Participants and experts at this year's summer school for students
Moldau
Following extensive consultations by IRZ on its introduction, we are now supporting the implementation of the new Administrative Code of the Republic of Moldova. In addition to training courses for the judiciary, our approach is to involve young lawyers.
Our summer school for students on administrative law and EU law at the beginning of July offered five days filled with specialist lectures, practical exercises, presentations by German and Moldovan experts, and roundtable discussions with high-ranking Moldovan guests. This comprehensive package awaited twenty students from the State University of Moldova (USM) and two other universities at the beginning of their semester break.
Moldovan administrative law in its current form is strongly based on German administrative law. Germany has a long tradition of the rule of law in the field of administrative law and provides a proven model that is a valuable point of reference for the Republic of Moldova. With the introduction of the new Administrative Code, the Republic of Moldova has reached an important milestone in this regard.
The strong influence of German law on Moldovan administrative law, but also on civil law, and Germany's ongoing support for legal development in the Republic of Moldova through IRZ were also highlighted by Sergiu Băieşu, Dean of the Faculty of Law at the USM, in his welcoming address.
A report by a student and interviews with the German experts in Romanian and English can be found here.
Trilateral roundtable discussion in Bucharest with public prosecutors from the Republic of Moldova, Romania and Germany on the topic of hate crime and hate speech in the digital space
Moldova / Romania
On 14 and 15 November 2020, the IRZ, the National Institute of Justice of the Republic of Moldova, the National Institute of Magistrates of Romania and the Ministries of Justice of both countries held the above round table in Bucharest, Romania.
Participants from Romania, the Republic of Moldova and Germany emphasized the urgency of the topic in view of the increasing spread of hate speech on the internet. They highlighted how growing political polarization and the role of disinformation and hate speech in the political context are weighing on the social climate and stressed the need for increased cooperation, but also for innovative solutions in dealing with hate crimes and hate speech.
Around 45 public prosecutors and police officers from the three countries took the opportunity to exchange experiences and discuss current challenges, as well as to share innovative solutions for the prevention and prosecution of hate crimes and hate speech in the digital space.
The discussions focused on the legal, practical and societal challenges of combating and prosecuting cyber hate crimes and hate speech, and techniques for investigating and preserving evidence of online hate crimes. In addition, difficulties related to international mutual legal assistance and cross-border cooperation, cooperation with internet service providers and European legislation were discussed.
Another key item on the agenda was victim protection and the role of civil society, with reports on experiences of anti-Semitic hate speech, discrimination and hate speech against Roma, and the specific problems of the LGBTQ community in the digital space.
Another trilateral roundtable will take place in December 2024 in Chișinău, Republic of Moldova.
A delegation from the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Moldova visits the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office in Cologne. Second person from the left: Ms. Veronica Dragalin, Head of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Moldova
Moldova
The aim of the visit by a delegation from the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (APO) of the Republic of Moldova was to share expertise on German approaches to fighting corruption and to gain practical insights into the work of German judicial authorities. At the invitation of the IRZ, they travelled to North Rhine-Westphalia from 4 to 8 November 2020 to share best practices and experiences, strengthen the expertise of both sides and intensify cooperation at the international level.
The delegation, led by the head of the APO, Ms. Veronica Dragalin, discussed methods for identifying and seizing assets, cross-border asset recovery and the clarification of complex financial transactions with the department for economic crime and organized crime of the Cologne public prosecutor's office. During a meeting at the LKA Nordrhein-Westfalen, they received information on the role of the police in preventing and combating corruption and on cooperation with the public prosecutor's office.
The specialized public prosecutor's office for corruption in Wuppertal presented effective investigation strategies for prosecuting and convicting corruption offences to the Moldovan participants and discussed with them the challenges of collecting statistics and communicating successes in the fight against corruption. The specialized public prosecutor's office for economic crimes in Bochum then focused on cooperation in cross-border corruption cases and the formation of joint investigation teams.
The last day of the study trip began with a visit to the Cologne Office of the Public Prosecutor, where the focus was on record keeping, digitization and the collection of crime statistics. The trip concluded with a technical discussion with the European Public Prosecutor's Office in Cologne, which deals with investigations into fraud and tax evasion to the detriment of the European Union budget.
