OSCE Mission holds conference on media and judiciary in Moldova

CHISINAU, 17 October 2013 – Relations between the media and the judiciary in the context of the judiciary reform in Moldova is the focus of a conference held by the OSCE Mission to Moldova in co-operation with Broadcasting Board of Governors/International Broadcasting Bureau (BBG/IBB - USA) that took place today in Chisinau.

“We support and encourage representatives of the media and the judiciary to enhance communication as it is the key for improving relations and building trust between them,” said Jan Plešinger, Deputy Head of the OSCE Mission to Moldova who opened the conference. “The dialogue will help foster the judicial reform and fight corruption in Moldova through better connecting Moldovan judges with the community and engaging Moldovan citizens in an open discussion.”

The conference “The Media and the Judiciary in Moldova: Building Mutual Trust, Promoting Accountability and Engaging Citizens” brought together more than 70 international and national law experts, Moldovan government officials, judiciary and law enforcement officials, representatives of civil society and media. They discussed the judiciary reform in Moldova, and ways to connect the judiciary system with the media to enhance media coverage of judicial system in general and corruption issues in particular.

“We hope that use of new media tools helps them inform and engage citizens of Moldova in amplifying the judicial reform and addressing corruption issues,” said Inna Dubinsky, BBG Development and Training Officer.

Following the conference, a publication outlining recommended actions and public communications guidelines for judiciary system participants to improve communication, transparency and access to information, will be produced and distributed to judges, courts and civil society organizations across the country afterwards.

The conference is part of Mission’s project concluding a series of journalistic training seminars held by the BBG/IBB and the Independent Journalism Center in Moldova for one year from October 2012.