Strengthening integrity and ethical standards both in the judicial and prosecutorial system was the aim of two roundtables, organized on May 29 and 30, 2024, by the Council of Europe Office in Chisinau, in partnership with the National Institute of Justice.
The activities, entitled “Confidential counselling on ethical matters as a tool to strengthen the integrity of the judicial system and the prosecutorial system”, were part of the project “Action against Corruption in the Republic of Moldova - Phase 2”, funded by the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) of the US Department of State and implemented by the Council of Europe.
In the opening, the participants – representatives of the Superior Council of Magistracy, the Superior Council of Prosecutors, judges and prosecutors, were welcomed by Falk Lange, Head of the Council of Europe Office in Chisinau, and Adrian Cerbu, Ad interim Director of the National Institute of Justice. The events were facilitated by the trainers of the Council of Europe, international experts – Jeremy McBride and Horatius Dumbrava.
During the round tables, were discussed several topics, among which are: objectives and benefits of a confidential counselling system, international standards and requirements for addressing ethical dilemmas in the judicial system (opinions of the advisory councils of European judges/prosecutors, as well as GRECO recommendations), the use of ethical counseling in courts and prosecutor's offices, the roadmap for improving the existing system in the Republic of Moldova regarding the ethical counseling of judges, etc.
