Moldova’s judge at ECHR named ad hoc judge for Romanian cases

Moldova’s judge at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) Mihai Poalelungi was designated as ad hoc judge for Romanian cases, Info-Prim Neo reports. According to the official website of the Romanian Foreign Ministry, the decision came into force on November 7. The European Court of Human Rights informed the Romanian authorities that Romania’s judge Corneliu Birsan asked the ECHR President Nicolas Bratza to allow him not to try Romanian cases for a period and his request was granted. Hotnews.ro reported that judge Corneliu Birsan is the husband of judge Gabriela Birsan, who heads the Disputed Claims Office of the High Court of Cassation and Justice. The anticorruption prosecutors on October 10 announced that they started to investigate Gabriela Birsan for traffic of influence. They accuse her and another judge of the same office of accepting different benefits like presents, payment of hotel accommodation during trips aboard and covering of the costs of restaurant parties in exchange for facilitating the judging of cases in favor of certain persons.