A Bad Bet for Judicial Vetting

In 2022, Moldova launched an ambitious judicial vetting process to fight corruption in the justice system. To that end, it created special commissions tasked with reviewing the integrity of members of judicial self-governing bodies, as well as senior judges and prosecutors. Because such bodies exercise far-reaching powers over judicial careers and discipline, their own independence is crucial. This independence is now at stake: the ruling majority in Parliament lowered the threshold for appointing members to a simple majority – thereby risking the legitimacy of the vetting process itself.