Undoubtedly, such initiatives include a call and a concrete program of immediate and profound reform of the Constitutional Court. Recently, this institution of supreme jurisdiction in the country has been criticized a lot. Sometimes inappropriate, but often well-founded. This undermines the credibility of the institution, which is supposed to be the guardian of strict compliance not only with the Constitution of the country, but also with the implementation of laws in general.
It is worth mentioning that calls to reform the Constitutional Court are made by various political forces of the country, often with diametrically opposed views. This shows the depth and urgency of the problem.
We will not specify from whom the proposed program of reforming the Constitutional Court comes, so as not to tie this extremely important problem for the country and society to the pre-election period and political forces in principle. Because the reform of the Constitutional Court is not about politics, but about people, guarantees of their rights, democracy and the rule of law.
In the submitted draft law on amending the Constitution, the main goal is declared to be “to restore citizens’ trust in the main institution of constitutional justice”. One cannot but agree with this.
As the authors of the document point out, the current practice of the Constitutional Court (CC) has repeatedly gone beyond the interpretation of the Basic Law. Decisions that actually changed the meaning of the Constitution or substituted parliamentary decisions led to political crises, weakened the system of separation of powers, and ultimately reduced public confidence in the constitutional jurisdiction body.
Additional risks were created by non-transparent procedures for appointing judges, conflicts of interest related to the possibility of combining Moldovan citizenship with other citizenship, and dependence on government funding of the CC.
To change harmful practices, the initiative aims to ensure the independence, transparency and real accountability of the Constitutional Court to citizens. Here are its main provisions:
- A ban on “law-making” through interpretation. The CC will not be able to change the meaning of the Constitution or repeal laws with its decisions.
- Strict requirements for judges. Candidates must have only Moldovan citizenship, 15 years of legal experience, impeccable reputation and no political activity in the last 10 years.
- Direct election of judges. The CC judges will be elected by the citizens of Moldova by universal suffrage for a term of 9 years without the right to re-election.
- Financial independence. The CC will receive an autonomous budget of at least 0.1% of GDP, which will exclude pressure from the Parliament or the Government.
- Its own security service. The new body will report only to the CC president and will be responsible for the protection of judges and infrastructure.
The authors of the draft believe that such measures will reduce the risk of politicization of CC decisions, help to strengthen the stability and predictability of the legal system, increase public confidence in the CC as an independent arbitrator and protect judges from pressure and external threats.
It is possible to discuss these proposals in detail, to add or reformulate something. But the broad discussions in the society that this draft law has provoked and the level of support for it from experts and analysts with a wide range of political views and beliefs leave no doubt that this initiative has hit fertile ground.
Moldova aspires to become a full member of the European Union. The current authorities are convinced that this will happen already during the mandate of the deputies who will be elected on September 28. One of the key principles and requirements of EU membership is unconditional compliance with the standards of the rule of law.
Without radical reform of the Constitutional Court, it will not be easy for our country to ensure this principle, as evidenced by the heated discussions in the society. We have concrete proposals. What remains is to implement them – for the benefit of the people, the country and Moldova’s European future.
