At the National Institute of Justice took place the workshop entitled „Best practices regarding the examination and settlement of electoral disputes in the context of the 2024 Presidential election of the Republic of Moldova and EU related republican constitutional referendum”. The event, held on Friday, September 13, 2024, aimed to strengthen the judiciary’s capacity to manage potential electoral disputes. The beneficiaries of the training included specialized judges in the examination of administrative litigation cases from the Supreme Court of Justice, the Chisinau Court of Appeal and the Chisinau Court, as well as the members of the Central Electoral Commission.
In the opening remarks, participants were greeted by Ecaterina Popa, Head of the Training and Research Department of the National Institute of Justice, and Falk Lange, Head of the Council of Europe Office in Chisinau. They stressed the importance of continuous training for magistrates in the field and the need for a uniform and professional approach to electoral disputes to ensure the integrity of the democratic process.
The training sessions covered issues related to examining appeals and administrative litigation cases outside of electoral periods, including non-uniform jurisprudence on electoral disputes and the peculiarities of their resolution by courts.
During the workshop, was presented the second module of the e-course "Examination and Resolution of Electoral Disputes", developed by the Council of Europe Project "Improving Electoral Practice in the Republic of Moldova, Phase III" in cooperation with the National Institute of Justice, the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Moldova, and the Center for Continuous Electoral Training. This module complements the first module on ECHR jurisprudence in the electoral field, launched in 2022. The second module covers a wide range of electoral issues, from electoral law and legislation to dispute resolution procedures, national and international jurisprudence, confirming the legality of electoral documents, voting procedures for citizens abroad and from the left bank of the Nistru River, etc. Participants will study the new module independently on the ILIAS e-learning platform of the National Institute of Justice.
The workshop was organized by the National Institute of Justice, the Central Election Commission, and the Council of Europe Project "Improving Electoral Practice in the Republic of Moldova, Phase III".
