Over 300 high school students from 11 schools across Moldova participated during the school year 2023-2024 in study visits to the Constitutional Court of Moldova to learn more about the Constitution and its role in a democratic and rule of law-based state.

The study visits were made possible following the signature of a memorandum of cooperation between the Constitutional Court of Moldova, the Ministry of Education and Research and the Council of Europe Office in Chisinau.

During the visits, judges and staff members of the Constitutional Court presented to the students the role and functions of the Court in a rule-of-law-based state, and discussed real-life cases arising under the Constitution or the laws of the Republic of Moldova. The students also had the opportunity to deliberate over complex cases, which were judged by the Court in the past. This exercise helped the students understand better how the Court interprets the Constitution as the final legal arbiter.

Domnica Manole, President of the Constitutional Court, emphasized the importance of these visits to educating the future citizens of Moldova. “The information is presented in an accessible [age adapted] manner. And, if you attended a lecture, you would see the reaction of the children, the children's eyes. They are excited. I realized how necessary this information is for the future citizens of the country. We are investing in our future, in the future of our children, in the future of our society”, Domnica Manole added.

Corina Lungu, Senior Adviser at the Ministry of Education and Research added: “This is a real-life experience – to learn about the functionality and implementation of the Constitution – and this is an opportunity to learn about the applicability of what students are studying during the “Education for Society” classes: how human rights are analysed in a rule-of-law-based state and applied in the context of current events in the society”.

In addition to the visits and lectures at the Constitutional Court, the students also had a guided visit to the Moldovan Parliament. They explored how the Parliament and parliamentary democracy are functioning in practice and discovered the history and heritage of the parliamentary building.

A video about this innovative initiative has been developed with the Council of Europe support and may be watched here.