Integrity evaluation of judge Serghei Pilipenco from the Southern Court of Appeal – completed

The Judicial Vetting Commission has finalized the evaluation procedure of judge Serghei Pilipenco from the Southern Court of Appeal and submitted its report to the Superior Council of Magistracy (SCM), that he should not pass the external integrity evaluation.

In line with the legal procedure, the SCM will review the Commission’s report and adopt a decision on whether to accept or reject the non-promotion recommendation. Until a final decision is made, the evaluation result is published on the Commission’s website, in the “Subjects” section. The full report will be made public within three days after the expiry of the legal deadline for contesting the SCM’s decision, or, as applicable, after the delivery of a final ruling by the Supreme Court of Justice, in case of an appeal.

Context

Judge Pilipenco’s evaluation was conducted under Law No. 252/2023 on the evaluation of judges and prosecutors and was assigned, through random allocation, to Panel B of the Commission, composed of members Scott Bales, Willem Brouwer, and Iurie Gațcan. In August, the Commission invited judge Serghei Pilipenco to a public hearing to clarify certain concerns regarding financial integrity.

During the hearing, the panel members questioned the judge about suspicions of unjustified wealth allegedly accumulated in the years 2012, 2013, 2020, and 2023. The discussions also focused on expenses related to vacations, the use and maintenance costs of a vehicle, transfers and withdrawals of funds from bank accounts, the declaration of residence (right of habitation) in properties not owned by his family, the purchase of an apartment by the subject in the name of his brother, as well as the origin of cash deposits made in 2020.

General statistics on the external evaluation of judges

Since the beginning of its mandate, the Judicial Vetting Commission has received 180 cases for evaluation under the three laws governing the external vetting process. Of these, 64 individuals resigned or withdrew from the competitions, while 4 successfully passed the pre-vetting stage. To date, the Commission has completed 92 evaluations, with an additional 25 evaluations and 7 re-evaluations currently in progress.

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