This OECD Justice Review was prepared by the OECD Public Governance Directorate (GOV) under the leadership of Elsa Pilichowski, Director.
The Review was led by Chloé Lelievre (Lead, OECD Justice and Rule of Law) and Martyna Wanat (OECD Policy Analyst) and informed by advice from Rodica Secrieru (National consultant). The principal authors of the individual chapters are: Chapter 2, Chloé Lelievre and Celine Cojocar; Chapter 3, Rodica Secrieru with written inputs from Timo Ligi (OECD Senior Policy Advisor, SIGMA), Chapter 4, Pelagia Patsoule (OECD Policy Analyst, Public Integrity Indicators), Monica Castillejos Aragon (Lecturer in Comparative Law and International Law, Berkeley School of Law, University of California) and Chloé Lelievre; Chapter 5 by Timo Ligi with written inputs from Rodica Secrieru; and Chapter 6 by Natalia Berkowitz (International Lawyer, Access to Justice Expert) and Martyna Wanat with written inputs from Timo Ligi. The report benefited from research and written inputs from Celine Cojocar, Marc Vincent, Salma Farghali, Michael Tartaglia and Heeran Kim.
The Review benefited from comments and advice from Roger Scott-Douglas (former Assistant Secretary, Priorities and Planning, Treasury Board Secretariat, Canada), Amr Soliman (OECD Policy Analyst, Global Partnerships) and Francisco Cardona (Senior International Justice Policy Expert); members of the OECD Global Relations and Co‑operation (GRC), Eurasia team, including William Tompson, Daniel Quadbeck, Francesco Alfonso, Clara Le Cannellier and Salomé Will as well as colleagues GOV: Gillian Dorner (Deputy Director), Maaike de Langen and Franciszek Ploch (Justice and Rule of Law Team), Charles Baubion, Liudas Zdanavicius and Craig Matasick (Information Integrity), Andrew Blazet (Deputy Head, Public Management and Budgeting Division), Brian Finn (Budgetary Governance), Álfrún Tryggvadottir and Titouan Chassagne (Centre of Government – Machinery of Government), Sarah Kups (Measuring trust in public institutions, Governance Indicators and Performance Division) and Carlotta Alfonsi (Open Government Unit). We also thank delegates of the OECD Public Governance Committee and members of the OECD Justice Network for their contributions.
The OECD also thanks the peer experts who provided valuable insights and comparative perspectives: Roxana Comsa (International Legal Expert; former judge, Romania) Mario Truu (Judge at the Court of Appeal for the Circuit of Tartu, Estonia) and Anna Skrjabina (former Director of Court Administration, Latvia; European Law Institute Council member).
Logistical, editorial and operational support, including editing, formatting, communication and missions organisation, was provided by Ciara Muller, Tina Khutsishvili, Delphine Mergier, Juliette Joachim, Meral Gedik and Clara Young.
The OECD further thanks the EU Delegation to the Republic of Moldova (Martina Spernbauer and Angelo di Giorgi) and Advisory Group (Ministry of Justice, Superior Council of Magistracy, Superior Council of Prosecutors, Agency for Court Administration and Judicial Information Systems, National Institute of Justice, Mediation Council, National Council for State-Guaranteed Legal Aid and Union of Lawyers) for their engagement and support throughout the Review process.
The Review was informed by data and insights gathered through extensive consultations with national stakeholders across the justice system. These included the Superior Council of Magistracy, Supreme Court of Justice, the Chișinău Court of Appeal, district courts in Chișinău, Ungheni and Comrat; the Superior Council of Prosecution, the Office of the Prosecutor General, the Prosecutor’s Office for Combating Organised Crime and Special Cases and the Anticorruption Prosecution Office, and the Association of Prosecutors for Justice; EU High-Level Adviser on Justice and Prosecution. The consultations also involved the Agency for Court Administration and Judicial Information Systems, the Parliamentary Standing Committee for Legal Affairs, Appointments and Immunities, the State Chancellery, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, the National Inspectorate of Probation, the National Integrity Authority, the National Anticorruption Centre. Further input was provided by the People’s Advocate Office and its territorial representation in Comrat, National Council for State-Guaranteed Legal Aid and its former territorial office in Comrat; specialised institutions, including the National Agency for the Prevention and Combating of Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence, the National Centre for the Prevention of Child Abuse; professional bodies, such as the Union of Lawyers, the Chișinău Bar Association, the Bailiffs’ Union, the Notary Chamber, the Union of Translators and Interpreters and the Mediation Council; including and non-governmental and civil society organisations, including the Legal Resource Centre from Moldova, the Institute for European Policies and Reforms, PromoLex, the National Coalition “Life without Violence”, Terre des Hommes and the Family and Child Social Assistance Centre “Credo. The review also benefitted from the contributions from international partners, including the Council of Europe, GIZ-Moldova, UNDP Moldova, UNICEF, USAID and World Bank.
The OECD also wishes to express its deep appreciation to the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Moldova, and to its leadership in particular, for the strong co-operation and commitment shown throughout the Review process and overall project. Special thanks are extended to the State Secretary Lilan Apostol, State Secretary Dumitru Vleju, Secretary-General Viorica Grecu, Lilia Rusu, Dumitru Burduja, Cristina Melnic, Diana Melenciuc, Roman Scripnic, Diana Pocitar and Cristina Popovici, Natalia Mardari-Grebencea, for their continued support and close collaboration. It equally conveys its gratitude to the EU Delegation to the Republic of Moldova whose funding made the project possible.