08/12/2020 Legal Affairs and Human Rights
PACE’s Legal Affairs Committee has urged authorities in the Republic of Moldova and in Poland to take a series of steps to uphold the rule of law and ensure judicial independence.
Approving a report by Andrea Orlando (Italy, SOC), the committee said it was concerned by “the proximity of part of the judiciary to the political authorities” in the Republic of Moldova. Several attempts to reform the judiciary “have not been successful”, the committee said, pointing out that corruption remains a widespread phenomenon.
It urged ongoing reform of the Moldovan judiciary, in line with Council of Europe recommendations, and greater efforts to combat corruption among judges and prosecutors.
As regards Poland, the committee condemned “the campaign of intimidation waged by the political authorities against certain critical judges and against the justice system in general”, declaring such conduct “unworthy of a democracy and a law-governed State”.
The Polish authorities should review the changes made to the functioning of the Constitutional Tribunal and the ordinary justice system in the light of Council of Europe standards, and review the composition of the Supreme Court and the National Council of the Judiciary, the committee said.The report is due to be discussed by the Assembly or its Standing Committee in due course.