CC ISSUES POSITIVE CONFIRMATION TO GOVERNMENT’S INITIATIVE ON AMENDING CONSTITUTION

On Tuesday, Constitutional Court Chairman Tudor Pantiru announced that the CC gave a positive confirmation to the Government’s initiative on introducing amendments to the country’s Main Law concerning the status, competence and procedure of judge appointment.

According to the Government’s initiative, it is proposed in particular to appoint judges for life term – till reaching the age limit, excluding the initial appointment for the term of five years.

“This proposal was directed to ensuring stability of judges’ working, while stability is the key element of proper functioning of the justice system”, the decision says.

It is implied that the Appeals Chamber judges will be appointed just as the rest of judges – by the President at the proposal of the Superior Council of Magistracy (SCM). According to authors of the initiative, this provision will allow excluding the political influence on courts.

The legislative initiative also proposes to establish the limitations of judge immunity.

“The proposal is directed to making the provision on judges’ immunity clear. The immunity implies judges’ responsibility and their protection on duty. It is directed to ensuring the independence of judges, who should perform their liabilities in accordance with the law without any worries about criminal or administrative responsibility for the issued decisions”, the CC explanatory note says.

The court came to the conclusion that the Government’s initiative corresponds with the Constitution, is directed to strengthening the stability of justice system and does not exceed the limits of the Main Law revision. It may be considered not earlier than 6 months after the CC conclusion and not later than 12 months after this date.