Fifteen judges of the Bălți Court of Appeal, four of the Cahul Court of Appeal, and four of the Comrat Court of Appeal have received the initial documents from the Judicial Vetting Commission to begin the evaluation process. The judges have 20 days to submit the completed forms, IPN reports.
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. 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, said representatives of the Commission.
According to the law, 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.
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. Persons who possess information relevant to the evaluation process are encouraged to send it to the Commission to the following email address: secretariat@vettingmd.eu.
