The Ministry of Justice organized today a new round of public consultations on the concept and the draft law that refers to the reform of the Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ) and the extraordinary assessment of judges, which was attended by judges, prosecutors, representatives of the Superior Council of Magistracy and Superior Council of Prosecutors, but also representatives of civil society and development partners.
During the discussions, the Secretary of State of the Ministry of Justice, Veronica Mihailov-Moraru, showed the main provisions of the draft law, such as:
- clear establishment of the powers of the SCJ, so that it is the main authority that will ensure the uniform interpretation and application of legislation in the justice system;
- detailed regulation of the approach in the interest of the law, which will be able to be filed in both criminal, civil and administrative procedures;
- amendment of the appointment procedure of SCJ judges, namely, they will be appointed by the President of the country on the proposal of the SCM. The President will be able to reject the motivated candidate, but the SCM will have the right to maintain this candidacy, if there is a vote of at least 2/3 of the Council members in office;
- revision of the selection criteria for SCJ judges - candidates will have to have at least one of the following seniority: 8 years actually working as a judge, at least 6 years actually working as a judge of the Constitutional Court or the European Court of Human Rights, or at least 10 years actually working as a lawyer, prosecutor or university professor in the field of law;
- assessment of the ethical integrity and assets of the current judges of the SCJ, but also of the new candidates for the positions of judges by the Commission that currently assesses the candidates for the position of member of the SCM (Pre-vetting Commission) etc.
Secretary of State Veronica Mihailov-Moraru thanked the participants for the proposals made in the process of finalizing the concept regarding the reform of the SCJ, but also for those concerning the draft law. "We aim to finalize this draft law as quickly as possible and request the opinion of the Venice Commission, to be examined during the next plenary session. The opinion of the Venice Commission is important, in order to take into account possible recommendations, so that the direction of reform is correct", Veronica Mihailov-Moraru highlighted.
Previously, the Ministry of Justice also held public discussions on the SCJ reform concept.
