Members of the Commission

Christopher Lehmann is a former career prosecutor with the U.S. Department of Justice, having served in senior roles with the Department in New York and Washington. He also has broad leadership experience in international criminal justice program delivery and prosecutorial capacity development, including 25 years of experience working with post-Soviet states.

Mr. Lehmann spent a decade as an Assistant U.S. Attorney (federal prosecutor) in the Eastern District of New York, where he specialized in organized crime, money laundering, corruption and election cases. Thereafter, he served as the Principal Deputy Director of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Overseas Programs (OPDAT), in Washington, D.C., where he managed justice sector reform programs across the world.

He also served as the first Criminal Law Liaison for the American Bar Associations CEELI Project in Ukraine (1998-99). More recently, from 2014 until 2022, he was the Executive Director of the CEELI Institute, an NGO based in Prague that is dedicated to advancing the Rule of Law and promoting justice sector reform.

Mr. Lehmann is a graduate of Washington University School of Law, in St. Louis, where he was an editor of the Law Review. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a board member of the Stockholm-based International Legal Assistance Consortium. He is a recipient of the U.S. Department of Justice’s John Marshall Award.

Irmantas Mikelionis is acting Deputy Chief Prosecutor of Organized Crime and Corruption Investigation Department of the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Lithuania. He is also Assistant to National Member for Lithuania at Eurojust and Eurojust national correspondent for terrorism matters.

In 1991, Irmantas Mikelionis started his career in the Prosecutor’s Office as investigator, later he continued his career as prosecutor and chief prosecutor in Vilnius Regional Prosecutor’s Office and the Prosecutor General’s Office.

His areas of expertise include the prosecution of organized crimes and corruption-related crimes, control, and coordination of criminal intelligence activities. Irmantas Mikelionis was a member of Prosecutors’ Ethics Commission, a member of Chief Prosecutors’ Selection Commission and the Head of Corruption Prevention Commission of Lithuanian Prosecutor’s Office.

He has worked as a short-term expert on EU Twinning projects in Azerbaijan and Croatia. As a UNODC expert, he has provided an assistance to Prosecutor’s office of Kyrgyzstan. In 2017-2019, he was seconded to Moldova as Resident Twinning Adviser of EU Twinning project for Moldavan anticorruption institutions and in 2020-2022 to EU Advisory Mission in Ukraine as Senior Adviser on Prosecution management for Ukrainian Prosecutor’s Office.

Irmantas Mikelionis is a graduate of the Faculty of Law of Vilnius University.

Saskia de Vries is a retired senior prosecutor from the Netherlands. During her career in the Prosecution Service, she mainly led organized crime and corruption cases for over 20 years.

Since 2012 she has worked in the field of international Rule of Law projects and participated in an advisory role in projects in Eastern Europe (Bosnia Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia) and Africa (Ethiopia and Niger).

She has also acted as a TAIEX advisor to Serbia in the negotiations with the EU on Chapters 23 and 24.

Cornel Lebedinschi is a specialist in banking and economic security. Currently, he works as a trainee lawyer and Advisor to the Chairman of the Management Committee of a commercial bank.

Previously, he acted as a State Secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the field of fighting crime and ensuring public order. He was also Advisor to the Deputy Chairman of the Parliament of Moldova.

In addition, Mr. Lebedinschi was a substitute member from civil society in the Superior Council of Magistracy’s Disciplinary Board of Judges. A career police officer, with over 15 years of activity in the field of investigations.

Mr. Lebedinschi holds a law degree. In addition, he obtained a master’s degree in political analysis and consulting.

Nadejda Hriptievschi is a lawyer, specialized in human rights. She was appointed as member of the Prosecutor Vetting Commission on 1 February 2024 and is a member of the Independent Evaluation Commission for assessing the integrity of candidates for the position of member in the self-administration bodies of judges and prosecutors since 4 April 2022.

Nadejda is a co-founder of the non-governmental organization Legal Resources Centre from Moldova where she worked between 2010 and 2022 focusing on monitoring the justice sector in Moldova. Between June 2021 and July 2024, she was a member of the Independent Anti-Corruption Advisory Committee. Between September 2020 and December 2021, Nadejda was a member and Co-Rapporteur of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Experts on Combating Hate Speech and between 2013 and 2018 she was a member of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI). Nadejda is a member of the Bar Association of Moldova since June 2011 (suspended license since 2015).

Nadejda’s primary areas of expertise include judiciary, legal aid, and non-discrimination. She served as a consultant for different national and international organizations. She was closely involved in the legal aid reform in Moldova since 2003 and worked with the first Public Defender Office in Moldova from 2007 to 2011. She worked as Junior Legal Officer for Open Society Justice Initiative, Budapest, Hungary during 2003 – 2006, mainly focused on legal aid reforms.

Nadejda received a Master of Laws in Comparative Constitutional Law with additional specialization in Human Rights at the Central European University in July 2001 and a law degree at the State University of Moldova in June 2000.

Ion Graur is a Moldovan lawyer and legal expert with 20 years of experience in the rule of law and human rights. He specializes in the justice sector and human rights, with extensive expertise in strategic planning, public policy design, and a proven record of supporting governmental institutions and key stakeholders in advancing justice reform.

At the national level, he has collaborated with leading institutions such as the Ministry of Justice, the Council of Europe Office in Chișinău, and the Ombudsman’s Office, providing legal analysis, institutional assessments, and strategic recommendations on justice policies and the protection of vulnerable groups. His experience encompasses drafting legislation and regulatory frameworks, driving institutional development, conducting functional analyses, and preparing comprehensive assessment reports.

Internationally, Ion Graur has served as an expert for organizations including OSCE, UNICEF, and IOM. He has delivered training in Turkmenistan and Tajikistan on international human rights standards for judges, prosecutors, and law enforcement officers, and has supported research and policy development in areas such as juvenile justice, anti-torture mechanisms, and migration management. His expertise combines policy design, institutional development, and capacity building for legal professionals across multiple jurisdictions.

Currently, he is a partner at a law firm, where he focuses on cross-border litigation and legal advice in Moldova and abroad. Ion Graur holds a European master’s in law and economics from Hamburg and Bologna Universities, and a Law degree from the Academy of Law of the Republic of Moldova.

Laura Oana Ștefan is a policy expert with 25 years of experience in justice reform, anti-corruption, and Romanian and EU public sector integrity. She is one of the founders and the Executive Director of Expert Forum (EFOR), served as Chairperson of the Regional Anticorruption Initiative (2019–2023), and is currently a member of the Independent Anticorruption Consultative Committee of Moldova and several selection and evaluation commissions in Ukraine. She also works as an international expert for the European Commission, World Bank, UNDP, OECD, IFES, and other organizations.

Between 2005 and 2007, Laura Ștefan was Department Director in the Romanian Ministry of Justice, coordinating anticorruption policy and reforms of the Public Prosecutor’s Office. She drafted and promoted key legislation, including the establishment of the National Integrity Agency, strengthened asset and interest declaration systems, and contributed to the reorganization of the National Anticorruption Directorate and the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism. She also oversaw the National Anticorruption Strategy (2005–2007) and represented Romania in GRECO, MONEYVAL, and other international forums, serving as Head of Delegation and member of the Bureau.

Internationally, she has conducted peer reviews, legislative analyses, and evaluations for the European Commission in the context of visa dialogue and EU accession negotiations in Moldova, Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, North Macedonia, Albania and Georgia. She has advised governments and anticorruption bodies in Moldova, Ukraine, Serbia, and Montenegro on institutional reform, asset recovery, money laundering prevention, and integrity mechanisms. She has also contributed to GRECO, OECD, and European Parliament policy reports, and delivered training for prosecutors, judges, police officers, and financial investigators.

She holds an LLM from the University of Cambridge, a PhD in political science with a thesis on Anticorruption in transition societies and is an Eisenhower Fellow in Women Leadership.

Retired judge of the Supreme Court of Justice, former member of the Superior Council of Magistracy (CSM), currently a member from civil society in the Supreme Security Council. According to the CV, former member of the European Committee on the prevention of torture, inhuman and degrading treatment and ad hoc judge at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

From 2010 to 2013, she was vice-president of the Disciplinary College attached to the CSM and a trainer at the National Institute of Justice, which trains future judges.

Currently, she is a member of the both Pre-Vetting Commission and Prosecutor Vetting Commission, being designated as a Vice-Chairperson for the later.