Amendments proposed by PLDM run counter to international law norms, PGO

The Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) considers the changes to the Law on the Prosecutor’s Office proposed by a group of Liberal-Democrat lawmakers run counter to the international law norms defining the institutional independence of the Prosecutor’s Office and every prosecutor when fulfilling their duties, and to the national legislation that lays down clear intervention terms and procedures for prosecutors, Info-Prim Neo reports. In a communiqué, the PGO says that reasons for discharging the prosecutor general similar to those formulated in the bill exist in no European state. According to the PGO, the bill proposed by the Liberal-Democratic parliamentary group does not meet the provisions of the Law on Legislative Acts concerning the main principles of lawmaking, the quality and features of the legislative act, and the preliminary conditions for drafting a legislative act and its substantiation. The reasons for dismissing the prosecutor general stated by the authors of the bill have a general and ambiguous character and can be applied to all the prosecutors, especially those who hold executive posts, reads the communiqué. The PGO formulated a series of proposals for amending the Law on the Prosecutor’s Office, which are aimed at strengthening the independence of the prosecutors, increasing the role of the prosecutors’ self-management bodies etc. The PLDM’s bill describes the situations when the prosecutor general is discharged, including violation of the oath by the actions taken or not taken, non-ensuring of swift and efficient measures aimed at defending the human rights and fundamental freedoms and the general interests of society, inappropriate fulfillment of the duties and others. Currently, the legislative body can dismiss the prosecutor general only if he/she loses the Moldovan nationality, tenders the resignation or there is a court decision against him/her.