Shadow Monitoring Report on the Implementation of the Strategy for Ensuring the Independence and Integrity of the Justice Sector for the years 2022-2025

Authors:
Angela Popil, GEJ member
Pavel Cazacu, GEJ member
Petru Istrati, GEJ member

INTRODUCTION

The Strategy for Ensuring the Independence and Integrity of the Justice Sector for the years 2022–2025 was adopted by the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova through Law no. 211/2021. This strategy represents a crucial step in the efforts to consolidate a modern, transparent, and accountable judicial system. Chapter II of the strategy sets out the strategic directions and specific objectives that must be achieved to fulfill the general objective of the document, namely, the establishment of an efficient and accessible justice sector. At the same time, the monitoring framework of the Strategy encourages the development of alternative reports by civil society organizations.

This monitoring report is an alternative report developed by the team of experts within the Justice Experts Group (GEJ), in collaboration with the #Justice4Moldova experts from the Institute for European Policies and Reforms. The main purpose of this report is to evaluate the progress and constraints encountered in the implementation of the Strategy during the period 2022–2023, both qualitatively and quantitatively, according to the methodology described below. For each objective of the strategic directions, the planned and implemented actions are analyzed, and priorities for improving the implementation process are presented.

The main findings regarding progress, constraints, and recommended priorities for each of the 3 strategic directions are reflected in this Report, which presents developments from January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2023.

The sources of information for the elaboration of this monitoring report included the information from the Monitoring Reports on the Degree of Implementation of the Measures from the Action Plan for the Implementation of the Strategy prepared by the Ministry of Justice, including the information provided by the authorities responsible for implementing the actions from the Action Plan for the Implementation of the Strategy, as well as the information available in open sources.

Disclaimer Note

This Report was prepared with the financial support of the European Union and the Soros Foundation Moldova. Its contents are the sole responsibility of the project “Ensuring the Integrity, Efficiency, and Independence of the Justice System in Moldova – #Justice4Moldova,” funded by the European Union and co-funded by the Soros Foundation Moldova. The content of the Report belongs to the authors and does not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union and the Soros Foundation Moldova.