Five judicial candidates for the position of member in the Superior Council of Magistracy (SCM) failed the evaluation of the Pre-Vetting Commission

The Pre-Vetting Commission completed the evaluation process regarding five candidates for the position of member in the Superior Council of Magistracy (SCM) from among career judges and sent its decisions to the candidates and the institution responsible for organizing the competition. The decisions concern magistrates Iurie Bejenaru and Anatolie Țurcan, from the Supreme Court of Justice, Vitalie Stratan, from the Chisinau Court, Head Office, Angela Bostan, from the Chisinau Court of Appeal, and Vladislav Holban, from the Chisinau Court, Centru Office, which, according to the Commission, do not meet the integrity criteria and fail the evaluation. The members of the Commission justified their decisions by finding serious doubts regarding the candidates’ compliance with the principles of ethical and financial integrity.

Pursuant to the new amendments to Law no. 26/2022 regarding some measures related to the selection of candidates for the position of member in the self-administration bodies of judges and prosecutors, after sending the substantiated decisions to the candidates and the SCM, the Pre-Vetting Commission publishes on its website www.vetting.md the information regarding the evaluation result. If within 48 hours of the transmission of the decision, the candidate does not notify the Commission of his refusal to publish the decision, it is published in full on the website of the SCM – the institution responsible for organizing the elections or the competition, and on the website of the Commission. Any candidate is entitled to appeal the decision of the Commission within 5 days from receiving it.

Up to this moment, the Pre-Vetting Commission has issued decisions regarding 13 judicial candidates for position of member in the SCM, from the 28 judges who submitted their candidacy in the competition. As a result, 3 magistrates passed the Commission’s evaluation under the aspect of integrity, and 10 were disqualified by not passing the evaluation and can no longer participate in the competition for the position of member of the SCM.