The Pre-Vetting Commission has completed the evaluation process for the 40 judicial and non-judicial candidates seeking to become eligible for membership of the Superior Council of Magistracy (SCM). The evaluation process covered 28 judicial candidates, registered in the competition organized by the SCM, and 12 non-judicial candidates, admitted to the competition organized by the Parliament. However, 31 candidates completed the full evaluation process, while 9 candidates either withdrew from the competition or did not submit the documents required by law for the evaluation within the prescribed timeframe, which resulted in their failure to pass the evaluation.
Out of the total 40 candidates, five judges and three non-judges passed the evaluation, which corresponds to a pass rate of 18% for judges and 25% for non-judges.
Twenty-nine candidates participated in the public hearings conducted by the Pre-Vetting Commission. Two candidates requested to be evaluated without participating in a public hearing.
Out of 32 decisions failing the candidate, 18 judicial and 4 non-judicial candidates appealed the decision to the SCJ. So far, two of the appeals have been resolved, with the decisions of the Pre-Vetting Commission upheld.
More than 70% of candidates agreed to the publication of the Pre-Vetting Commission’s decision. Most of the Commission’s decisions were adopted unanimously by the six members of the Commission, with the exception of four decisions concerning judicial candidates where there was also a dissenting opinion.
The decisions of the Pre-Vetting Commission and the dissenting opinions can be found here https://vetting.md/en/decisions/. Videotapes of the public hearings are also available on the Commission’s Youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/@comisia.prevetting
Evaluation of candidates for membership in the self-administration bodies of judges (SCM) and prosecutors (SCP) involves the verification of their financial and ethical integrity, carried out on the basis of Law No. 26/2022. The Pre-Vetting Commission’s task is to verify such matters as whether candidates have properly declared their assets and if their assets correspond to their income, whether they have behaved ethically or have engaged in arbitrary acts, including whether they have acted with a conflict of interest. The Commission is now conducting the evaluation of candidates for membership in the Superior Council of Prosecutors (CSP).
