Vetting Commission initiates evaluation of the Courts of Appeal in Bălți, Cahul, and Comrat

The Judicial Vetting Commission has notified today all judges from the Courts of Appeal in Bălți, Cahul, and Comrat regarding the initiation of the evaluation of their financial and ethical integrity. In total, 15 judges from the Bălți Court of Appeal, 4 from the Cahul Court of Appeal, and 4 from the Comrat Court of Appeal have received the initial documents from the Commission to begin the evaluation process.

The notified judges are requested to accurately complete and submit to the Commission the Declaration of Assets and Personal Interests for the past 5 years, the Declaration regarding close persons within the judiciary, the prosecutor’s office, and public administration, as well as the Ethics Questionnaire. The judges from the Courts of Appeal are required to submit these documents within 20 days of receiving the notification. By submitting the documents, the subjects confirm, under their own responsibility, the accuracy and truthfulness of the provided information and give their consent to the processing of their personal data.

The Commission provided judges with a sample Declaration, pre-filled with fictitious information, to ensure a clear understanding of the requirements and to streamline the completion process. Additionally, the Commission has sent an updated version of its Rules of Organization and Functioning, which outlines the evaluation procedures in compliance with Law 252/2023.

According to Law 252/2023, the vetting process is mandatory for judges of the Courts of Appeal. The lack of a reasonable justification for refusing to submit or failing to submit the 5-year Declaration or Ethics Questionnaire within the time limit is the basis for the Commission’s finding of non-promotion of the evaluation. In the event of non-promotion, the judge shall be dismissed from position and deprived of the right to serve as a judge or hold any public office for a period of 5 to 7 years.

Additionally, the Vetting Commission has notified three candidates for the position of judge at the Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ), who have been referred for evaluation by the Superior Council of Magistracy (SCM). Thus, the list of SCJ candidates has been completed with Prosecutor Dumitru Calendari (Cahul Prosecutor's Office), Judge Alexandru Negru (Chișinău Court, Buiucani Office), and Lawyer Iurie Chirica. These candidates are required to complete and submit the 5-year Declaration and the Ethics Questionnaire within 10 days, without the risk of consequences related to dismissal in case of non-submission of the documents.

• Complete list of subjects under evaluation by the Vetting Commission

Citizens and media representatives that hold relevant information pertaining to the evaluation process are invited to submit it to the Commission at secretariat@vettingmd.eu

The Vetting Commission is simultaneously conducting three types of evaluations for various categories of subjects: vetting of candidates for the position of judge at the SCJ, vetting of judges from the Courts of Appeal, as well as the Presidents and Vice-Presidents of the courts, and pre-vetting of candidates for the position of member of the Superior Council of Magistracy (SCM), who submitted applications after September 1, 2023. These evaluations are carried out based on three distinct legislative acts: Law 65/2023, Law 252/2023, and Law 26/2022.

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