Support to cooperation between the Moldovan Superior Council of Magistracy and the Netherlands Council for the Judiciary

Project description

Justice sector reform and fighting corruption are high level priorities for Moldova, and significant steps have been taken since the adoption of the Justice Sector Reform Strategy 2011-2016 to tighten the judicial disciplinary process and tackle corruption in the justice sector (through integrity checks, the random distribution of cases, regulation of judges’ communication with third parties and penalties for corruption, including confiscation of unlawfully acquired wealth). The corresponding changes in legislation and capacity building measures to date are important elements of the reform process, but additional support is needed to ingrain changes and implement the newly adopted measures.

Against this background, this project is designed to facilitate exchanges of experience between Moldovan and Dutch judges and the two Councils for the Judiciary on practices related to the procedural and management aspects in the justice sector, and general guiding principles such as the safeguards of independence, impartiality and transparency of justice. This is to take place through the organisation of two study weeks (one in the Netherlands and one in Moldova) in Spring and Autumn of 2015. The study weeks are meant to acquaint the Moldovan participants with Dutch good practices (and vice versa) and facilitate information exchange about common goals and challenges.

Given the related topic, the content and the organisation of the study weeks, including the selection of participants, will be coordinated among others with the EU funded project “Increased Efficiency, Accountability and Transparency of Courts in Moldova”. The Fall session will also aim to include Romanian counterparts, because of the proximity, the shared historical-legal background, and the important progress achieved in recent years in relation to the said topics.