Council of Europe support to criminal justice reforms in the Republic of Moldova

Chisinau, 17 July, 2015

It’s twenty years since Moldova undertook, upon accession to the Council of Europe, to fulfil a number of specific commitments laid out in PACE Opinion No. 188 (1995).

The Council of Europe appreciates the considerable steps taken by the Moldovan authorities in recent years to reform the justice sector. Several important strategic documents have been adopted, among which the Strategy for Justice Sector Reform 2011-2016 (JSRS), seen as a road map for building an accessible, efficient, independent and transparent justice sector in line with European and other international standards.

The Council of Europe provided expert assessment on the concept, structure and concrete provisions of the JSRS, and continues to support its implementation. Council of Europe standards are of the utmost relevance with regard to reform of specific areas of the justice sector. Among the Republic of Moldova’s remaining accession commitments to the Council of Europe and the reform pending its implementation under the Strategy, is reform of the role, organisation and functions of the Public Prosecutor’s Office to meet Council of Europe standards. 

Moldova’s local elections efficiently administered and offered voters diverse choice, within context of political turmoil, international observers say

CHIŞINĂU, 15 June 2015 – The 14 June local elections in Moldova were efficiently administered and offered the electorate a diverse choice. They were held in a context of political turmoil due to a massive financial scandal and the resignation of the Prime Minister two days before the vote, international observers from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the Council of Europe's Congress of Local and Regional Authorities concluded in a statement issued today.

“The campaign was lively and generally free, though reflected through politically influenced media. It was strongly impacted by the division of political forces and society over the country’s future orientation,” said Kimmo Kiljunen, Head of the OSCE/ODIHR Limited Election Observation Mission. “The elections were well administered despite the fact that the law was changed after the elections were announced.”