Eduard Harunjen, the former Prosecutor General of Moldova from 2016 to 2019, claims that he should be reinstated as Prosecutor General from 10 November and says that “the continued occupation of the position of Acting Prosecutor General by Mr Ion Munteanu becomes unfounded and illegal, and any administrative act, signed by him, is liable to absolute nullity”.

“On 10 November this year, I addressed a request to Mr. Ion Munteanu informing him about the preliminary request I submitted to the Presidency of the Republic of Moldova regarding the suspension and annulment of the Decree of the President of the Republic of Moldova No. 1208 of 11 July 2019 on the dismissal of the undersigned from the position of Prosecutor General. In such circumstances, according to the provisions of Article 171 para. (5) of the Administrative Code, the legal effects of the Decree are suspended until the final settlement of the case, i.e. with the reinstatement of the undersigned as Prosecutor General on 10 November 2022. Under these circumstances, the continued occupation of the position of acting Prosecutor General by Mr. Ion Munteanu becomes unfounded and illegal, and any administrative act signed by him is liable to absolute nullity”, says Eduard Harunjen.

The article of the Administrative Code to which Eduard Harunjen refers states that “in cases established by law, the suspension of the execution of the individual administrative act occurs through the filing of a preliminary application or lawsuit challenging the individual administrative act”.

However, Article 172 of the Administrative Code on “Suspension of the execution of the individual administrative act by the public authority” provides that “if an unfavourable individual administrative act is challenged with a prior application, the public authority, ex officio or at the request of the affected person, may suspend its execution until the completion of the prior procedure”.

“The Prosecutor General’s Office confirms that on 10 November 2022 the address of Eduard Harunjen was received by the institution, the content of which was made public by its author. The allegations made by the applicant are to be examined within the limits of the powers assigned by law to the Prosecutor General’s Office. At the present stage, as the address is in the process of being examined, the Office of the Prosecutor General refrains from any comment on the subject matter raised by the petitioner. At the same time, we reiterate that the Prosecutor’s Office will continue to guide its work in accordance with the principles of legality, impartiality and independence”, the statement of the Prosecutor General’s Office, sent to ZdG, reads.

Harunjen resigned in July 2019
The message on behalf of Eduard Harunjen was sent from the same email address from which, in July 2019, he announced his resignation as Prosecutor General. He wrote then that “in order to curb the legal risks caused by Tuesday’s obviously illegal and unconstitutional decision of the Parliament, but also to protect the image of the Prosecutor General’s Office and the work of the entire prosecutorial corps, I announce my resignation pursuant to letter a) paragraph 1) Article 58 of Law No. 3 of 25 February 2016 on the Prosecutor General’s Office”.

The former prosecutor-general also announced that he has filed a request with the Supreme Council of Prosecutors (CSP) to take note of the legal situation that has arisen in connection with his challenge, and the CSP would consider the request at its next meeting, Harunjen said. Asked by journalists about his intention to enter politics, Harunjen said this was “out of the question”.

Eduard Harunjen was head of the Prosecutor General’s Office from 2016 to 2019. After the Plahotniuc-led PDM left the government, several organisations representing civil society initiated a petition calling for Harunjen’s resignation on the grounds that he “has demonstrated in his work that he does not obey truth and justice, but party interests”.

In July 2019, Harunjen resigned, citing “health reasons”, although at the end of his term he reiterated that he would not leave office voluntarily.

Currently, Eduard Harunjen claims that he works “with private companies” and provides legal advice to economic agents “with whom he has known for a long time”: “I provide a little support. It’s the only source of income, of course.

In 2008, the former PG also bought a 117-square-metre apartment at a reduced price in a block of flats for prosecutors on Nicolae Sulac Street in the capital, which he later sold.