“Non-compliance with Requirements and Criteria”. Four Parties Demanded the Resignation of the Head of the Pre-Vetting Commission

A political bloc formed of four parties demands the resignation of the chairman of the Pre-Vetting Commission, Herman von Hebel. Relevant request has been sent to the Independent Evaluation Commission for Assessing the Integrity of the Candidates for SCM and SCP. At the same time, the applicants refer to a journalistic investigation published last week and claim that Herman von Hebel has a flawed reputation. The commission called the accusations far-fetched. The request was signed by the Party of Change, the Dignity and Truth Platform, the Coalition for Unity and Prosperity and the League of Towns and Communes party. These four political entities refer to a recent journalistic investigation and other articles published in the international press. According to the authors, the head of the Pre-Vetting Commission, Herman von Hebel, has repeatedly broken the law and cannot fulfil the duties of the position he holds. “We request that Mr. Herman von Hebel’s membership of the Independent Commission for Assessing the Integrity of Candidates for the positions of self-government, judges and prosecutors be terminated. This is due to his incompatibility with the position he holds, due to his failure to fulfil the requirements and criteria of impeccable reputation,” the four parties said in a joint statement. The scandal with Herman von Hebel erupted last week following an investigation by Anticorupție.md. The chairman of the Pre-Vetting Commission is accused of repeated violations of the law during his work at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. According to journalists, he facilitated the unlawful dismissal of more than 100 employees and caused significant damage to the institution’s reform. Subsequently, the court had to compensate those dismissed for significant material damage. The official is also accused of hiring experts without a tender or pre-selection procedure. The enquiry also notes that Herman von Hebel allegedly concealed the fact that he now holds a part-time position as a judge at the Den Bosch Court of Appeal in the Netherlands. This topic was also discussed in parliament last week. The opposition demanded to interrogate Herman von Hebel as well as Justice Minister Veronica Mihailov-Moraru. However, the requests did not get the necessary number of votes. The PAS called the accusations unfounded and aimed at undermining justice reform. In a press release, the Pre-Vetting Commission also stated that the allegations against Herman von Hebel were unfounded and that he had served a total of 5 days at the Den Bosch Court of Appeal since April 2022, i.e. since he began his current duties. He received a daily allowance for each day he was at the court, without any other benefits. “I think it would be something incredible if the Moldovan authorities removed him from office without any difficulty after the publication of this investigation. But this is impossible and Mr. Gradinaru is hiding that the word of the Moldovan authorities has no weight in the selection of these members,” said Alexandru Tanase, a lawyer and former president of the Constitutional Court. Journalists sent an enquiry to the Pre-Vetting Commission for a comment on the four parties’ request for Herman von Hebel’s resignation as chairman, but at the time of writing no response was received. He was elected to the position in April 2022. The Pre-Vetting Commission includes six members appointed by parliament, three of whom were recommended by international development partners. Herman von Hebel recently stated in an interview that he does not intend to resign.