GRECO today called on the authorities of the Republic of Moldova to step up their efforts to implement measures aimed at preventing corruption in respect of parliamentarians, judges and prosecutors.

In a follow up report evaluating the implementation of a set of recommendations issued in an evaluation report in 2016, GRECO concludes that the Republic of Moldova needs to make significant progress to achieve an acceptable level of compliance. So far, the country has fully complied with four out of 18 recommendations, whilst it has partly implemented nine and has not implemented five. [see also the report in French]

GRECO considers insufficient the efforts taken to improve the transparency of the legislative process. It calls on the authorities to systematically ensure timely publication of draft laws and related information, allowing for a meaningful public and parliamentary debate on draft legal initiatives. GRECO also criticises that a code of conduct for MPs has not been adopted and that measures to prevent various forms of conflicts of interest have not been taken yet.

With regard to prosecutors, the composition of the Superior Council of Prosecutors remains a concern. Although the latter has been given constitutional basis, GRECO in particular regrets that the Minister of Justice and the President of the Superior Council of the Magistracy continue to be ex officio members of this body. It also underlines that clear formal procedures regarding hierarchical instructions to prosecutors have not been introduced yet. On the other hand, GRECO welcomes the constitutional reform providing for the appointment of the Prosecutor General for a single non-renewable term of office and the publication of the Code of Ethics of prosecutors.

As regards judges, GRECO strongly regrets that the Minister of Justice and the Prosecutor General are still ex officio members of the Superior Council of Magistracy. At the same time, GRECO welcomes the publication and distribution of the Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics of judges and the adoption of the commentaries to the Code. Moreover, the report acknowledges progress to address the problem of unjustified delays in adjudicating cases and in increasing the transparency of court decisions and judgments.

GRECO asks the Moldovan authorities to report back on the implementation of the pending recommendations by 30 June 2020.