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Doc. 9554
21 September 2002
Functioning of democratic institutions in Moldova
Recommendation 1554 (2002)
Reply from the Committee of Ministers
adopted at the 808th meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies (18 September 2002)
1. In reply to PACE Recommendation 1554 (2002) on the functioning of democratic institutions in Moldova, the Committee of Ministers would first like to underline the co-operative attitude of the Moldovan authorities at all levels and their willingness to take part in the various initiatives undertaken to assist them in fulfilling all their obligations and commitments as a member State of the Council of Europe.
2. The Committee of Ministers notes a certain decrease in the political tensions in Moldova and some progress in the democratic dialogue between various parliamentary factions. In this context the reappearance of Mr. Vlad Cubreacov, member of Moldovan delegation to the PACE, is to be welcomed. However, no request has been made to date to the Council of Europe for specific assistance in the investigation of the case of Mr Cubreacov’s disappearance (Rec. 1554, para. 2 ii). The Moldovan authorities are called upon by the Committee of Ministers to conduct a full and transparent investigation, which will be followed closely.
3. The convening of a round table of all political parties (Rec. 1554, para. 5. vi.) was the result of the consultation between leaders of the three parliamentary factions held in Strasbourg in April 2002, at the initiative of the Secretary General. The leaders confirmed their participation during a second consultation meeting in Strasbourg in July 2002, upon invitation by the Secretary General. They recognised the Round Table as an indispensable forum for continuous political dialogue on an equal footing. The Committee of Ministers calls on all political forces to participate actively in the political dialogue which should now produce substantial results.
4. The Secretary General accepted the invitation of President Voronin to visit Moldova on 14-15 October 2002.
5. Notwithstanding some progress in certain areas, the implementation of Moldova’s obligations and commitments vis-à-vis the Council of Europe still gives cause for concern and should continue to be followed closely. This issue was addressed in an exchange of correspondence between the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers and President Voronin in particular as concerns the case of the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia and the transformation of Teleradio Moldova into an independent public service corporation.
6. As regards Moldova's obligations under the ECHR, the Committee of Ministers is closely following, under Article 46, the execution of the European Court's judgment in the case of the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia and others against Moldova (Rec. 1554, para. 3). The Committee of Ministers has considered that full execution of the judgement required, in addition to the payment of just satisfaction, the adoption of individual measures to erase the consequences of the violations found for the applicant as well as general measures to prevent new similar violations in future. As regards payment of the just satisfaction awarded by the Court, it has been confirmed that this was paid to the applicants on 2 July 2002.
7. Concerning individual measures, on 30 July 2002, the Moldovan authorities recognised the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia (recognition certificate No.1651) in accordance with the newly amended Law on Religious Denominations. As a result, the applicant church has been granted legal personality and, consequently, can henceforth claim enjoyment of property rights. The Committee of Ministers will follow closely the implementation of the practical consequences of this recognition, in particular as regards the latter aspect. Additional information has been sought in this regard.
8. As regards general measures, Parliament adopted on 12 July 2002 a new Law amending the Religious Denominations Act ( see also para. 12 ii) and introduced in the Code of Civil Procedure a specific provision allowing the reopening of domestic proceedings following the European Court's judgments. The question of additional measures, which would guarantee the proportionality of any limitation of religious freedom and the effectiveness of judicial review of the Government's decisions, is being examined by the Committee of Ministers to ensure effective prevention of new violations similar to those found in the judgment. The Committee of Ministers will continue its supervision of Moldova's compliance with the judgment in accordance with its responsibilities under the ECHR.
9. The status of Teleradio Moldova (Recommendation 1554 para. 5 i and Recommendation 1280 para. 10. iv) remains a subject of concern, closely followed by the Committee of Ministers, and further progress is necessary. Based on written requests addressed to the Secretary General, the Secretariat initiated a written analysis of two draft laws on public service broadcasting in Moldova, namely: "Law on public broadcasting institutions" and "Law of the Republic of Moldova on the Public National Broadcasting Institution". The former was submitted to Parliament by the President of the Republic of Moldova and the latter by Mr Dumitru Braghis, Chairman of the opposition faction “Alianta Braghis”. The Council of Europe expert prepared a comparative analysis of the two drafts which was forwarded to the Permanent Representation of Moldova on 22 July 2002 (document ATCM (2002) 19).
On 26 July 2002 the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova adopted a new Law on the public national broadcasting company “Teleradio Moldova” (entered info force on 15 August 2002). The Law represents a progress in many respects. However, it was based exclusively on the draft submitted by the President, although the expert pointed out in his analysis that the draft provides for many forms of direct political interference into the broadcaster’s activities. This refers particularly to some important provisions of Articles 4, 6 and 13 of the new Law. The Committee of Ministers stresses that the provisions are not in line with the standards of the Council of Europe and risk being in contradiction with Article 10 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights. In a letter addressed on 1 August 2002 to the President of the Republic of Moldova, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe asked that the aforementioned concerns be taken into consideration. This issue was also raised in a letter addressed by the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers to President Voronin on 9 September 2002. The Committee of Ministers was informed by the Moldovan delegation that amendments to the new law were being considered in Chisinau and could be presented when the parliament resumes its work in the autumn.
10. Local government remains a subject of concern. In spite of the repeated requests from the PACE and the CLRAE (CLRAE Recommendation 110) and various promises from the Moldovan authorities, no new draft law has been submitted to CoE expertise for the reform of legislation in the field of local administration (Rec. 1554, para 5.ii). However, the Council of Europe has started the legal appraisal of the two existing laws on local public administration and on territorial organisation with a view to their possible improvement. The results of a working group of national and European experts on the expertise and possible amendments to the laws in question are expected by the end of October 2002. A letter of 28 August 2002, received by the Secretariat on 9 September 2002, confirms the readiness of the Moldovan authorities to co-operate in the follow-up to the expertise of the laws in question.
11. The situation of the freedom of expression in Moldova (Rec. 1554, para. 6) was discussed in the context of the Committee of Ministers’ thematic monitoring on the basis of a report prepared by Secretary General’s experts in charge of collecting information in all Council of Europe member States. The Moldovan authorities have expressed their agreement with the main conclusions of the report and their willingness to cooperate with the CoE in order to resolve all problems identified in this context. With the agreement of the Moldovan authorities the experts’ report was declassified on 28 August 2002 (document CM/Monitor (2002)7).
12. As regards co-operation (Rec. 1554, para 5), the Committee of Ministers has decided on 3 July 2002 to adopt an additional ‘Targeted Co-operation Programme’ to assist Moldova to fulfil all its obligations and commitments. This programme foresees in particular:
i. systematic analysis by CoE experts of relevant existing and draft legislation and their compatibility with the European Convention of human rights, as interpreted by the Strasbourg Court and other European norms. The criminal code, code of criminal procedure, civil code and code of civil procedure are part of the list provided by the Minister of Justice of normative acts to be subject to expertise by the Council of Europe (Rec. 1554, para 4.i);
ii. an expertise on the law on Religious Denominations of 1992, as modified in 1998 and most recently in July 2002, has been conducted by Council of Europe experts (document SG/Inf (2002)30). This expertise identifies several shortcomings from the point of the ECHR, some of which are also being considered in the context of the execution of the Court’s judgment in the aforementioned case. The Committee of Ministers has been informed that a working party under the authority of the Ministry of Justice has been set up with a view to prepare a new legislation in the light of the expertise and that the new draft will be submitted to Council of Europe expertise in due course;
iii. the draft law on political parties and socio-political organisations has been analysed by Council of Europe experts (doc. SG/Inf(2002)34) from the point of view of the compatibility of the draft with Council of Europe standards. This legal expertise, as well as the subsequent analysis of the law on the status of member of Parliament, (including the specific issue of parliamentary immunity) the law on the organisation and conduct of public gatherings, the electoral code and other relevant pieces of legislation are being conducted in close co-operation with the Venice Commission. According to the Moldovan authorities none of these draft issues are at present on the agenda of the Moldovan Parliament;
iv. the ‘Targeted Co-operation Programme’ should offer an opportunity to further progress in the implementation of the Action Plan for the reform of the judiciary signed in December 2001. However, recent legislative developments and proposed constitutional reforms could affect the status of the judiciary, in particular its independence (Rec. 1554, para 4.ii) and immunity. At its 51st session in July 2002, the Venice Commission has endorsed opinions on the draft law on constitutional amendments inter alia on the organisation of courts, the status of and removal of judges, the composition and powers of the Higher Magistrates Council (doc CDL-AD(2002)14);
v. as regards local elections, the electoral code is mentioned in the list of texts to be assessed by Council of Europe experts which was transmitted by the Minister of Justice to the Secretariat of the Council of Europe(Rec. 1554, para. 5. iii.). To date no specific request has been submitted by the Moldovan authorities;
vi. an initiative for the organisation of a referendum on the reform of the electoral law is under way in Moldova. At this stage, it is not known whether this initiative will succeed and whether such a referendum will be held. Council of Europe assistance could be considered at a later stage when the question of holding a referendum will become clearer (Rec. 1554, para. 5. iv.);
vii. at its 51st session the Venice Commission has adopted an opinion of the draft law on the Constitutional Court and constitutional amendments concerning inter alia, the status of the Constitutional Court (doc CDL-AD(2002)16 (Rec. 1554, para. 5.v));
viii. the Venice Commission has already adopted an opinion on the autonomous status of Gagauzia (doc. CDL-AD(2002)20). Venice Commission expertise is always available to provide further assistance in this context (Rec. 1554, para. 5.vi);
ix. the moratorium on the teaching and status of Russian language and changes to the history textbook ( Resolution 1280, para. 10.ii.) remains in force. Concerning language teaching an expert mission visited Moldova (including Transnistria and Gagauzia) in June 2002, to examine the situation and design possibilities of cooperation. Some initial activities are included in the proposed ‘Targeted cooperation programme’. Similarly, a project in the field of history teaching, based on Council of Europe ‘acquis’ and expertise, is being elaborated in consultation with the Moldovan authorities;
x. the fight against corruption and all forms of human trafficking (Rec. 1554, para. 7) are part of already existing cooperation programmes with Moldova. The targeted cooperation programme should give a new impetus to these activities.
13. Concerning other issues mentioned in PACE Resolution 1280, i.e. the proceedings against Mr. Iurie Rosca and Mr. Strefan Secareanu , and the rules of procedure of the Moldovan Parliament, the Committee of Ministers is looking forward to the report by Mrs Durrieu and Mr Vahtre, following their visit to Moldova on 11 and 12 September 2002. The Committee of Ministers will continue to consider these issues in the context of its examination of the political situation in Moldova.
14. Finally, it should be noted that the setting up of a Council of Europe Secretariat ‘presence’ in Moldova is foreseen to assist in the implementation of the targeted cooperation programme and to provide all necessary support to the various Moldovan authorities in fulfilling their obligations with the Council of Europe. The nomination of a Secretariat Programme co-ordinator in Chisinau is under way.