The Vetting Commission announced on Friday, August 25, that it has sent to the candidates registered in the competition to replace the position of judge at the Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ) the declaration form for 5 years and the ethics questionnaire for completion, thus starting the process of evaluating their integrity. The notification of the start of the assessment comes after the Superior Council of Magistracy (SCM) sent the Commission the list of 24 remaining candidates on 23 August.

The Vetting Commission notes that two of the 24 candidates on the list sent by the SCM, Yuri Lealin and Leonid Chirtoaca, have passed the integrity assessment under the provisions of Law No 26/2022 on certain measures related to the selection of candidates for membership of self-administrative bodies of judges and prosecutors and will not be subject to repeated assessment.

Candidates for the position of judge of the Supreme Court of Justice must complete and return by e-mail the declaration of assets and personal interests, with updated data for the last 5 years and the ethics questionnaire, as well as the declaration on the list of close persons who work or have worked in the last 5 years in the judiciary, the prosecution and the public service, within 10 days from the date of application, as provided for by Law No. 65/2023 on the external evaluation of judges and candidates for the position of judge of the Supreme Court of Justice.

The model declarations and questionnaire have been approved by the Vetting Commission, and by submitting these documents, candidates declare on their own responsibility the truthfulness and completeness of the data submitted and consent to the processing of personal data.

“The absence of a reasonable justification for the refusal to submit or for the failure to submit the declarations or the questionnaire on time is grounds for the Commission to find that the candidate has not passed the assessment,” the Commission’s statement said.

After receiving the candidates’ declarations, the Vetting Commission will analyse the income and property of the candidates and their families “on the basis of extensive research of relevant data collected from public information systems, gathered from individuals and legal entities, and subsequent communication with the candidates”.

The Independent Commission for the External Evaluation of the Integrity of Judges and Candidates for the position of judge of the SJC announced on Friday 27 July that it has initiated the evaluation process for the five sitting judges of the SJC:

• Tamara Chișca-Doneva
• Ion Guzun
• Aliona Miron
• Mariana Pitic
• Anatolie Turcan

A few days later, Tamara Chișca-Doneva and Ion Guzun submitted their resignation applications.