Sharing experiences with the Baltic states to reform the Moldovan Prosecution Service

The Moldovan prosecution service is undergoing reform to strengthen its independence and effectiveness. On 16 December 2011 a group of experts from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania shared their experiences with their counterparts at a conference in Chişinău as part of a joint project by the OSCE Mission to Moldova and the Prosecutor General’s Office on support for prosecution service reform and capacity building based on the experience of the Baltic States.

“Moldova and the Baltic states have a shared history and much to learn from one another,” said Rita Tamm, the OSCE Mission’s Senior Rule of Law Adviser. “Every country, including Moldova, can have its own way of reforming its prosecution service but learning about the experiences from others can give valuable ideas for this process.”

Some 20 representatives of regional and specialized prosecutor’s offices, plus representatives of the General Prosecutor’s office attended the conference, at which the Baltic expert group presented the findings of a survey they carried out among stakeholders, civil society and media. The survey showed low level of awareness of the current reform process and its goals among many prosecutors and a sceptical attitude towards the reforms.

“An important lesson which can be drawn from Lithuania’s experience is that we need to identify potential problems with the reforms in advance,” said Virginijus Sabutis, the Acting Chief Prosecutor of the Management Division of the General Prosecutor’s Office of Lithuania. “We need to be honest with ourselves and our colleagues when we embark on a project like this.”

Moldovan experts have visited prosecutors’ offices in the Baltic States to study Baltic experiences in reforming the prosecution.

Iurie Garaba, the Chairperson of the Superior Council of prosecutors of Moldova, added: “This exchange of experiences has been excellent, partly because we have been talking about a concrete area of work – the prosecution services, and the practical aspects of making them more independent and effective. We share a starting point with our Baltic colleagues – twenty years ago we were in the same position. Our reforms have been slower, and we can try avoiding their mistakes and rather learn from them,” he said.

Dilaila Nahkur-Tammiksaar, the Chief State Prosecutor of the General Prosecutor’s Office of Estonia, discussed challenges in the reform process: “Without doubt, we experienced a number of problems and made mistakes when we undertook reform in Estonia.  Now we can share our impressions, ideas, and study from our Moldovan colleagues and find inspiration from what is working well here in Moldova – for instance, the curricula at the National Institute of Justice and the system of internal control functions of the Prosecutor’s office.”

The next stage of the project will be a discussion of a report summarizing the assessment of project activities and recommendations for the reform process. The report will be delivered at a closing conference in February 2012. 

This project is funded by the Finnish government.