The Association of Judges expresses its concern about the proposed amendments to the Law on Judicial Organisation
The Association of Judges of the Republic of Moldova (AJRM) raises an alarm and expresses its concern over the proposed amendments to the Law on the Organisation of the Judiciary and the Law on the Prosecutor's Office. The Association announces in a press release that such amendments generate "retrograde and dangerous provisions".
After the legislative amendments were approved in Parliament in the first reading, the members of the Association of Judges of the Republic of Moldova expressed their concern. According to the Association, the amendments to the specified draft laws "clearly and arbitrarily" violate the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova, which excludes any interference of the executive power in the work of the judiciary.
One of the points of the legislative initiative stipulates that if the Superior Council of Magistracy is unable to convene the General Assembly of Judges due to the expiry of the mandate of its members, lack of quorum or in case of a declared state of emergency, the Assembly shall be convened and opened by the President or interim President of the SCM.
In the event of their vacancy, the Assembly shall be convened and opened by the Minister of Justice. According to the Association of Judges, the independence of the courts is their organisational and functional independence, which is the right of the courts and judges to solve the problems of the functioning of the judicial system autonomously, without the involvement of the executive power.
Furthermore, the Judges' Association announces that the avoidance or even resolution of bottlenecks in the judiciary can only be achieved by consensus, with the parties engaging in dialogue in strict accordance with the principle of separation and cooperation of powers in the state.
"The Constitution of the Republic of Moldova apriori excludes any interference of the executive power in the work of the judiciary, but this fundamental principle of the rule of law is blatantly and arbitrarily violated by the specified draft law. The independence of the courts is their organisational and functional independence, which is achieved through judicial self-administration, being the right of the courts and judges to solve the problems of the functioning of the judicial system autonomously, without the involvement of the executive power," the AJRM statement reads.
