Project: Ensuring an honest, efficient and independent justice system in the Republic of Moldova

Duration: 1st of April 2022 – 30th of November 2023

Scope: Strengthening the integrity, efficiency and independence of the justice system in the Republic of Moldova.

Objectives:

1. Monitor and support the consistent implementation of justice sector reform policies;
2. Support the mechanism of extraordinary evaluation of justice actors (pre-vetting and vetting) in cooperation with international development partners;
3. Develop policies to increase the effectiveness of criminal prosecution of high-level corruption cases and better channel efforts with the support of development partners.

Planned actions:

Planned actions:

          Monitor and support the consistent implementation of justice sector reform policies:

• Preparation of the Shadow Report on the implementation of the Strategy on Ensuring Independence and Integrity in the Justice Sector;
• Organisation of the public event to present the shadow report on the implementation of the Strategy on Ensuring Independence and Integrity in the Justice Sector;
• Preparation of at least 4 legal opinions/analyses on events, initiatives, public policy proposals in the justice sector in line with the priorities of the Strategy;
• Production of 4 videos, 4 infographics and participation or giving interviews in at least 4 TV programmes, radio, and online in the mass-media;

  Support the mechanism of extraordinary evaluation of justice actors (pre-vetting and vetting) in cooperation with international development partners:

• Preparation of 4 independent integrity and lifestyle verification reports on the evaluated individuals;
• Recruitment of experts/analysts who will contribute to the elaboration of the integrity and lifestyle verification reports of judges and prosecutors, at the direct request of the Ministry of Justice, the Secretariat of the Extraordinary Evaluation Commission of Judges and Prosecutors (vetting) after its creation;
• Organisation of a workshop for civil society experts, media and experts/analysts from the Secretariat of the Evaluation Commission (vetting) on integrity and lifestyle verification of politically exposed persons, judges and prosecutors;
• Development of legal opinions on the normative acts, working regulations and other procedural documents necessary for the preparation and implementation of the extraordinary evaluation mechanism (pre-vetting/vetting), which will be submitted to the Ministry of Justice, the Government, the Parliament, the pre-vetting and vetting Evaluation Commissions and other relevant national actors;
• Provision of technical assistance to the secretariat of the pre-vetting/vetting Evaluation Commission by covering the costs of access to external data registers for analysts/IT and the license of translation software for the translators of the secretariat of the Evaluation Commission;

Develop policies aimed at increasing the effectiveness of criminal prosecution in high-level corruption cases and better
channel efforts with the support of development partners

• Creation of and participation in the inter-institutional working group (with participation of national, international, civil society experts) on policy measures to increase efficiency in the criminal prosecution and punishment of high-level corruption;
• Conduct a Functional Analysis of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office and its relations with other justice actors in order to develop and support the implementation of policy recommendations to increase efficiency in the investigation and criminal prosecution of high-level corruption cases in the Republic of Moldova;
• Organise a study visit to Romania to facilitate the operational and strategic partnership between the General Prosecutor’s Office, the Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office, the NAC and the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA, Romania);
• Recruitment of independent technical expertise/analysis at the direct request of the General Prosecutor’s Office, Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, NAC in the context of the investigation of high-level corruption cases and financial crimes, including transnational crimes;
• Provision of technical assistance to the General Prosecutor’s Office and the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office in the process of capacity building in the area of international cooperation and strategic communication.

Expected results:

• 1 Shadow report on the implementation of the Strategy on Ensuring Independence and Integrity in the Justice Sector developed and published;
• 1 public event organised for presenting the shadow report;
• 4 legal opinions/analyses developed and published;
• 4 videos produced and published;
• 4 infographics developed and published;
• Participation of IPRE/GEJ experts in 4 TV, Radio, and online programmes;
• 4 independent integrity and lifestyle verification reports of evaluated individuals in pre-vetting and vetting procedures, prepared and presented to the Evaluation Commission;
• At least 2 contracted experts/analysts who will contribute to the elaboration of integrity and lifestyle verification reports of judges and prosecutors at the request of the Ministry of Justice, Secretariat of the Extraordinary Evaluation Commission of Judges and Prosecutors (vetting), after its creation;
• 1 Workshop on integrity and lifestyle evaluation of politically exposed persons, judges and prosecutors organised;
• The Regulation of the Pre-Vetting Evaluation Commission drafted with the contribution of IPRE experts;
• 4 Legal opinions on the normative acts, activation regulations and other procedural documents necessary for the preparation and implementation of the pre-vetting/vetting mechanism prepared, submitted to the authorities and published;
• Up to 300 requests for access to public registers secured;
• Access to a translation software at the direct request of the MoJ and the Secretariat of the Evaluation Commission on pre-vetting/vetting;
• Inter-institutional working group set up and operational with IPRE support;
• A needs assessment/functional analysis report of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office and relations with other justice actors with policy recommendations developed, coordinated, validated with input from an international expert;
• Roadmap on the implementation of policy recommendations as a result of the functional analysis drafted, coordinated, validated with input from an international expert;
• A study visit to Bucharest for representatives of the General Prosecutor’s Office, the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office and the NAC organised with the support of the project.