A draft law regulating some aspects of the election of members to the Superior Council of Magistracy (CSM) and the Superior Council of Prosecutors (CSP) has been voted in first reading by 52 MPs.

“The document was drafted with the aim of excluding the situation of perpetuation of the interim or vacancy of the position of member of the CSM, CSP and specialised colleges, which may be caused by the lack of quorum required for the general assembly to be deliberative”, says the author of the draft, MP Olesea Stamate.

Thus, if the General Assembly of Judges or Prosecutors does not take place due to lack of quorum, the repeated assembly should be held on restricted terms and the quorum for the repeated General Assembly should be reduced to 1/3.

The document also regulates the situation in which the General Assembly cannot be convened due to the expiry of the mandate of the CSM and CSP members, the lack of quorum or in case of declaration of a state of emergency.

In these circumstances, the General Assembly of Judges shall be convened and opened by the President or interim President of the Council. In the event of a vacancy, the General Assembly of Judges shall be convened and opened by the Minister for Justice.

The document will be submitted to Parliament for a second reading.

The General Assembly of Judges is to be convened on 17 March 2023, at which permanent members of the CSM will be elected from among the judges.

At its meeting on 14 February, the plenary of the CSM approved the draft agenda of the meeting of the General Assembly of Judges.

According to the legislation, the General Assembly of Judges is one of the organs of judicial self-administration and ensures the practical implementation of the principle of judicial self-administration. The General Assembly of Judges consists of the judges of all courts.

Voting of permanent and substitute members of the CSM, of the College for the selection and career of judges, of the College for the evaluation of the performance of judges is secret and takes place in a specially equipped voting booth under the supervision of members of the Special Commission.

The decisions of the Assembly shall be adopted by a simple majority vote of the judges present and shall be signed by the President and the Secretary of the meeting and numbered consecutively for the current year.