Activity of the Parliament on April 12–28, 2006

Appointments. Reshuffles

Dumitru Ursu, former first deputy governor of the National Bank of Moldova, was appointed Chairman of the National Commission for Securities (CNVM) at the initiative of the speaker. The CNVM chairman post has become vacant after the unmotivated dismissal of Ion Robu.

Ghenadie Morcov, deputy who was recently validated on the list of PCRM, was named member of the parliamentary commission for the social protection, health and family.

The Parliament took notice of the dismissal of Vasile Pascari from the post of judge of the Supreme Court of Justice.

Lawmakers who have been part of the so-called “Braghis Group” introduce themselves as members of the Party of Social Democracy of Moldova^[1] at plenary sittings of the Parliament.

Legislative acts

Law for the completion of Article 6 of the Law # 1308-XIII from July 25, 1997 on normative price and mode of sale-purchase of land. The adopted amendments consolidate the previous legislative provisions that allow domestic businesses and individuals to purchase agricultural land. The present regulations of different laws (law on entrepreneurship and enterprises, law on investments in entrepreneurial activity, law on investments in entrepreneurship, law on normative price and mode of sale-purchase of land, etc.) contain orders allowing a non-uniform implementation. The interdictions for foreign capital enterprises are explained through protection of internal values of the country, but many experts consider that they are a serious obstacle on way of the rise of investments in Moldova’s agriculture.

Law on Moldova’s adhering to the convention on obtaining of the maintenance pension abroad. The international document establishes the principles and mechanisms of execution of decisions on payment of maintenance pension to citizens of participating states, documentation procedures undertaken for this purpose.

Draft law for the modification and completion of the Penal Code. The draft voted in the first reading seeks the revision of sanctions for some offences (theft, robbery, extortion, illicit trafficking in drugs, etc.), by reducing or modifying the minimum detention terms and establishing alternate punishments to detention in case of offences with a lower social danger. The document was drafted out at the recommendation of international institutions and control of the special parliamentary commission on situation of persons held in the preventive detention facility # 13 in the Chisinau municipality. It should be noted that the Parliament Decision # 370 from December 28, 2005 obliges the Government to work out and to deliver emergently to the Parliament legislative initiatives seeking better conditions of work for courts; modification and improvement of the proceeding mechanism for examination of penal cases with the purpose to optimise and to reduce the proceeding terms; institutional consolidation of the Justice Ministry; creation of an institution of judicial management, etc.

Draft law on pensions of officers of the Customs Service who applied for pension from August 24, 2000 to December 12, 2003. It proposes the introduction of some norms to regulate retroactively the pensions of some customs officers who had the right to retire accordingly to some previous legislative regulations, with reduced applicability but with extended facilities (age- 50 years, general length of work — 20 years, of which 12.6 years in the Customs Service). These persons (39 officers) have sued the Customs Department and were awarded victory, but the judgments have not been enforced until the prime minister issued an order allowing the National House of Social Insurance to establish and to pay pensions to these persons in compliance with the previous legislation^[2].

Parliamentary control. Declarations

Hearings

The Ministry of Economy and Trade has reported on execution of the law on pay system in budgetary sector (Law # 355/23.12.2005). The Government motivates the delayed plenary implementation of the law through the need to adopt some governmental decisions to regulate the pay conditions for distinct categories, as well as through the need to rectify the state budget for distribution of the necessary quantum for all budgetary institutions. At the same time, the Government will ensure the payment of necessary recalculations from enforcement of this law to December 1, 2005, but without any indexations^[3].

The special commission for the control and monitoring of the process of restitution of bank deposits to depositors of the Commercial Bank Guineia and of the Concern Intercapital has ordered a urgent examination of penal cases versus former administration of the Commercial Bank Guineia regarding the stealing of very large amounts of money and misuse of authority. According to data provided by officials of the Justice Ministry, the third auction for the sale of a building in the town of Vatra, estimated at over 5 million lei, was named with the purpose to return the deposits of depositors of the Intercapital Concern.

Questions and interpellations

PPCD parliamentarian Vlad Cubreacov has asked public authorities to report on findings of controls conducted in the past five years regarding the economic-financial activity of the Metropolitan Church of Chisinau and Entire Moldova.

PSL parliamentarian Igor Clipii has disagreed with the answer of the Defence Ministry and reiterated his previous interpellation on legality of participation of military in reconstruction of the Military Glory Complex in Chisinau, considering that these are not measures of military-patriotic education. A representative of the Defence Ministry maintained his previous stance, saying that military attracted in reconstruction works exert patriotic educational missions accordingly to legal provisions.

PDM parliamentarian Valentina Buliga has asked the Government to re-examine a February 6, 2006 decision concerning the approval of the technical requirements on rooms and facilities were narcotic, psychotropic and/or precursor substances are stored, as most of medical institutions cannot ensure the established conditions because they are too drastic or even abusive. Also, lawmaker Buliga has asked the Government to speed up the elaboration and the presentation of a strategy on insurance of farmers with pensions.

Statement of the Moldovan Parliament on the Declaration of the State Duma of the Russian Federation

The document that lawmakers adopted on April 21, 2006 expresses concern in connection with the April 19, 2006 Declaration of the State Duma “Concerning the support for measures aimed to strengthen the state phyto-sanitary control on products imported in the Russian Federation,” which supports a decision of the Russian sanitary authorities interdicting the importation and trading of Moldovan wines and cognacs in Russia that is not based on cogent evidence to justify the pretensions against quality of wine production. The declaration also indicates “the need to stop the attempts of some Russian political forces to give a political meaning to the situation, to present it as a deterioration of the traditional cooperation.” Finally, legislators ask the Moldovan Government “to identify the best ways to overcome the impasse in the benefit of the Republic of Moldova and the Russian Federation.”^[4]

Declaration of the AMN faction from April 20, 2006

The parliamentary faction representing the Our Moldova Alliance (AMN) has quitted the plenary sittings of the Parliament and released a declaration saying that “the Parliament protects the interests of the Power, ignores the problems of the country and violates the rights of the Opposition.” The AMN faction accuses the leadership of the Moldovan Parliament of ignoring the major interests of citizens and country and reserves the right to initiate the dismissal of the acting speaker.

↑ On March 30, 2006, PPCD Deputy Gheorghe Susarenco read a declaration opposing the use of the notion “independent lawmaker” or membership to a party that did not succeed the electoral threshold independently, in the parliamentary practice, which he considers as contrary to constitutional orders, Election Code, legislative acts in effect. See the Commentary by ADEPT.
↑ Many opposition lawmakers, independent experts appreciate this initiative of the Government as abusive, aimed to ensure a legal coverage of mistakes committed by authorities by adopting some legislative acts with a personalised and retroactive implementation. The order # 7 of the prime minister from January 19, 2005 also runs counter the legislation because it gives permission to an autonomous institution (CNAS), which is not part of the executive, while Article 30 of the law on Government says that “Prime minister issues the orders for organisation of internal activity of the Government”. This order would be interference in the legislative activity, though it aims to ensure the execution of a judgment, because the modality of granting, establishing and payment of social insurance rights are regulated “by law”. The arguing of the permission through perspective to adopt a draft law is not enough, and more than that, the Parliament did not adopt this draft till the end of 2005, but CNAS, which administrates these funds, has appropriated the means from the state social insurance budget.
↑ As for example, according to information of BNM on exchange rate, the equivalent of 100 euros on January 1, 2006, was 1,510 lei, while in late April 2006, when salary recalculations were not established and paid yet, the equivalent of 100 euros was over 1,610 lei (every salary earner in budgetary sector has lost at least 90 lei a month).
↑ Under constitutional provisions and law on legislative acts, the Parliament can adopt laws, decisions and motions, which are mandatory acts, and their execution may be imposed and controlled. The declaration of the Parliament is a political act and its request is declarative, while the Government is not obliged to execute it and the further measures rest with the discretion of the cabinet of ministers.

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