The Association of Judges of the Republic of Moldova (AJM), whose president is magistrate Victor Sandu, one of the candidates who did not pass the evaluation of financial and ethical integrity and the Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ) decided to be re-evaluated by the Pre-Vetting Commission, issued a statement on Wednesday, January 24, calling on the Superior Council of Magistracy (SCM) “to carefully analyze the attacks on judicial independence”.

The Association’s reaction comes a few hours after Prime Minister Dorin Recean nominated two female magistrates at a government meeting who recently took controversial decisions regarding persons under investigation in the “Bank Fraud” case.

Thus, representatives of the Association argue that “verbal attacks on judges by members of the Executive or other authorities, regardless of their motivation, can have a damaging effect on public confidence in justice and undermine the impartiality and effectiveness of the judiciary”. At the same time, they express their solidarity with their colleagues and all judges in Moldova.

“(…) The Association of Judges of the Republic of Moldova appeals to Prime Minister Dorin Recean to refrain from such statements that may compromise the independence and integrity of the judiciary. We also call on the Superior Council of Magistracy to carefully examine these attacks on judicial independence.

These attacks have taken place despite the dissatisfaction expressed by the judges’ associations, even though they have taken into account respect for the principles of the rule of law and judicial independence. We reiterate our firm commitment to defending the independence and professional integrity of the judiciary in Moldova.

We also call on accredited embassies and international institutions to be attentive to these attacks on judicial independence and to support the rule of law in Moldova,” the statement said.

On Wednesday, January 24, Prime Minister Dorin Recean criticized two decisions taken by judges Angela Catană and Ludmila Beșliu in a Cabinet meeting. ZdG previously wrote that in 2011 and 2012 magistrate Angela Catană was given two harsh reprimands for granting amnesty to a rapist and cancelling an order to initiate criminal proceedings.

“(…) I noticed the public reactions last time, but I will name names. We have Judge Angela Catană who ordered that the National Bank of Moldova is civilly liable in the “Bank Fraud” case, where prosecutors blame NBM decision-makers who admitted and contributed to the theft of the billion (…) This means that Ion steals from Vasile, Vasile seeks justice and goes to court, and justice orders not Ion to recover the damage from Vasile, but Vasile’s family to recover the damage. This is completely unacceptable in a normal society.

There is also Judge Ludmila Beșliu who decided that the file of a defendant in the “Bank Fraud” case, namely Plahotniuc, should be merged into a larger file. You know how it was before, let’s give everything to the colhoz, because the colhoz steals and nobody is responsible. The intention was probably that all these trials would go on forever. I said very clearly: I will continue to name names and that is what I will do from now on, no matter how many protests and grievances there will be from various associations, instead of dealing with the integrity of the process. I haven’t seen people make statements and say very clearly when judges are wrong (…),” PM Recean said.

On 13 December 2023, also in a government meeting, Dorin Recean asked the ministers “to retain three names”, those of the judges who were part of the panel that annulled the order of the Commission for Exceptional Situations (CSE) by which the candidates of the “Chance” party were excluded from the elections, namely judges Ecaterina Palanciuc, Veronica Negru and Ina Dutca.

“These criminal groups were funded and openly supported by the Kremlin. We have to understand that this creates a situation where a criminal group can come to Moldova, do whatever it wants, corrupt voters, corrupt judges, make a mockery of people, and the state has no right to intervene, to apply the necessary tools to stop this criminal activity. We believe otherwise. The state will intervene whenever national security is threatened,” Recean said.

Subsequently, the Association of Judges of Moldova issued a statement expressing their “deep concern and disapproval” in the context of the prime minister’s statements.