Judges and prosecutors who resigned after the legal 20-day deadline will be allowed to continue the vetting process if they request it. The Constitutional Court has ruled that a resignation submitted after this deadline can no longer automatically be treated as a failure to pass the integrity assessment.
The ruling was issued on November 12, following the examination of a referral concerning the case of former Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office head Veronica Dragalin, Rupor.md reports.
The Court declared the phrase “regardless of the reason given” in the Law on the External Evaluation of Judges and Prosecutors unconstitutional. Until now, the provision stipulated that individuals who resigned more than 20 days after receiving notification that their evaluation had begun were automatically considered to have failed the vetting process.
Under the new procedure established by the Court, the evaluation will continue at the request of the person concerned, even if their resignation was submitted after the statutory deadline. These rules will apply until Parliament amends the legislation.
The referral was examined in the context of a case before the Supreme Court of Justice challenging the evaluation of Veronica Dragalin. It was submitted by judges Stela Procopciuc, Ion Munteanu and Vladislav Gribincea, together with Vladimir Grosu, the lawyer representing the former head of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office.
The Constitutional Court partially upheld the referral. The lawyer’s other requests, which challenged several additional provisions of the law, were declared inadmissible.
Veronica Dragalin announced her resignation on February 19, 2025, and her mandate ended on March 4. In June, the evaluation commission ruled that she had failed the vetting process because she had resigned outside the deadline established by law.
Later, on July 17, the Superior Council of Prosecutors approved the commission’s report and imposed a five-year ban on Dragalin holding the position of prosecutor or other public office. The ban is calculated from the date on which the decision becomes final.
The Constitutional Court’s ruling is final, cannot be appealed and entered into force on the day it was issued. Parliament is to be notified so that the legislation can be brought into line with the decision.
Two separate opinions were also expressed during the examination of the case.