OPINION on digital solutions for the organisation of general assemblies of judges and prosecutors

The Justice Expert’s Group (JEG) of the Institute for European Policy and Reform (IPRE) has developed an opinion on the use of digital solutions such as teleconference and electronic voting for the organization of general assemblies of judges (GAJ) and prosecutors (GAP)

According to JEG experts, the adoption of teleconference/videoconference and electronic voting is a necessity of time and under the current circumstances, will inevitably become a common solution for the organisation of meetings, assemblies, congresses, etc. The recent experience of the Lawyers Union of the Republic of Moldova in organising large-scale professional meetings online demonstrates the feasibility and convenience of this solution compared to organising the same meetings in a physical format.

The implementation of digital solutions in the organisation of GAJ and GAP will:

1. considerably increase the number of participants in the proceedings of the meetings and therefore ensure the necessary quorum for decision-making;
2. exclude several costs (venue rental, paper, toner, etc.) necessary for the organisation of the meetings in the physical format;
3. increase the transparency of the voting exercise;
4. exclude a number of errors and/or frauds in the counting of votes process;
5. allow the meetings mentioned above to be held in safe conditions for all participants during the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.

At the same time, JEG experts recommend:

1. Preparation of the reference regulatory framework for the organization of GAJ and GAP with the application of the necessary digital solutions according to the provisions of Article IV of the Law no.103/2021 for the modification of certain normative acts;
2. Identifying, adjusting, and implementing the necessary digital technical solutions for teleconference and electronic voting to reflect the process of organizing and conducting general assemblies of judges and prosecutors, taking into account also the recent experience of the Congress of the Lawyers Union of the Republic of Moldova;
3. Develop and distribute instructions/guidelines concerning the online participation in the GAJ and GAP for all the participants, and provide technical assistance based on the approved regulations;
4. Monitoring and evaluation of the online functioning of the GAJ and GAP in order to identify potential shortcomings towards optimising the process and the regulatory framework and better adjusting the technical solution. Observers in this process could be delegated by civil society organisations and development partners of the Republic of Moldova.

For more details consult the OPINION here.

This opinion was developed within the project “Justice Expert’s Group”, implemented with the financial support of the Justice and Human Rights Department of the Soros Foundation-Moldova. The content of the publication represents the opinion of the Justice Expert’s Group and does not necessarily reflect the position of the Soros Foundation Moldova.