Open Justice experts leading the workshop
On November 27–28, 2017, Open Justice short-term consultants conducted a two-day workshop on the selection, transfer, and evaluation of judges. Several members of the Superior Council of Magistracy (SCM) — as well as representatives of the Ministry of Justice, the Agency for Court Administration, and the donor community — participated in the workshop.
The interactive workshop facilitated a candid exchange of opinions on the issues pertaining to judicial selection, promotion, and evaluation. Participants agreed with the recommendations suggested by the Open Justice experts for improving the process of judicial selection and promotion.
Judiciary representatives attending the workshop
Representatives of the Superior Council of Magistracy
discuss the Efficiency Action Plans
As a result of the discussions, the participants agreed on a common approach to the criteria and procedures for selection, the distribution of powers between the SCM, the Judges’ Performance Evaluation Board and the Judges’ Selection and Career Board, the need to improve the quality of the reasoning supporting the selection and promotion of judges by both the SCM Boards and the SCM members. Other recommendations referred to the need to amend certain legal acts in order to streamline the selection and evaluation procedures and the need to extend the competence of the Supreme Court of Justice to examine appeals against selection decisions and other issues.
Open Justice experts used the outcome of the workshop to develop Efficiency Action Plans (EAPs) for the SCM Judicial Selection and Evaluation Boards. The purpose of the EAPs is to modernize the current system of assessing the work of judges and harmonize it with international and European standards. The workshop was part of Open Justice’s effort to assist the Moldovan judiciary to improve the procedures of selecting, promoting, and evaluating judges and to foster fairness, transparency and accountability in the selection process.
Following the workshop, on December 7, 2017, Open Justice conducted a training for the representatives of the SCM where Open Justice experts presented the draft proposed EAPs. In addition, the training focused on improving the criteria and processes of judicial selection decisions and on further enhancing the EAPs on the selection, transfer, promotion, and evaluation of judges.
