Enhancing trust in the justice system by increasing its quality and independence through cooperation among legal professions and the role of legal education in attracting honest qualified professionals, were at the center of the discussions that took place during the 4^th edition of the Annual Conference of Justice Sector Stakeholders, held under the theme "Strengthening Interprofessional Cooperation: Current Benchmarks and Joint Commitments for Integrity and Trust in Justice."

The event brought together judges, prosecutors, and lawyers, as well as representatives from the Ministry of Justice, Superior Council of Magistrates (SCM), Superior Council of Prosecutors (SCP), General Prosecutor’s Office and Bar Association, in a dialogue dedicated to strengthening interprofessional cooperation, professional integrity, and increasing public trust in the justice system.

During the conference, the Interprofessional Charter of Judges, Prosecutors, and Lawyers of the Republic of Moldova was signed — a document reaffirming a joint commitment to mutual respect, independence, integrity, and professional accountability, with due regard to the distinct status of each legal profession.

“This conference enabled legal professionals, justice actors and institutions, to reflect on challenges and opportunities to make the professions of judge and prosecutor more attractive in view of the need to increase the number of duly qualified judges and prosecutors, as a pre-condition for increasing citizens’ trust in the justice system”, mentioned the Head of the Council of Europe Office in Chisinau, Mr. Falk Lange.

“We must take a much more active role in facilitating access to the legal professions for National Institute of Justice (NIJ) students, in order to encourage them and provide assurances that will truly make this profession attractive. We must shorten the waiting periods to enter the system. We must consider how, once they have taken their seats at the National Institute of Justice, their training can be truly solid and grounded in the realities of justice reform and their current and future missions,” noted Ramona Strugariu, NIJ director.

The president of SCM, Sergiu Caraman, noted that the true purpose of this Charter is to strengthen mutual professional trust. “Because without trust between institutions, reforms become fragile; without communication, tensions and deadlocks arise; and without institutional coherence, society’s trust in the justice system declines,” he emphasized.

“The revision and signing of the new Interprofessional Charter is an event that reaffirms the shared commitment of the three legal professions to strengthening collaborative relationships based on common values and rules of mutual conduct,” noted SCP president Dumitru Obadă.

The discussions highlighted inter alia the importance of interprofessional dialogue to improve the functioning of the justice system, as well as the impact of legal professionals’ working conditions, on integrity and public trust given the relationship between professional integrity and legal professionals’ reputation.

The event was organized with the support of the joint European Union and Council of Europe project "Support for Justice Reform in the Republic of Moldova".