Threats and legal cases against lawyers

The authors of the Legal Profession Reform Index (LPRI) for the Republic of Moldova say that despite the legal practices, the lawyers in Moldova face interference and intimidation in their work, especially in politically and commercially sensitive issues and corruption-related cases, Info-Prim Neo reports. “The legal submission of applications to the ECHR resulted in threats of taking legal action on the part of the Prosecutor General's Office,” it is said in the LPRI. The assessment team reached the conclusion that though the Penal Code bans the authorities from comparing the defense lawyers with the clients, in certain types of cases the authorities violated this norm. The report also centers on the legal cases and disciplinary punishments for violating the standards and rules of the work of lawyer. The commission for ethics and discipline is the institution empowered to sanction the lawyers. According to the data for 2008, most of the persons complained to the commission about the fact that the lawyers provide services, but do not issue the clients with documents showing that the services have been paid for. “Other accusations include the betrayal of the client by the lawyer and the coming of the lawyers to hearings or meetings under the influence of alcohol or unprepared,” the report says. The geographic representation of the 1,329 lawyers in Moldova is not known as there is no strict monitoring. Information is available only about the distribution of the active lawyers. 135 lawyers provided services in Chisinau in 2008. This is a lawyer per 5,815 persons. Only one lawyer worked last year in Orhei district, providing services for 125,915 residents. The Legal Profession Reform Index for the Republic of Moldova was compiled by the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI).