Leadership transition at the Judicial Vetting Commission

The Judicial Vetting Commission has appointed its new leadership team. Following a unanimous vote by all nine members, Andrei Bivol, a national member and former Vice Chair of the Commission, was elected Chairperson. The new Chairperson has appointed Marcel van de Wetering, an international member, as Vice Chair. This leadership transition follows Mr. Scott Bales’ decision to step down as Chairperson and is part of a planned internal reorganization designed to ensure continuity in the Commission’s work and the smooth progress of ongoing evaluation processes.

Andrei Bivol is a lawyer with over 15 years of experience in the legal field. He has represented clients in more than 150 civil, commercial, and administrative cases across various areas of law at all levels of jurisdiction in the Republic of Moldova. He has also represented claimants in over 40 cases before the European Court of Human Rights. In addition, he has extensive experience in international arbitration, representing both public and private entities before institutions such as ICSID, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, and the European Court of Arbitration. He has also served as an expert on legislative analysis and drafting projects in the areas of finance, entrepreneurship, and SME support, backed by organizations including the European Union, GIZ, and USAID.

Marcel van de Wetering, a citizen of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, is a senior judge specializing in criminal law at the Zeeland West Brabant District Court. With a career spanning over two decades in the Dutch judiciary, he has worked in both criminal and civil law, previously serving as an investigative judge and as a coordinating legal advisor within the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment of the Netherlands. He holds a law degree from Utrecht University and is the author of legal commentaries on the Dutch Code of Criminal Procedure.

The new leadership team will ensure the effective coordination of the Commission’s activities throughout its legally mandated term, upholding the principles of transparency, integrity, and impartiality that guide the external evaluation of judges.

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