On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Public Prosecution Service of the Republic of Moldova, the International Conference “Modern Public Prosecution Service: Independence and Specialisation Perspectives” took place in Chisinau on 27 January 2017. The conference was co-organised by the Office of the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Moldova and the Council of Europe under the project ”Support to criminal justice reforms in the Republic of Moldova” financed by the Danish Government.
The conference aimed at discussing the progress of the public prosecution reform implementation in the Republic of Moldova, its achievements and challenges faced. At the same time it provided an opportunity to exchange experiences and best practices between different prosecution services Europe-wide.
The event hosted over 200 participants among which were invitees from prosecution offices of several European countries: Armenia, Belgium, Estonia, Germany, Lithuania, Romania, Russia, Ukraine and others, representatives of international professional associations of prosecutors, national partner institutions, civil society and donors.
The conference was opened by the welcoming and congratulatory speech of Mr Eduard Harunjen, the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Moldova. The greeting addresses were made by Mr Adrian Candu, Speaker of the Parliament, Mr Christos Giakoumopoulos, Director of Human Rights of the Council of Europe, Mr Jose-Luis Herrero, Head of the Council of Europe Office in Chisinau, Mr Pirkka Tapiola, Ambassador of the EU to Moldova, Mr Vladimir Cebotari, Minister of Justice of the Republic of Moldova, as well as high-level representatives of foreign prosecution services.
“The reform of the public prosecution service is a long-expected reform by the society. Certainly, it is not easy to implement, but we have committed to do so in good faith, so we have modern, independent and efficient public prosecutor service in the end”, - stated the Prosecutor General in his opening speech.
Addressing the participants of the conference, Mr Giacoumopoulos, Director of Human Rights of the Council of Europe, commended the Moldovan authorities for the progress already achieved and underlined that “a full and comprehensive reform is the only right way forward. […] Its full-fledged implementation requires further continued targeted efforts to achieve real progress in this area. […] It is crucial that the Moldovan authorities continue to demonstrate political will and take effective practical measures to implement the reforms. […] One precondition for achieving the ultimate goal is that all actors involved at all levels are committed to perform their duties genuinely in accordance to the law and in the spirit of the reform.”
Two panel discussions of the conference, moderated by prominent Council of Europe experts, covered issues of independence and efficiency of the prosecution service and prosecutor’s specialisation as a measure to address challenges facing contemporary society. Prosecutors of the Republic of Moldova had the opportunity to learn from the experience and good practices of their counterparts and to take a stock of proposed ways for mastering the challenges encountered in the process of the reform implementation.
Background note: The reform of the public prosecution service of the Republic of Moldova is a long-awaited reform by the Moldovan civil society and constitutes one of the accession commitments of the Republic of Moldova before the Council of Europe. As a result of lengthy and detailed professional and public discussions, the new law of the Republic of Moldova on the Public Prosecution Service was adopted by the Parliament in February 2016 and entered into force in August 2016. The reform of the legal framework was positively assessed by national and international experts; it reflected most of the Venice Commission’s recommendations. Together with the constitutional changes adopted at the end of 2016, the new legal framework provides a solid platform for the implementation of the reform, which has gradually started.
