In a joint opinion adopted during its 18-19 June plenary session, the Venice Commission and the Council of Europe’s Directorate of Human Rights and the Rule of Law (DGI) welcome the revised draft amendments to the law amending and supplementing the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova in respect of the Superior Council of Magistracy (SCM), says a press release of the CoE that is quoted by IPN.
The Venice Commission and the DGI reiterate their previous positive assessment of the draft amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova that they could improve the independence, accountability and efficiency of the judiciary.
The experts conclude that the revised draft amendments follow to a large extent the previous recommendations of the Venice Commission and DGI concerning the composition of the SCM and the method of election of its lay members. They welcome that the revised amendments indicate the exact number of SCM members at the constitutional level. With the exclusion of the 3 de jure members, the SCM will consist in total of 12 members, half of which will be judges elected by their peers from all court levels, which is in line with international standards.
They also welcome that the revised draft provisions provide for a requirement of a qualified majority of MPs (three-fifths) for the election of the lay members. The Opinion recommends indicating in the Constitution that the organic law will provide for an anti-deadlock mechanism in case parliament fails to reach a qualified majority of three fifths. It underlines that the current draft provision for a decreased majority after a reflection period of fifteen days might not suffice as an incentive for the first round of voting to be successful and should therefore be carefully reconsidered.
The Commission recommends replacing the provision which states that the members of the SCM cannot be revoked (Article 122(5)), by a clearer provision that only allows for their revocation on the ground of serious disciplinary sanctions or final criminal convictions, or of objective impossibility to exercise their functions as provided in the organic law.
It recommends that the lay composition of the SCM is renewed upon the entry into force of the constitutional amendments, according to the new rules requiring a 3/5 qualified majority in parliament for their election. The Commission and the Directorate do not have any reason to doubt the professional qualifications of the lay members appointed in March 2020. Those members could therefore be a given the possibility to apply again and this should be indicated in the transitional provision, says the CoE’s press release.
