Activity of the Parliament on June 16–30, 2008

Legal acts

Law on mortgage. The law establishes principles and rules regulating the primary mortgage market, legal relations relating to this process and to the appearance, validity and cessation of mortgage, exercising of mortgage rights, as well as protection of rights of participants in legal mortgage relations. Distinct chapters regulate the mortgage contract; registration and protection of integrity of the object of mortgage; execution of the mortgage right; protection of rights of debtors in transactions with consumers; supervision of this sector, etc.

Law on modification and completion of some legal acts (on protection of personal data). It regulates the appointment and dismissal of the administration of the National Centre for the Protection of Personal Data, establishes status and functioning of the centre.

Law on modification and completion of the law on publishing. It restricts the publishing of literature “that contests and libels the state and people, calls for aggression war, national, racial or religious hatred, discrimination, territorial separatism, public violence, and other manifestations attempting to constitutional regime.” It establishes that lists of works proposed for editing and funded by the state budget shall be elaborated by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism at the request of subordinated state printing enterprises, shall be coordinated with the Ministry of Education and Youth, Academy of Sciences of Moldova and approved by the parliamentary commission for culture, science, education, youth, sport and media.

Note by ADEPT: Editors have not been consulted when the amendments to the law were drafted and they did not warm the modifications, fearing that works will be censured and the freedom of expression will be affected.

Law on modification and completion of some legal acts (competence of CCECC). Amendments limit the rights of the Centre for Combating Economic Crimes and Corruption (CCECC) to conduct fiscal controls, which will be further organised only under a criminal prosecution. Also, the CCECC jurisdiction is excluded by the forced quest for fiscal debts, this being now an exclusive competence of the State Fiscal Service.

Law on modification and completion of some legal acts (anti-terrorism fight). The amendments are needed to implement 12 universal instruments against terrorism, the pertinent resolutions of the United Nations Security Council, as well as to ratify the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism and the Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism adopted in 2005. The document stipulates the transfer of functions relating to criminal prosecution of terrorism financing cases from the Interior Ministry to the Centre for Combating Economic Crimes and Corruption, and this step is expected to speed up the delivery of information and documents on suspicious terrorism financing transactions, to encourage the specialisation of criminal officers and to prevent the duplication of public authorities’ competences.

Law on ratification of the Protocol III Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 Relating to the Adoption of the Additional Distinctive Emblem. The protocol provides for another distinctive emblem, the “red crystal” equal in status to the Red Cross and Red Crescent.

Draft law on modification and completion of Article 35 of the law on budgetary system and budgetary process. Amendments aim to empower local authorities concerned to execute judicial decisions. It says that “executory documents on incontestable disaffection of funds from budgets of administrative-territorial units shall be presented by the executory body to local executive authorities in order to be executed, while those related to incontestable disaffection of funds of institutions financed from budgets of administrative-territorial units shall be presented by the executory body to local executory authorities, which together with coordinated public institutions shall present invoices concerning payment of the amount adjudicated accordingly to the documents from own funds to territorial units of the State Treasury. The executory body will cash in the adjudicated amount from debtor should the executory document be not executed within six months after the voluntary execution proposal was submitted.” The document was drafted because central and local public administration authorities do not submit invoices to pay the amount adjudicated under definitive judicial decisions and the executory body does not have other levers to constrain the debtor in order to execute definitive judicial decisions. The violation of these legal regulations by central and local public authorities is the subject of many applications submitted by creditors concerned to the ECHR (according to an analysis on reasons why the ECHR condemns Moldova, more than 40 percent of sentences are passed for non-execution of definitive judicial decisions or tardy execution).

Draft law concerning the Free International Airport Marculesti. Under the draft, the airport will ensure air carriages, aeronautic services, industrial production and external trade activity. Its status will be similar to a free economic zone.

Draft law on protection of animals. It defines and established sanctions for cruel conduct over animals.

Draft law on modification and completion of some legal acts. It aims to introduce contravention or criminal responsibility for illegal projection, manufacturing, holding and use of special technical means to secretly get information, violation of rules on import, export, projection, manufacturing or sale of such means. The Government will approve a classifier of special technical means used to secretly get information, regulation on import, export, projection, manufacturing and sale of such means. The draft will prohibit the illegal use of special technical means by individuals and legal entities (other bodies and institutions which are not in charge with operative investigations) to secretly get information.

Parliamentary control. Statements

Hearings. Motions

The PCRM faction has refused to hear the Government concerning the course of the three big economy liberalisation reforms: fiscal amnesty, capital amnesty and duty-free on reinvested income; hear the governor of the National Bank of Moldova regarding the exchange issue and repercussions of the artificial appreciation of national currency on people; hear the prosecutor-general in connection with statements delivered by Moldovan president at a sitting of the Supreme Security Council regarding the illegal dispossession of some shareholders of the commercial bank Moldova-Agroindbank.

Moldova-EU Action Plan

According to a report by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, progresses made in three years of implementation of the Action Plan “were better than expected, there are accomplishments in multiple areas, with Moldova achieving some of them for the first time, and these progresses have become examples of success to be taken over by EU in other regions, too.” It noted among progresses a high level of political dialogue; enforcement of the visa facilitation and readmission agreements; opening of the Common Visa Application Centre in Chisinau; providing of the Autonomous Trade Preferences; Moldova’s access to community programmes on diverse areas such as education, science, transportation, justice, economy, finance, etc. The Government of Moldova is seeking negotiations aimed at getting access to the four EU freedoms: movements of people, goods, services and capital.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry (MAFI) has informed parliamentarians regarding the acquisition of agricultural production in 2008 and providing of humanitarian aid under the shape of wheat to S.A Franzeluta and Combinatului de Panificatie in Balti. According to the report, 1,490,000 tons (28 quintals per hectare on average) will be harvested on all fields covered by 1st-group grain and vegetable crops (533,200 hectares), while the overall autumn wheat crop will be approximately 1,200,000 tons. In order to prevent an eventual rise of bread prices, it was decided to provide 9,000 tons of food wheat to SA “Franzeluta” and 2,000 tons to the Balti-based Combinatul de Panificatie. More than 11,000 tons of food wheat was delivered from the state reserve to about 80 bakeries as a technical credit. The ministry did not answer adequately regarding allocation of humanitarian aid to some economic agents which should raise profit on their own.

The Interior Ministry has answered an interpellation on resolution of the problem regarding the matriculation of motor vehicles introduced and registered in the Transnistrian region. According to the ministerial report, the draft law on documentation of some categories of motor vehicles and the temporary regulation on clearance, matriculation and introduction of some categories of motor vehicles in the motor traffic in Moldova have been drafted and submitted to the Government, but the final decision rests with the Parliament, given the “sensibility of the problem”.

Questions. Interpellations

Answering an interpellation by PCRM Deputy Irina Vlah, the Ministry of Local Public Administration (MLPA) has described as “illegal” the election of Deputy Serghei Cernev as Chairman of the People’s Assembly of Gagauzia, as 12 out of 18 lawmakers who voted him were incompatible to do this while running public offices (mayors, councillors of the executive committee of ATU Gagauzia). A MLPA representative fell short of saying if the election of a PCRM candidate to this office shortly before the election of Cernev is also illegal. Also, it was omitted that the Law 344/23.12.94 on special legal status of Gagauzia says in Article 9 that the office of “paid” member of the People’s Assembly of Gagauzia is incompatible with any other paid function in other local authorities, and lawmakers who voted Cernev do not run paid offices in the People’s Assembly.

The Prosecutor-General’s Office has reported that the investigation on Internet users who published cruel messages against representatives of authorities on certain online forums is going on. The Prosecutor’s Office is investigating the eventual membership of the youths concerned to a radical structure or their support by extremist groups which have plans to “zombie” their values. In another reply, the Prosecutor-General’s Office has confirmed that paintings promised by Vladimir Voronin to new Russian President Dmitri Medvedev are fake and they do not have any artistic value.

Christian Democratic Deputy Valentina Serpul has asked the electronic media watchdog CCA and the Prosecutor-General’s Office to study the situation signalled by a publication, which reported that wire television operators do not pay taxes and other fees stipulated by legislation.

PCRM Deputy Nicolai Gutul has asked the Prime minister to oblige the administration of the Bureau for Interethnic Relations to postpone the summation of results of contests held over days of Slavonic culture and writing.

PCRM Deputy Irina Vlah has asked the Ministry of Local Public Administration to check the compatibility of offices of members of the People’s Assembly of Gagauzia.

Democratic Party Deputy Valentina Stratan has asked the Interior Ministry to argue changes in the traffic regulation, which prohibit motor vehicles with dark windscreen or windows. According to the lawmaker, effective standards do not prohibit such motor vehicles and motorists are awarded victory if the police sanction them.

Our Moldova Alliance Deputy Gheorghe Susarenco has asked the Prosecutor-General and CCECC director to provide information about criminal charges filed against certain judges whom the Moldovan president has accused of involvement in criminal actions at a sitting of the Supreme Security Council, and to establish if the innocence presumption was not violated this way.

Deputy Ivan Banari has asked the Government to provide information about results of the export promotion strategy, which is inadequately implemented.

Deputy Vladimir Filat has asked the Ministry of Justice to report actions aimed at preventing the sentencing of Moldova by ECHR for restricting holders of multiple citizenships from running public offices.

National Liberal Deputy Vitalia Pavlicenco has asked the Ministry of Education and Youth to explain the “transformation of a summer camp for children in the district of Floresti into a camp for pioneers.”

Statements

The faction representing the Our Moldova Alliance (OMA) has released a statement accusing the majority faction of abuses and wrongdoings, referring in particular the suppression of the draft motion “Stop Communist Genocide against Farmers” from the Parliament’s agenda. OMA considers that the head of the sitting acted illegally and the Parliament leadership breached the Regulation, which says that motions shall be publicly examined and establishes the procedure to be respected in this respect.

National Liberal Deputy Vitalia Pavlicenco has warned that Moldova is entering a state of instability, with protests by meat traders, elderly, and repressions against youths who tell their opinions online, etc., being a proof in this regard.

OMA Deputy Valeriu Cosarciuc said that farmers whom opposition parliamentarians have recently introduced in the Parliament to attend talks on OMA initiatives aimed to improve the situation in agriculture are persecuted by law enforcement bodies; they are controlled, summoned by law bodies under various pretexts, etc.

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