Sandu about CC Decision on Stoianoglo: Conclusion Refers to Already Non-Existent Article

The Constitutional Court’s decision to declare unconstitutional the article based on which former Prosecutor-General Alexandru Stoianoglo was dismissed does not change the government’s plans to elect a new head of the authority. President Maia Sandu said that on Radio Moldova. According to her, the Constitutional Court recognized as unconstitutional an article that has already lost its legal force. “The Venice Commission ruled that this article is not good enough. The Parliament changed the law on the evaluation of the Prosecutor-General’s activity in general, and, accordingly, this CC opinion refers to an article that no longer exists,” the President explained in a program on Radio Moldova. The head of state also added that the CC ruling does not change the assessment of the former Prosecutor-General’s activity and cannot change the plans for selecting a new Prosecutor-General, including his integrity test. On 9 November, the Constitutional Court declared unconstitutional the article of the prosecutor’s office law, based on which the activity of Prosecutor-General Alexandru Stoianoglo was assessed and he was dismissed. The ruling is final and cannot be appealed. Stoianoglo was dismissed as head of the Prosecutor-General Office on 5 October 2021. He was charged with at least five violations: abuse of office, passive corruption, false statements in declarations, abuse of power and abuse of authority. Alexandru Stoianoglo himself has repeatedly denied the charges against him. He considers his prosecution to be political.