New subdivisions created at Prosecutor General’s Office

The Prosecutor General’s Office will have a new organization chart. Prosecutor General Valeriu Zubco told reporters on Wednesday that a draft decision would be approved in the near future. The changes are part of the institution’s reform, Info-Prim Neo reports. Valeriu Zubco said that the Division for legal matters and implementation of legal and institutional reforms was created in mid-September. It will be in charge of the reformation of the Prosecutor General’s Office. According to international recommendations and given the process of liberalization of the visa regime with the EU, a new division will be created to be responsible for the fight against organized crime. The division will have four territorial offices. In this regard, a group of prosecutors will travel to Bucharest, Romania, for an experience exchange. In the context of the PGO’s reformation, Valeriu Zubco informed about the creation of the Superior Council of Prosecutors. The body will guarantee the autonomy of prosecutors and will have a qualification college and a disciplinary college. According to the law, the council has the right to appoint, transfer, penalize and fire prosecutors. “There are few countries in the European Union, not to speak of the post-Soviet space, that have such bodies to guarantee the autonomy of prosecutors”, he said. The Prosecutor General also informed about amendments to the Criminal Procedures Code, which will come into effect on October 27. Trainings are being organized in the territorial offices for the implementation of these amendments. Another aspect of the reform regards the demilitarization of the Prosecutor General’s Office and the removal of hierarchic levels within the institution. According to the prosecutor, before there wasn’t any real mechanism to guarantee the autonomy of the prosecutor’s proceedings-related actions. After the reform, the prosecutor will be responsible for the case from the moment of the initiation of the criminal process until the court ruling. The hierarchically superior prosecutor won’t be able to interfere in his/her actions, unless petitioned by one of the citizens involved in the prosecution. The Prosecutor General’s Office is autonomous institution of the judiciary, which defends society’s general interests, the lawful order, the rights and freedoms of people. It carries out the investigation and represents the prosecution in court. The Prosecutor General is appointed by the Parliament at the proposal of the Speaker for a mandate of 5 years. The Law on the Prosecutor’s Office rules out any possibility of subordination to the Parliament or to the Government.