13 August 2021

On 13 August 2021, the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova meets in an extraordinary sitting. The agenda of the meeting includes the adoption of eight drafts laws. Most of the drafts included in the agenda address issues of important impact, such as the procedure for electing the National Anticorruption Centre Director, conceptual and numerous amendments to the National Integrity Authority (NIA) legislation, the amendment of the Law on the Prosecutor’s Service, etc. They are proposed for the vote within a very short time from their registration, without public consultations (except for the draft on NIA) and without a reasonable justification for this haste. Seven of the eight drafts were registered in the Parliament less than 10 days ago.

Existing legislation on transparency in the decision-making process – the Law on Transparency in Decision-Making, Parliament’s Rules of Procedure (Regulation of the Parliament) and the Parliament decision on the Concept of Cooperation between Parliament and Civil Society – provide deadlines and procedures for examining draft laws, such as public consultations, the requirement to ensure transparency of the whole process, the need for an anti-corruption expertise and a Government opinion on existing draft initiatives, etc. These rules have been introduced to prevent abuses, increase the legitimacy of adopted laws and to provide a chance for a genuine debate to identify the best solutions for the country.

The signatory civil society organizations call on the Parliament to refrain from examining draft law initiatives, initiated under urgent basis, without a plausible justification. We also call on Parliament to hold genuine and inclusive public consultations on the above draft laws, in strict compliance with the legislation on transparency in the decision-making process. Failing to do so will erode confidence in the newly elected Parliament.

Signatory organizations:

1. Legal Resources Centre from Moldova
2. “WatchDog.MD” Community
3. Association for Participatory Democracy: ADEPT
4. Association for Efficient and Responsible Governance (AGER)
5. Center for the Analysis and Prevention of Corruption (CAPC)
6. The Institute for European Policies and Reforms (IPRE)
7. Promo-LEX
8. Amnesty International Moldova
9. Foreign Policy Association (APE)
10. CPR Moldova
11. East-Europe Foundation
12. „Acces-info” Centre
13. Expert-Grup Independent Think Tank
14. Transparency International Moldova
15. Media-Guard Association

The list of signatories remains open