Thanks to the assistance of the Law Faculty Dean's Office and the Office of International Cooperation at ULIM, my US Constitutional Law students and I had the honor of meeting with the President of the Constitutional Court of Moldova, the Honorable Dumitru Pulbere.
The President taught us about the history and operation of the Constitutional Court, which celebrated its 15th Anniversary (February 21, 1995) this year.
Only certain litigants are able to bring suit (these include the President of the Republic of Moldova, the Minister of Justice, the General Prosecutor, the Supreme Court of Justice, etc)
There are 6 judges who are appointed for 6-year terms, with the possibility of being re-appointed for a second 6-year term. Two judges are selected by each branch of government.
The duties of the Constitutional Court are outlined in Article 135 of the Constitution.
All sessions are open to the public, and there is also a big TV screen in the lobby to accommodate overflow visitors. (It looked like only about 25 people or so could be seated in the gallery)
The President advised us that an interesting hearing was scheduled for Tuesday (12/21/2010) and invited us to return to see the Constitutional Court in action.
The President answered all of our questions about the judicial selection process, the docket, caseload. . .
In recent years, the Court has heard about 40 cases a year; the judges on the Constitutional Court have proposed a constitutional amendment to allow citizens to bring suit before the Court, expanding its potential docket.
An unexpected treat: we were each given 2 books, one a collection of decisions adopted by the Constitutional Court and the other a special anniversary book about the Constitutional Court on its 10th anniversary (the 15th anniversary edition is in press)
Click here to read the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova:
http://www.constcourt.md/index_en.html
Click here to view the website of the Constitutional Court:
http://www.constcourt.md/index_en.html
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