Between June 2015 and March 2017 the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) and judicial authorities of the Republic of Moldova co-operated actively to improve the efficiency of courts and the quality of judicial services.

Six pilot courts and the National Institute of Justice of the Republic of Moldova (NIJ) implemented tools developed by CEPEJ in their day-to-day activities. The cooperation was part of the Project "Strengthening the efficiency of justice and support to lawyer’s profession in the Republic of Moldova", under the CoE/EU Eastern Partnership Programmatic Cooperation Framework 2015-2017, financed by the European Union and implemented by the Council of Europe.

The  final conference on 21 March highlighted the results and best practices achieved by the pilot courts and other major actors of the justice sector, after learning about and putting in practice the CEPEJ tools. Representatives from all Moldovan courts and justice sector stakeholders were invited to hear and discuss CEPEJ methodology to constantly increase the efficiency of courts and improve the quality of the judiciary as a whole, and to hear the concrete achievements of the pilot courts after applying this methodology in practice.

The team of CEPEJ experts representing the Netherlands, Croatia, Slovenia and Italy concluded on the cooperation process and presented a detailed final report on the court coaching, including an assessment of the pilot court’s results and a set of recommendations in view of further dissemination of CEPEJ tools in all courts of the Republic of Moldova.

The day following the conference, 22 March 2017,  the Project’s Steering Group held its final meeting, participants included representatives from the  Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Moldova, Ministry of Justice,  Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, Superior Council of Magistracy, Supreme Court of Justice, National Institute of Justice and other justice sector stakeholders from the Republic of Moldova, as well as members of the CEPEJ and Council of Europe Office in the Republic of Moldova. The  participants discussed the large array of activities implemented as part of the Project and the level of achievement of its objectives, as well as the remaining challenges and the perspectives of future joint actions.

The Steering Group appreciated the results of the project, particularly those achieved by the 6 pilot courts and the National Institute of Justice, and supported a continued active cooperation between the Moldovan judiciary and the CEPEJ in view of dissemination of its tools at a national level. The contributors to the Project, including the European Union, the Council of Europe and Moldovan authorities, were invited to continue their cooperation based on common values and standards for the justice sector.