Moldova - annual report 2013

Details: Published: May 21, 2014

Study trip of the chief public prosecutor of the Republic of Moldova to Karlsruhe and Berlin

General – Conceptual orientation

Legal policy starting point

The Republic of Moldova is striving towards approximation to the EU, and is pursuing a course of political and economic reform towards EU integration. It is to be hoped that this development will be successful in the country, which is keen to reform. The Republic of Moldova (like Georgia) initialled the EU Association Agreement at the summit of the "Eastern Partnership", which took place in Vilnius at the end of November 2013. Both states are planned to sign sometime in 2014. In this regard, the atmosphere for cooperation tends to be reform-minded, even though it is politically fragile at times.

Cooperation to date

The IRZ has been working with the Republic of Moldova since 2005 in the context of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe. Cooperation has always been gratifyingly intensive and effective. The IRZ implemented a large number of projects in the fields of the judiciary as well as in commercial and civil law in 2013. Furthermore, in further training for judges, it continued the series of seminars on relational technique and judgment-writing technique, and this was particularly positively received on the Moldovan side because of the considerable need for consultation among the judges. One of the still most important and continually refined IRZ projects is the work on the Administrative Code, which it was possible to continue in 2013 by means of large numbers of closed meetings as well as a first public consultation. The IRZ also intensified cooperation with the Office of the Public Prosecutor General and the public prosecution offices as a whole with a considerable amount of support from the Federal Foreign Office. For instance, the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Moldova came to Karlsruhe and Berlin on a working visit on the topic of combating corruption. Furthermore, the head of the Anti-Corruption Centre visited Germany for specialist discussions at the invitation of the IRZ.

Foci of activity in 2013

Conference on safeguarding the independence of the judiciary in Chisinau: Dr. Stefan Hülshörster, IRZ; Matthias Meyer, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany; Mihai Poalelungi, President of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Moldova (left to right)

Constitutional law / human rights and their enforceability

Procurement of the complete collection of decisions of the Federal Constitutional Court for the Moldovan Constitutional Court
Participation by Moldovan constitutional court judges at the international constitutional law conference on the topic of "Protection of human rights by the Constitutional Courts" in Yalta

Civil and commercial law

Expert conference on the Moldovan Civil Code in Chisinau
Conference on the topic: "Private law as a factor in the development of economic circumstances - tradition, topicality and outlook" in Chisinau
Participation by representatives of the Republic of Moldova at the international conference on the topic of "Fostering Cooperation through Hague Conventions" in Tbilisi

Administration of justice

Further training seminar for judges on the topic of relational technique and judgment-writing technique in Chisinau
Conference on the topic of guaranteeing the independence of the judiciary, judicial self-administration and relations between the judiciary and the media in Chisinau
Seminar on the topic of "Strengthening the judicial system for children" in Chisinau
Expert consultations on the reform of the law on notaries, expert reports and specialist discussions in Chisinau

Public law

Working week in Fischbachau on the drafting of an Administrative Code for the Republic of Moldova
Closed meeting in Orhei on the drafting of an Administrative Code for the Republic of Moldova
Public consultation on the Moldovan draft of the Administrative Code in Chisinau
Seminar on administrative procedural law at the National Institute of Justice of the Republic of Moldova in Chisinau
Participation by four representatives of the Republic of Moldova at the conference of Judges' Associations on the topic of administrative justice in Astana (Kazakhstan)

Criminal law and the law on the prison system

Working meetings with the Moldovan Public Prosecutor General with the Federal Public Prosecutor General in Karlsruhe and at the Office of the Public Prosecutor General in Berlin
Working visit to Düsseldorf and Wuppertal by a delegation from the National Anti-Corruption Centre of the Republic of Moldova
Talks on reforming the public prosecution offices, preparation for and publication of a manual (guide) for the public prosecutors of the Republic of Moldova

Basic and further training

Installation of the E-learning platform in the National Institute of Justice
Basic and further training on the maintenance and application of the E-learning platform
German course for Moldovan public prosecutors as well as other members of judicial bodies in Chisinau
Participation by a Moldovan public prosecutor in the multilateral internship programme for public prosecutors
German course at the National Institute of Justice of the Rep ublic of Moldova
Participation by Moldovan experts at the "German for legal experts" language course at the Goethe Institute in Bonn
Participation by young lawyers at the IRZ "German law" summer school in Brühl

Outlook

The IRZ would like to continue in 2014 with the consultation on creating administrative courts with the drawing up of the appropriate statutory basis. It intends to implement further training for judges and to support the establishment of administrative courts. It is also planned to continue consultation on the modernisation of civil law and of the law on notaries. The IRZ will continue to contribute towards the reform of the system of public prosecutors in Moldova and to support relevant bodies with consultation, seminars and specialist discussions. Topics which will also be on the table in 2014 in the context of justice sector reform are the law on notaries and insolvency law, as well as further training, particularly in civil and criminal law.