Moldova considers asking external financing to enforce ECHR judgments

The members of the governmental commission responsible for the execution of judgments issued by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) told a press briefing on Wednesday foreign financing could be sought to provide housing to a number of public functionaries that won cases at ECHR, and also to build two correctional facilities, Info-Prim Neo reports. “In 2010 ECHR has already informed us of 16 cases pending before the court. Since Moldova came under the jurisdiction of the European Court in 1997, ECHR has received more than 3,000 applications (from the Moldovans)”, said the governmental agent, Vladimir Grosu. Because the state budget has no funds to execute the judgments, with court awards exceeding 100 million euros, one of the government's solutions is to appeal for foreign assistance. “In 2007-2008 revenues to the budget were massive, thanks to remittances among other, and the state could have paid the damages awarded by ECHR”, says Justice Minsiter Alexandru Tanase. “But the communist government failed to do that, leaving this burden on the shoulders of other governments, and so now we are forced to pay these sums”. Finance Minister Veaceslav Negruta says that in 2007 the budget had a surplus of over one billion lei which was deposited in banks for interest. “Now we have a budget deficit. The situation is complicated, but the Government will find a solution to compensate the citizens”. “We will also seek a foreign loan to purchase the required apartments”, added Negruta. Minister Alexandru Tanase said Moldova also needs to improve detention conditions and build at least two new correctional facilities in order to avoid other cases where Moldova was fined because of inadequate detention conditions. “We must conform ourselves with the European requirements and start talks on the financing needed for the penitentiaries. We have already 2 plots of land allocated for this purpose and it remains to find the financing, including from foreign sources”, the minister added. Speaking about whether it would be wise to ask compensations from the judges whose lack of professionalism led to ECHR fines, Tanase said that while such a solution exists in the Moldovan legislation, it will be impracticable. “Disciplinary sanctions are much more efficient. A judge who pronounced intentionally and systematically judgments which created financial obligations for the state has neither moral nor legal right to be a judge. This is the principle that we will follow in relation with the judiciary”, declared Tanase.