July 30, 2026, Chisinau – In the last month, the Ministry of Justice and partner institutions have made progress on all three strands of Chapter 23 “Justice and Fundamental Rights”: justice reform, combating and preventing corruption, and protecting fundamental rights.The results achieved in meeting the interim benchmarks were communicated to the representatives of the European Commission during the fourth monitoring meeting.
Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration, Cristina Gherasimov, mentioned at the beginning of the meeting that, since the most recent reporting, which took place at the end of June, the Republic of Moldova has advanced both in aligning legislation and policies with EU norms and other international standards, as well as in institutional consolidation.
Specifically, in the justice dimension, the main achievements include:
Five judges were appointed to the Supreme Court of Justice, thus reaching the required number of judges to convene the plenary session.
73 candidates applied for the 39 vacant judge positions.
Ten graduates of the National Institute of Justice were proposed for the vacant prosecutor positions, after passing the competition.
The SCM approved the standards regarding the number of judges required for each court.
In the field of judicial digitalization, a draft law was approved in the first reading that will facilitate communication with the courts through the e-Court File information system and will establish clearer rules for conducting court hearings via videoconference.
The case management information program was completed with eight new functionalities.
The Ministry of Justice, the Superior Council of Magistracy, the Superior Council of Prosecutors and the National Institute of Justice have created a working group to identify solutions that would increase the attractiveness of judge and prosecutor careers and contribute to retaining professionals in the justice system.
In the field of anti-corruption:
The Law on Strengthening Mechanisms for Combating Corruption, Financial Crime and Organized Crime entered into force, establishing new powers for the PA and the NCA.Parliament adopted the National Program for 2026–2027, establishing measures to implement the aforementioned law.
The NCA’s staffing limit was increased by 150 positions, and the PA structure was adjusted to the new powers.
In the first six months of the year, 59 high-level corruption cases were initiated, 25 were sent to trial, and 50 convictions were issued.Seizures totaled approximately 39.8 million lei, and the courts ordered confiscations of approximately 3.8 million lei.
Two draft laws were adopted in the first reading: one introducing new types of sanctions applicable to legal entities, in accordance with European directives, and another regarding the strengthening of the whistleblower protection framework.
In the field of fundamental rights, during the reporting period:
The Committee of Ministers concluded the supervision of the execution of 13 judgments.
The Government appointed a government agent to the ECtHR.
As regards the reform of the penitentiary system, a draft Roadmap was developed on the transfer of penitentiary medical services from the Ministry of Justice to the Ministry of Health.
Both the draft law against abusive SLAPP actions and the draft law on the processing of personal data by institutions that prevent and combat crime were voted on in the first reading.
Chapter 23 "Justice and Fundamental Rights", coordinated by the Ministry of Justice, is one of the essential chapters in the accession negotiations to the European Union.
