EU Envoy Urges Moldova To Reform Its Justice System

CHISINAU -- The European Union's special representative in Moldova says that the current political crisis in the country shows Moldova's need to press ahead "as seriously as possible" to reform its judiciary so that people can trust the court system.

Kalman Mizsei told RFE/RL's Moldovan Service on June 15 in Chisinau that Moldova's laws are "closing the gap" with those in Western Europe, but implementation of them is still far from EU standards.

Mizsei spoke before a key EU foreign ministers meeting on Moldova in Luxembourg.

He added that the Moldovan government has lost a record number of cases at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, which shows that its judges and courts "still have a long way to go."

Mizsei said Chisinau has a great opportunity to show its commitment to the rule of law by setting up a commission to investigate what occurred after the April 5 general elections, when hundreds of people protesting the results of the vote were arrested.

Many complained of abuse in police custody and several are still under house arrest.