FRIEDRICH-EBERT-STIFTUNG THE PRE-VETTING PHASES: THE UNSEEN FACE OF JUSTICE REFORM 2 MYTHS OF JUSTICE REFORM IN MOLDOVA Summary. This chapter analyses the perceptions and realities behind the judicial reforms initiated in the Republic of Moldova, in the context of major scandals such as bank fraud and the‘Laundromat’ case. In the aftermath of these scandals, the Government launched promises to clean up the judiciary, and in the 2019, 2020, and 2021 election campaigns, fighting judicial corruption was a central focus. The reform process has been marked by conflicts between the Government and the SCM, which has been accused of inaction in the face of corruption in the system. Despite attempts at change, reforms have not been implemented in a coherent manner and the public perception of justice remains ambiguous, with low levels of trust in the institutions responsible for justice reform. Perceptions such as“justice resisting the reforms” or that“judges did not punish those involved in the‘Laundromat’”, reflect public frustrations, but are not always consistent with the procedural and legal reality of the reform. Also, the myths of“self-cleansing” of the system and that“the system is resisting reforms” are examined, demonstrating that the real obstacles have been related to political interventions and the lack of a functioning SCM, which have prevented an effective reform process. The bank fraud and the‘Laundromat’ case were unprecedent­ed scandals in the history of the Republic of Moldova that irreparably compromised the 2012-2019 Government. The question“Where is the billion?” brought people out on the streets en masse, changed political power, and foreshadowed the key reforms that followed. Fighting corruption in the ju­diciary was one of the most important promises made in the electoral campaign for the 2019 parliamentary elections, the 2020 presidential elections, and the 2021 early parliamentary elections. The proclaimed desire to“clean up” justice has always been at the epicentre of the reforms undertaken in the justice sector. 2.1 Short overview of justice reform before pre-vetting On 20 June 2019, the Government released its programme, announcing the preparation of a special law on the extraor­dinary evaluation of the integrity and professionalism of all judges and prosecutors, including in relation to the aspect of the issuance of illegal acts and the verification of such individ­uals’ wealth in relation to their official income. 3 Five days later, the then Prime Minister Maia Sandu, accompa­nied by Justice Minister Olesea Stamate, attended a meeting of the SCM, accusing the Council of the fact that corrupt judg­es, people of a political or economic clan, were working in the judiciary system. The Prime Minister urged members of the Council to begin cleaning up the judicial system by sanction­ing and eliminating judges who had made illegal and abusive decisions, to positively evaluate the correct judges, and to decide whether they wanted to be part of that change. The Prime Minister also announced that the Council only had a few weeks to achieve this. 4 The day after the Prime Minister’s visit, the SCM, in a closed session, removed from office the President of the SCJ, the President, and four Vice-Presidents of the Chisinau Court, on the basis of a memo prepared by a judge and in the absence of a verification by the Judicial Inspection i.e. contrary to the procedure. 5 The instantaneous reaction to the executive’s request suggested that the SCM was thus preventing future Government criticism for inefficiency. Perceived by judges as politically subservient to the previous regime, the manifes­tation of the Council’s willingness to serve a political power again did not go unnoticed by judges. In summer 2019, the Ministry of Justice drafted a bill on the SCJ, in particular consulting NGOs and the SCM. Subsequently, in 2022 the Venice Commission and the Council of Europe’s Directorate General for Human Rights commented on the draft in a joint opinion, which concluded 3 https://gov.md/sites/default/files/document/attachments/program_de_guvernare_0.pdf 4 http://m.tvrmoldova.md/justitie/maia-sandu-a-participat-azi-la-sedinta-csm-a-cerut-magistratilor-sa-curete-sistemul-judecatoresc-de-judecatori-ca­re-au-luat-decizii-abuzive/ 5 https://protv.md/politic/oficial-numele-judecatorilor-inlaturati-si-revocati-din-functii-de-csm-zd-g-md---2496929.html 14