The Ministry of Justice reaffirms its full respect for the constitutional role of the Superior Council of Magistracy and the independence of the judiciary, the ministry said in a statement.
The discussions were aimed at defining a functional, balanced and sustainable mechanism for assessing the integrity and performance of judges, which would respond both to the need to strengthen public confidence in justice and to protect the independence of the judiciary.
The Ministry of Justice emphasizes that the draft, currently at an early and conceptual stage, has been developed on the basis of ideas and options discussed during the inter-ministerial consultations and will be the subject of further dialogue.
The need to accelerate the assessment processes is also driven by the current realities of the judiciary, the information statement said. Currently, 528 judicial positions are envisaged in the judicial system, of which 349 are actually occupied. Of the total number of active judges, 85 have undergone or are undergoing external evaluation, and 180 are potentially subject to evaluation.
At the same time, 58 judges who are not subject to external evaluation have been appointed to the courts of first instance between 2023 and now.
In this context, the current discussions are also aimed at identifying solutions that would improve the efficiency of the evaluation processes and strengthen the institutional capacity of the bodies responsible for evaluating the performance and integrity of judges.
At the same time, the Ministry of Justice emphasizes that it respects the positions and concerns expressed by the representatives of the Judicial Regulation Commission and believes that all decisions should be based on a spirit of institutional cooperation, mutual respect and constitutional principles that guarantee the independence of the judiciary.
