The US State Department Criticized the Moldovan Parliament for Recalling Manole from the Head of the Constitutional Court Post

On April 27, the US Embassy in Moldova published a State Department of the country’s statement which criticized the decision of the Moldovan parliament to recall Domnica Manole from the post of Head of the Constitutional Court (CC). “An attempt by the Moldovan parliament to undermine democracy,” State Department spokesman Ned Price called the decision of the Moldovan legislative body. “The attempt of the Moldovan Parliament to replace the Chairman of the Constitutional Court Domnica Manole with a candidate of his own choice is a gross attack on democratic norms and constitutional order of the country. Of particular concern is the parliament's persecution of the Constitutional Court, which only recently reaffirmed its independence after years of state capture,” the authors note and urge the Moldovan authorities to “respect the rule of law, protect their democratic institutions and work together to solve problems”. At the same time, the State Department recalled that they continue to support US cooperation with Moldova, especially in such areas as the fight against corruption, support for economic growth, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Moldova. Recall, the US Ambassador to Moldova and many European officials have already spoken about the decision of the parliament to recall Manole from the post of the Head of the Constitutional Court. Thus, the Head of the EU diplomacy Borrell called the decision of the Moldovan deputies to recall Domnica Manole from the post of head of the Constitutional Court (CC) "a rough attack on the country's constitutional order and an attempt to undermine the rule of law." And the Head of the EU delegation to Moldova, Peter Michalko, called the decision of the parliament to cancel the decree on the of Domnica Manole’s appointment as a judge of the Constitutional Court (CC) as an obvious attack on the country's Constitution and on the independence of the institution.