The Pre-Vetting Commission has sent the 5-year Declaration form to the new non-judicial candidates for the Superior Council of Magistrates (SCM), thus initiating the evaluation procedure. The nine candidates declared eligible by the Parliament to participate in the competition are expected to return by e-mail the completed document, as well as any additional documents as appropriate, to the Commission within 7 days from the request, by May 25, 2023.
The 5 -year declaration, pursuant to art. 9 para. (2) of the Law No. 26/2022 on some measures related to the selection of candidates for the position of member in the self-administration bodies of judges and prosecutors, includes information on the candidates’ personal assets and interests, as well as the list of close persons in the judiciary, prosecution and public service. Candidates who were not previously subjects of declaration under Law No. 133/2016 shall complete declarations for each of the last five years (period 2018-2022) for which an annual declaration was not filed.
Following the receipt of the declarations from candidates, the Pre-Vetting Commission will analyze the income and assets of the candidates and their families on the basis of extensive research of relevant data collected from public information systems, accumulated from natural and legal persons, and following a subsequent communication with candidates.
It should be noted that, according to art. 9 para. (2) of Law No. 26/2022, the missing of deadline for submitting the 5-year declaration and the annual declarations, if appropriate, constitutes grounds for the Commission’s finding that the candidate fails the evaluation.
The Pre-Vetting Commission mentions that sent a completed example of the 5-year Declaration to the candidates last week, as a prior information notice, but also to give the candidates more time to prepare the information necessary to complete the document. Additionally, candidates received the Ethical Integrity Questionnaire for completion which, unlike the 5-year declaration, is voluntary. The Ethics Questionnaire asks for primary information on the candidate’s ethical integrity and shall be returned to the Commission by June 1st, 2023.
The template of the 5-year declaration, the answers to the most frequently asked questions related to its completion, as well as the Ethics Questionnaire can be accessed on the Commission’s website –
Note: Following the decision of the Legal, Appointments and Immunities Committee of 5 May 2023, the Parliament forwarded to the Pre-Vetting Commission the list of nine non-judicial candidates for Superior Council of Magistrates membership. These include self-employed lawyers, attorneys and representatives of civil society and academia, who will go through the Pre-Vetting Commission’s financial and ethical integrity evaluation process in order to become eligible to run for a position of permanent member to the SCM.
