On 17 February 2016 the Council of Europe carried out of the first meeting of the Steering Committee for the Project "Strengthening the efficiency of justice and support to lawyer’s profession in Moldova". The event summoned the Project’s partners and justice sector stakeholders, such as the Ministry of Justice, the Superior Council of Magistracy, the Moldovan Bar Association, the Supreme Court of Justice and other pilot courts, as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration. The meeting was attended by representatives of the European Union Delegation in Moldova, of donors’ community and of the civil society.
The Steering Committee focused on discussing the Project’s progress, the impact of its intervention on the justice system and the priorities for 2016. Mr. Aneil Singh, Head of Operations Section of the EU Delegation to Moldova, pointed out the latest European Council’s conclusions on the Republic of Moldova, of 15 February 2016. According to them, the Council is concerned about the lack of independence of the judiciary and law enforcement agencies. It underlined the importance of implementing reforms which would ensure the independence, effectiveness, transparency and accountability of the judiciary and of the anti-corruption institutions.
Mr Vladimir Cebotari, Minister of Justice of the Republic of Moldova, underlined the modest results in implementation of the Strategy for Justice Sector Reforms 2011-2016 and highlighted the importance of such objectives as increasing the efficiency and improving the communication between justice actors. Judicial bodies should act with more transparency. They should listen to the society and respond to its expectations in regard to the courts and lawyers’ profession.
The Steering Committee endorsed the report of the Project team on the activities carried out in 2015 and the action plan for 2016. The national partners appreciated the cooperation with the Council of Europe and praised it for the quality of the assistance provided to the judiciary and lawyers’ profession, as well as for the timelines of the Project’s interventions and their strong coordination with the national strategic priorities.
After the meeting of the Steering Committee, on 17 and 18 February, the Project organised a roundtable to present the draft court coaching reports developed by the experts of the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ). The partners of the Project (especially the Superior Council of Magistracy and the 6 pilot courts, including the Supreme Court of Justice) discussed the main findings of the experts and the solutions proposed in view of the implementation of CEPEJ-recommended measures which shall improve the judicial time and quality management. In the course of 2016 the Project will support the Moldovan pilot courts in view of implementation of such measures, including improve statistical data gathering and analysis, and assessment of users’ satisfaction with the judicial services.
*The Project "Strengthening the efficiency of justice and support to lawyer’s profession in Moldova" is part of the CoE/EU Eastern Partnership Programmatic Cooperation Framework 2015-2017, financed by the European Union and implemented by the Council of Europe.