According to current regulations, heads of institutions appointed by Parliament are eligible to hold diplomatic passports. The Chair of the Council for Equality, Ian Feldman, proposed expanding the wording to include heads of institutions that report to Parliament.
The State Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, Eduard Serbenco, spoke out against adding new categories of individuals eligible for diplomatic passports.
“Perhaps it is time to revoke diplomatic passports from other officials, but not to add new ones. I would take the opposite approach—I would remove, not add,” Serbenco stated.
“From the Metropolitan, for example,” Feldman replied.
The chairman of the parliamentary committee, Marcel Spătari, stepped in as a mediator in the dispute and promised that the issue would be examined further: “I’ve heard the arguments; we’ll also discuss this issue with the Legal Committee.”
Reform of the Council for Equality
During the meeting, the exemption of the Council for Equality from paying state fees and stamp duties in all legal proceedings was also discussed. There is currently no clear provision in the law that expressly provides for this exemption. The current provision is open to interpretation, which could lead to a situation where the Council is required to pay these fees.
We note that, previously, Parliament adopted in the first reading the Law on bringing the regulatory framework into compliance with the standards applicable to equality promotion bodies. The bill provides for an increase of three positions in the staffing limit of the Equality Council’s administrative staff, bringing the total to 36 employees.
The bill is scheduled to be put to a vote in the second reading.
