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VENICE COMMISSION PRESENTS ITS CONCLUSION ON DRAFT CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS

18 november, 2020

The Venice Commission, jointly with the Directorate of Human Rights and the Rule of Law of the Council of Europe, has issued an urgent amicus curiae opinion addressing three legal questions raised by the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Moldova with regard to the mandate of the lay members of the Superior Council of Magistracy (SCM) in the context of draft constitutional amendments in respect of this judicial body.

The Venice Commission and the Directorate conclude that in the specific circumstances in Moldova, the design of the confirmation of the mandate of lay members of the SCM on a one-off basis with a high level of support may help ensure a transition to an authority with a more authoritative mandate and more independence from politics in the future.

"The transitional draft Article II (3) provides that the mandate of the lay members who are in office on the date of its entry into force is to be confirmed, for a term of office of 6 years in total, with the vote of three-fifths of elected MPs", said the document.

Its authors believe that the draft transitional Article II (3) does not seem disproportionate in the sense that it may be reasonably considered as striking a fair balance between the two conflicting interests: the security of the mandate of the lay members of the SCM and the need of maintaining the public order.

"This arrangement would remove the negative consequences that followed the Parliament's regrettable decision in March 2020 to elect the four lay members of the SCM based on the old rules while important draft constitutional amendments also concerning the election and mandate of the lay members were pending", said the opinion document.

The opinion was requested on October 9 by the President of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Moldova, Domnica Manole, on three legal questions concerning the mandate of members of constitutional bodies in the context of proceedings according to Article 141(2) of the Constitution relating to the draft law on amending and supplementing the Constitution with respect to the Superior Council of Magistracy. On 19 October, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova, Ion Chicu, and the Minister of Justice, Fadei Nagacevschi, requested that the present amicus curiae opinion be prepared under urgent procedure.

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