The Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ) has issued two new rulings today, reaffirming the legality and reasoning behind decisions issued by the Prosecutor Vetting Commission in conducting its evaluations of candidates for the relevant boards of the Superior Council of Prosecutors under Law No. 26. The rulings concern Ina Fencovschi, Chief Prosecutor of Ocnița District, and Victor Comerzan, Deputy Chief Prosecutor of Briceni District.
In the case of Ina Fencovschi, the Court emphasized that 181 omissions in “declaring the value of real estate properties demonstrates a formalistic and superficial attitude” towards the financial declaration process. The Court also stated that this pattern of conduct, repeated over a period of ten years, “reveals a serious level of negligence inconsistent with the integrity standards required of a candidate for the position of prosecutor.”
Furthermore, the SCJ decision emphasized: “Ms. Fencovschi’s omissions or failure to declare cannot be justified by ignorance of the law or procedural error. Considering the nature and value of the undeclared assets, and the absence of any objective justification, the Court finds that this incident contributes to a pattern of persistent negligence, which is relevant for assessing both ethical and financial integrity”.
In its ruling on Victor Comerzan, the Court pointed to “the candidate’s lack of cooperation in clarifying the financial flows related to the construction of his house in Briceni.” It also found that “without thorough supporting documentation, his general statements do not dispel the suspicion that the property was financed with undeclared or unjustified resources.”
Moreover, the Court concluded that the candidate “disregarded integrity standards by obtaining lines of credit based on inaccurate or misleading financial information.”
These rulings bring the number of Prosecutor Evaluation Commission decisions upheld by the Supreme Court to seven. The Court is expected to rule on four additional challenges to integrity review decisions in the near future.
For more information, the full SCJ decisions are available at the following links: