Minister of Justice Alexandru Tanase said he will initiate a public discussion with the involvement of politicians, jurists and members of the academic community and civil society so as to adopt a fundamental decision about how the Moldovan judicial system should look like. He developed the issue in the talk show “Moldova live” on the public TV channel Moldova 1, IPN reports.

The minister said this decision should answer such questions as: how many jurisdiction levels are needed, what kind of courts and what appeal ways should be, etc. Alexandru Tanase stated he will not manage to do this reform by the end of his mandate that last until this year’s parliamentary elections. “Such a reform cannot be done in a limited period of time. I personally share the opinion that we should return to the initial concept of the justice sector reform so as to have a different judicial system. But I think it is a decision that is not within my remit. We should have a broader discussion to see the best and most efficient models. I believe this should be the essence of the future justice sector reform strategy,” he noted.

Head of the Legal Resources Center Vladislav Gribincea said Moldova has many honest and well-trained judges who expect a leader to appear so as to unite behind this. These judges need a hope that they will be promoted based on merits and that direct or indirect pressure on the part of prosecutors or upper courts of law will be excluded. Also, the judicial system needs to ensure transparency so that the people realize what is going on in the justice sector. “When hearings are held behind closed doors, not even the judges trust that justice is done at the Supreme Court,” stated Vladislav Gribincea.