in terms of regulatory coherence and legal uncertainty. This has resulted in situations where subjects (judges, prosecutors, lawyers, or academics) may be evaluated simultaneously or successively under differing criteria.

Cooperation with certain public authorities and private entities also remains deficient. While the law grants the Commission the right to request information about evaluation subjects (excluding classified information that has not been declassified), in practice, this process is frequently constrained. The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office and other investigative institutions often invoke the “secrecy of criminal investigations” to withhold relevant information from the Commission.

The Commission emphasizes that it respects the principle of confidentiality but considers that this principle is being applied disproportionately. Information such as the nature of the alleged offense, the subject matter of a case, or procedural developments may be essential for the evaluation process and can be shared without compromising the investigation. In cases that have already been referred to the courts, access to non-sensitive materials should not be restricted.

Looking ahead, the Commission aims to complete all ongoing evaluations and to initiate the evaluation of all sitting judges from the first-instance courts who fall within the scope of the vetting process. However, the total number of candidates to be received for evaluation in connection with vacant positions remains difficult to estimate.

The full report is public and available on the Commission’s official website.

‍