Maia Sandu's decree in the Stoianoglo case remains in force
The presidential decree by which Alexandr Stoianoglo was dismissed from the position of general prosecutor remains in force. The Constitutional Court (CC) declared inadmissible, on July 11, the referral of the communist deputies who requested the examination of the constitutionality of the decree signed by President Maia Sandu in September 2023. The decision is final and cannot be subject to any appeal.
Alexandr Stoianoglo was appointed to the position of Prosecutor General in November 2019, following a public competition, and he was suspended on October 5, 2021, being accused of abuse of office, passive corruption, false statements and illicit enrichment.
At the end of September 2023, President Maia Sandu signed the decree releasing Stoianoglo from the position of Prosecutor General, based on the decision of the Superior Council of Prosecutors from May 2022. Communist deputies, including former President Vladimir Voronin, declared at the time that Maia Sandu's decree "violates the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova and does not respect the standards established by the ECHR". A few days later, they notified the High Court, asking it to declare President Sandu's decree unconstitutional. For his part, Stoianoglo called the president's actions "abusive".
In this context, we remind you that, in October 2023, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) won the case against the former general prosecutor, Alexandr Stoianoglo, who reported a violation of the suspension procedure, on the grounds that he was not offered the right to appeal the decision. The ECtHR obliged the state to pay him moral damages of 3,600 euros.
"The Republic of Moldova would have lost more if Alexandr Stoianoglo had remained in office", Moldovan president commented on the ECHR decision at the time.
