Draft laws under preparation and public consultation

27 September 2023, Chisinau – The reporting period for the Republic of Moldova on the status of fulfilment of the nine conditionalities assumed with the achievement of the status of candidate country for accession to the European Union is soon approaching. As six of these conditionalities concern justice reform and the fight against corruption (three have already been fulfilled and three others are in the process of implementation), we inform the public that together with the team of the Ministry of Justice we are working intensively on several important draft laws to align with European practices.

Thus, under public consultation/approval/expertise are:

1. The draft law on notarial payments, which will ensure the creation of a uniform and updated legal framework in relation to this sensitive issue for society in the context in which practically everyone uses the services of a notary to draw up documents and carry out procedures. The project is available here: https://t.ly/P7EQk
2. The draft law on the mechanism of civil forfeiture, which will establish the possibility of forfeiture of illegally obtained property, in the context where, with reference to persons holding such property, it has not been possible to obtain a judgment with their forfeiture, thus ensuring that the given persons, under the umbrella of procedural incidents, do not benefit from the conduct contrary to the law. The document can be consulted here: https://t.ly/AaMFo
3. Draft law on the improvement of legal regulations on the application of international sanctions, which will allow for more effective interaction between the main national authorities involved in the given proceedings, stricter identification of persons subject to international sanctions and their economic interests, and regulatory clarification of the fate of frozen assets. The project can be accessed here: https://shorturl.at/oBDJ8
4. The draft law on the amendment of the Code of Civil Procedure (ensuring the implementation of the Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements), which proposes to revise the regulatory framework on the jurisdiction of national courts in proceedings with an element of foreignness, by creating the legal prerequisites for the recognition and enforcement in some situations of agreements that would change this territorial jurisdiction. The draft law is available here: https://t.ly/D2ojR
5. Draft of the new law on the protection of personal data. The aim of the draft is to ensure a higher level of protection of personal data, in strict compliance with EU and Council of Europe legal instruments and international standards (General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)). The document is here: https://shorturl.at/AKOQR
6. Draft law for the revision of the regulatory framework on state-guaranteed mediation. It proposes to extend the categories of disputes for which state-guaranteed mediation services will be granted and to include these services in the system of state-guaranteed legal aid, as the current mechanism of state-guaranteed mediation is poorly applied and does not provide socially vulnerable persons with effective access to state-guaranteed mediation services. The draft law can be accessed here: https://shorturl.at/pruyX
7. Draft law on the amendment of the regulatory framework related to the Law on the selection and performance evaluation of judges. With the creation of the College for Selection and Evaluation of Judges, it became necessary to adjust the regulatory framework to exclude inconsistencies. It should be noted that the College took over the competences of the former two colleges of the SCM – the one for the selection and career of judges and the one for the evaluation of the performance of judges. The draft law can be consulted here: https://t.ly/s-uwP
8. Draft law on the amendment of the law on normative acts, which proposes to improve the mechanism of drafting normative acts by revising the stages of the drafting process, revising the rules of legislative technique, as well as the way of publishing normative acts. The document can be consulted here: https://t.ly/vrr1m

We would like to point out that public consultations are also held at each drafting stage, with the participation of representatives of the institutions concerned, members of civil society and development partners, including interested parties who can send us their comments and proposals.

Good laws in line with international standards depend on everyone’s input. At the same time, only their correct implementation in practice will lead to more efficient work of state institutions and ensure access to justice and protection of human rights.