-
1
Professional Fellowship Program, Fall 2014
OUTBOUND PROJECT REPORT
Promoting new forms of advocacy, implementing the U.S.
experience
3 18 May, 2015
Andrei BRICEAC, PFP Alumni
Institute of Civil Justice, Chairman
&
Liz SEATON
Justice at Stake, Deputy Executive Director
-
2
I. OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT:
1. To develop a strategy of promoting new advocacy approaches in
Moldova.
2. To organize as many opportunities for the U.S. participant to
share her experience with Moldovan state authorities and Moldovan
society.
3. To help the Institute of Civil Justice to promote new
standards in the Moldovan
justice system of the type promoted by Justice at Stake in the
U.S., such as: merit selection of judges, diversity on the bench
and the independence of judges from political and special interests
pressure.
4. To potentially establish ongoing forms of cooperation between
Justice at Stake
and the Institute of Civil Justice, which share common goals,
albeit across national lines.
5. To promote in public the project and the Professional
Fellowship Program, to
raise the visibility of both and garner interest in potential
changes in Moldova to the benefits of its people.
II. PLANNED ACTIVITIES:
Day Activity/Meeting Topic Location & With Whom
May 4 1. Meeting at the Moldovan Bar
Association.
/
Topic: Role of the Moldovan Bar
Association in promoting standards of
fair and impartial courts in Moldova.
Role of Justice at Stake in promoting
standards of fair and impartial courts
in the U.S.A.
2. Meeting at the U.S. Embassy in
Chisinau.
Location: MBA headquarters, Chisinau.
/
- Gheorghe AMIHALACHIOAIE, Chairman of
MBA.
- Vladimir PALAMARCIUC, Chairman of
Moldovan Bars Young Lawyers
Association (PFP alumnus).
Location: U.S. Embassy in Chisinau,
Chisinau.
/
Staff of the Embassy.
May 5 1. Meeting at the Ministry of Justice.
/
Topic: Role of the Ministry of Justice in
the Moldovan judicial system.
Collaboration of the Ministry of Justice
with civil society.
2. Tour of the Ministry of Justice.
3. Organizing a press-conference.
/
Topic: Presenting the PFP Program, the
Location: MJ headquarters, Chisinau.
/
- Oleg EFRIM, Minister of Justice
- Sabina CERBU, Vice-Minister of Justice
(PFP alumnus).
- Lilian APOSTOL, representative of the
Republic of Moldova at the European
Court of Human Rights.
Location: Chisinau press Center, Chisinau.
/
Members of the mass-media.
-
3
U.S. Participant and the goals of the
project.
May 6 1. Meeting at the Supreme Court of
Justice.
/
Topic: Role and authority of the
Supreme Court of Justice. Importance
of Amicus Curiae Briefs in the U.S.
justice system.
2. Tour of the Supreme Court of
Justice.
3. Attending a hearing at the Supreme
Court of Justice.
Location: SCJ headquarters, Chisinau.
/
- Mihai POALELUNGI, Chairman of the SCJ.
- Staff of the SCJ.
May 7 Meeting at the Supreme Council of
Magistracy.
/
Topic: Role of the Supreme Council of
Magistracy. Merit selection of judges
understanding of the standard in
Moldova and the U.S.A.
Location: SCM headquarters, Chisinau.
/
Victor MICU, Chairman of the SCM.
Members of the SCM.
Staff of the SCM.
May 8 Meeting at Straseni District Court.
/
Topic: Independence of the district
judges.
Location: Straseni District Court, Straseni
town (15 miles from Chisinau).
/
Mihail GAVRILITA, Chairman.
Igor CHIROSCA, judge (alumni PFP)
May 9
holiday
Excursion at Purcari winery (see
HERE).
Location: Purcari, Stefan Voda District (50
miles from Chisinau).
May 10
holiday
Excursion at Old Orhei, Open air
Museum Complex (see HERE).
Location: Orhei town (26 miles from
Chisinau).
May 11 1. Meeting at the Central Electoral
Commission.
/
Topic: Money and politics.
2. Round table with judicial authorities
and NGOs.
/
Topic: Cooperation between NGOs and
judicial authorities.
Location: CEC headquarters, Chisinau.
/
Stefan URITU, Vice-Chairman of CEC.
Members of CEC.
Location: Public Law Library, Chisinau
/
NGOs representatives and legal community.
May 12 1. Meeting at the Parliament of the
Republic of Moldova, Committee for
Location: Parliament headquarters,
Chisinau
-
4
human rights and inter-ethnic
relations.
/
Topic: Respect for human rights in
Moldova.
2. Tour at the Parliament of the
Republic of Moldova.
/
Members of the Committee for human
rights and inter-ethnic relation.
May 13 1. Public lesson at the State University
of Moldova
/
Topic: Citizens and the courts.
2. Public lesson at the Free
International University of Moldova
/
Topic: Democracy and justice system.
Location: Universities headquarters,
Chisinau.
/
Students and lecturers, general public.
May 14 1. Public lesson at the Corjova, Criuleni
elementary school
/
Topic: General considerations about
democracy.
Location: Corjova, Criuleni District, (20
miles from Chisinau).
/
Students and teachers, general public.
May 15 1. Meeting with the Ombudsman of the
Republic of Moldova.
/
Topic: Respect for human rights in
Republic of Moldova.
2. Meeting at the General Prosecutors
Office.
/
Topic: Role of the prosecutors in the
Moldovan judicial system.
Location: Ombudsman Office
headquarters, Chisinau.
/
Ombudsman and staff of the Office.
Location: Office headquarters of the
General Prosecutors Office, Chisinau.
/
Prosecutors of the General Prosecutors
Office.
May 16
holiday
Excursion at Capriana Monastery
(see HERE) and Curchi Monastery
(see HERE).
May 17
holiday
Excursion at the Museums.
III. IMPLEMENTED ACTIVITIES:
Sunday, May 3:
Briceac provides a walking tour of the central area of Chisinau,
the area and especially
the government buildings in the capital city. This orientation,
which also is an overview
-
5
of the structure of Moldovan government, proves extremely
helpful to Seaton
throughout her visit.
Seaton and Briceac witness an approximately 40,000 person
peaceful and
focused demonstration against alleged government corruption
related to missing money
at the state-controlled bank. Because Briceac and Seaton believe
that the involvement of
an engaged and vocal citizenry, fully employing free speech and
assembly protections, is
necessary to establish and protect fair and impartial courts in
a democratic society, this
activity is undertaken in order to more fully comprehend how
citizens in Moldovan
society can and do express their collective voice.
Seaton is also a prolific painter with an active art practice,
see
seatonwatercolors.wordpress.com. In the early mornings and
evenings when time is
free, she draws and paints what she sees in Moldova.
-
6
Andrei and his wife Diana host Seaton at their home the first
evening, and serve a
traditional Moldovan meal and show Seaton a wedding video to
help her understand
Moldovan traditions.
Monday, May 4:
Seaton begins working from Briceacs Law office, PB &
Partners, which also houses the
Institute for Civil Justice. Seaton performs online research for
a more thorough
understanding of Moldovan society and especially its political
and judicial structures so
she can be of maximum assistance to Briceac in the coming two
weeks. Briceac arranges
for several Outbound Project meetings.
Tuesday, May 5:
Briceac and Seaton meet with David Jesse, Country Director, and
Dr. Daniela Munca-
Aftenev, Open World/Professional Fellows Program Officer, at the
American Councils
for International Education offices. They then visit multiple
government agencies to
request meetings, and also stop by the American Resource Center,
a project of the U.S.
Embassy. Seaton submits a requested letter proposing a
presentation to Moldovan
students in the second Outbound Project week (a request they
never respond to,
probably because it is the end of semester, which they told
Seaton and Briceac).
Briceac and Seaton meet with Dr. Stefan Urtu, Vice President of
the Central
Elections Commission (Comisiei Electorale Centrale), to discuss
a range of issues:
election practices in Moldova, election access for people with
disabilities (following a
roundtable discussion held earlier that day), the challenges in
voting for Moldovans who
are physically disabled and generally housebound, the politics
of judicial selection in the
U.S. and Moldova, and both countrys justice systems in general
terms.
-
7
Wednesday, May 6:
Briceac and Seaton videotape messages in English and Romanian
about the Outbound
Project for posting on the websites of both the Institute for
Civil Justice and Justice at
Stake, and to post on Facebook, to build visibility for their
work. See both organizations
websites for the video (http://publicpres.info/;
https://justcivil.wordpress.com/2015/05/04/liz-seaton-in-moldova/
)
Seaton and Briceac visit with two Members of Parliament and
their staff. Stefan
Schidu, Assistant to Member of Parliament Gheorghe Brega, guides
and assists with
both meetings.
The first meeting is with Member of Parliament, Deputy Ion
Casian, who serves
on the Committee for Human Rights and Inter-Ethnic Relations.
The discussion centers
on promoting a general understanding of both countrys methods of
assuring human
rights, challenges in doing so, and the importance of fair and
impartial courts to the
overall process. Casian actively promotes Moldova joining NATO.
Schidu participates in
the meeting.
-
8
The second meeting is with Parliament Member Corina Fusu, a
Member of the
Committee on Culture, Education, Research, Youth, Sports and
Mass Media. The
discussion focuses on the role of women in Moldovan government,
particularly
Parliament, the rights of minorities in societies, Moldovan
society and politics generally,
the role that partisan politics play in a democratic society,
and more. Also participating
in the discussion is Sergiu Beghean, Assistant to Deputy
Fusu.
Thursday, May 7:
Seaton spends morning preparing a document for a planned meeting
with the chief
justice of the Supreme Court of Justice, scheduled for Monday.
The document is a
summary of the federal and state judicial selection systems in
use in the United States,
with a focus on citizen engagement. Briceac is due in the Curtea
de Apel (Court of
Appeals) at noon on a case from his private practice, a case
that has now been pending
since 2006. Delays in legal cases are unfortunately too
common.
Seaton accompanies Briceac and witnesses courthouse and court
room hearings
in front of a panel of three judges for several hours in order
to better comprehend
Moldovan legal practices. Briceac briefs Seaton on standard
practices and protocols in
Moldovan courts. Briceacs case is postponed, as the opponents
are stalling because
their arguments are week. Interestingly, one possible reform to
Moldovan court
practices are potential deadlines for case resolution at various
court levels, to prevent
this kind of problem.
-
9
Seaton and Briceac (shown here is his attorney robe) also review
the legal system
improvement policy proposals of the Chief Justice in order to
begin to prepare for
Mondays meeting (which includes case decision deadlines), and
begin to discuss
possible substantive areas of focus for this critical
meeting.
Briceac takes Seaton to lunch at La Placinta, which serves
traditional Moldovan cuisine.
Friday, May 8:
Seaton visits a morning religious service at Catedrala Nasterea
Domnului to gain a
better understanding of the faith practices of the people of
this country. Seaton visits a
local bookstore, local grocery store, and a local park. Around
the city, preparations are
being made for the Day of Victory the following day, and Briceac
explains this to Seaton.
Briceac and Seaton prepare for Mondays meetings with Supreme
Court of Justice and
the General Prosecutors Office. In the evening, Briceac and
Seaton attend an opera at
the National Theatre of Opera and Ballet.
-
10
Saturday, May 9:
In the early morning, Seaton witnesses pro-Russian Moldovan
citizens gathering and
piping Russian music at the local park, and also other people
and organizations
preparing for the Day of Victory.
Briceac and his wife Diana and daughter Patricia take Seaton on
a tour north of
Chisinau, driving through many villages and across the
countryside in wine country.
They visit Cricova briefly, and there Briceac uses a map of the
region in the cellars to
give Seaton a brief history of Moldova and the region, and
Seaton sees local pottery and
art. They have lunch and sample a local wine at the Chateau
Vartely. In the evening,
Seaton watches news reports about the Day of Victory gatherings
and Russian army
demonstrations in Moscow.
-
11
Sunday, May 10:
Briceac, Briceacs father, and Seaton, visit the village where
Briceac grew up, and drive
to Odessa in the Ukraine. On the way, they make a brief stop at
the Purcari vineyards.
They lunch together at a local restaurant that serves
traditional Ukrainian food, with
servers wearing traditional garb, and go to a beach resort on
the Black Sea. Seaton
wades in the Black Sea for the first time in her life, and
explains how when she was a
child this opportunity did not even seem like a possibility.
Seaton witnesses Ukrainian
families at recreation, and notes that this vision of Ukrainians
is probably not how most
Americans hearing international news would picture Ukranians, at
leisure. They travel
back to Chisinau, stopping on the way to appreciate the sunset
in the XX river valley.
After dropping off Andreis father at the village grocery store
their family owns and runs,
they are served a and lovely dinner by Andreis mother at her
home.
Monday, May 11:
At her hotel, the Jazz hotel, Seaton encounters several
Americans (national and state
level representatives) and Moldovans who are meeting at a USAID
conference this week
to discuss methods for deregulating and moving to commercial
markets the Moldovan
energy industry.
Briceac and Seaton meet with the Chairman of the Supreme Court
of Justice, Mr.
Mihai Poalelungi, and discussed several key topics. These
include: the selection and
promotion of judges in Moldova, the work of Justice at Stake in
the United States to
-
12
protect courts from political pressure and increase diversity on
the bench, the need for
quality judges who are fair and impartial at all levels, and the
work of the Institute for
Civil Justice in Moldova. They discuss the promotion practices
and the qualifications of
individuals to serve on a countrys highest court. The Chairman
had previously proposed
several reforms for the Moldovan courts, and the three discuss
those as well, most
particularly 1) the proposal to compose the Supreme Court of
half judges and half
important Moldovans from other sectors of society such as law,
science, etc; 2) the
proposal to begin to use jurors for important cases where the
potential penalties are
severe. Seaton stresses that in the experience of her
organization, the better the people
understand the courts, the more they are able to support their
decisions and participate
in the courts process. Merit selection, with citizen nominating
commissions is
discussed. Because the Chairman had previously served on the
European Court of
Human Rights, discussion touched on several topics related to
its work, and the
comparison of Moldovan courts and justice systems to those of
other European
countries, such as France, as well as those of the United
States. There is a discussion of
the distinct roles that the Supreme Court of Justice and the
Supreme Council of
Magistrates play in Moldova.
Briceac and Seaton meet with Mircea Rosioru, Chairman of The
Superior Council
of Prosecutors and Alaxandru CLADCO (a PFP alumnus), who serves
as the primary
translator for the meeting.
They are provided with an overview of the authority of the
prosecutors in Moldova,
European standards with which Moldova must comply, discuss the
two countrys
respective justice systems, and discuss pending legislation to
reform the prosecutors
office. In casual conversation, PFP alumnus provides a
perspective on the economic
-
13
hardship posed by Russia in blocking sales of Moldovan wines,
while to the west, other
European markets are saturated with wine products.
Tuesday, May 12:
Briceac and Seaton meet with members of the Supreme Council of
Magistrates:
Tatiana Rducanu, Dorel Mustea, Gheorghe Avornic and Teodor
Crna.
The members describe, in some detail, the processes for the
selection of judges in
Moldova, and the role of the Supreme Council and how it is
constituted. They discuss
the problem of elections in the United States, and Seaton
describes the value of citizen
involvement through a nominating commission in the process of
merit selection in the
U.S. The members say that the civil society voice in Moldova is
strong and taken into
consideration into consideration in the selection of judges.
Briceac introduces the topic
of the potential for Moldova to use jurors in some cases.
Professor Carnat asks Seaton to describe her views on the use of
jurors and its value. In
response, Seaton describes how jurors are used in both criminal
and civil cases, and how
they determine issues of fact (unless a jury trial is waived)
while judges determine issues
of law. The civil duty of jury duty helps with the American
publics understanding of
and confidence in the courts. In addition, there is discussion
of issues of diversity on
the bench, with Seaton describing how Justice at Stake views
this issue: it promotes
public confidence in the courts and results in better
decision-making. There is
discussion of issues of court funding, and this appears not to
be a problem in Moldova
(while it is sometimes and somewhere a problem in the U.S.).
This discussion comes to
a close with the discussion of some members of the Commission of
their experiences in
visiting a prison in Arizona in the U.S. Overall, a positive
meeting.
-
14
For several days Seaton has been sketching the local cathedral
and square in her spare
time.
Wednesday, May 13:
In the early a.m., Seaton monitors the news about U.S. Secretary
of State John Kerry
meeting with Vladimir Putin and discussing, among other things,
the conflict in
Ukraine. Seaton notes that CNN reports that U.S. military are
training the army in the
western Ukraine.
Seaton and Briceac meet with Ronald Wolfson, Regional Director,
and three
other staff of the ABA ROLI program: Iuliana Marcinschi, Program
Coordinator of the
National Partnership for Equal Rights; Alina SECRIERU and
Daniela VIDAICO. They
discuss the ABA ROLIs range of robust programs anti-corruption,
equal rights,
sentencing guidelines, unification (consistency of case
decisions according to precedent)
here in Moldova in some detail. This meeting is extremely
valuable for Seatons
understanding of efforts to improve the rule of law in this
country, and adds to her
understanding of the present day challenges.
It is the 14th Moldovan LGBT Pride festival week, and in the
evening Seaton
attends the Opening of the photo exhibition Because I Live Here,
at the B.P. Hasdeu
Municipal Library. The exhibit features LGBT Moldovans in their
daily lives, and is
printed in three languages: Moldovan, Russian and English. They
also view a few new
videos along the same lines. There she meets the chair,
Anastasia, and leadership team
of GenderDOC-M, the LGBT advocacy group, and also encounters
staff from the ABA
ROLI program and the U.S. Department of State
(non-discrimination section). Seaton
-
15
extends the greetings of the Human Rights Campaign, a national
LGBT organization in
Washington, D.C. (where Seaton used to work as General Counsel
and Legal Director) to
the leadership of GenderDOC-M and congratulates them on a fine
event. She gives
Anastasia a gift bag from the National LGBTQ Task Force in
Washington, D.C.
Thursday, May 14:
Seaton witnesses several games of chess on the cathedral plaza
in the morning. A
colleague tells her that overnight, a bomb was set off at a
shipyard in Odessa.
Seaton and Briceac spend the afternoon in the village of
Corjova, where Briceac
grew up, attended school, and where his parents still live and
work. In fact Andreis
father is running for mayor, and this generates much discussion
about how local politics
work. They give a presentation at Gimnaziul Corjova to several
classes of 5th graders,
perhaps 40 or so in all and 6 teachers. Briceac describes their
work together and their
project. Seaton discusses how Americans teach their children to
be active citizens, and
how their schools work. She has a 14 year old daughter. Then
they open it up for
questions. The kids ask questions about schools, the hours,
classes, extracurricular
activities and how much lunch costs. The teachers ask about
teacher salaries and the
requirement that children attend schools in the U.S. They head
of school gives a tour of
various classrooms. Briceac and Seaton leave the school with
books on Washington,
D.C. and on translating between English and Romanian.
-
16
On the way back, Seaton and Briceac listen to Parliament
discussing budget
issues over the radio. Briceac explains the countrys budgetary
processes, and the roles
of the executive and legislative branches. Seaton notes that
after two weeks in the
country, and having studied Romanian before coming, she is
starting to understand
more of the language.
Friday, May 15:
Seaton and Briceac hold a roundtable at the public library. The
topic of the
roundtable was: Cooperation between the courts and civil
society, the U.S. experience.
Saturday, May 16:
Seaton and Briceac went at the Restaurant La Plcinte with
Daniela Munca-Afteniev
and discussed about the experience of Seaton in Moldova.
Sunday, May 17:
Seaton and Briceac were to Soroca citadel. This citadel is
located at a 3 hours distance
from Chisinau. During this long trip Seaton had the occasion to
see a lot of beautiful
places.
-
17
Monday, May 18:
Briceac organised a modest feast at the office. Seaton and the
staff of the Institute of
Civil Justice participated.
Tuesday, May 19:
Seaton flies back to the U.S.
IV. IMPACT:
Briceac and Seaton agreed that the project had a positive
impact. Seaton has had a lot of
important meetings with high state officials and members of
civil society. She has
shared her experience and learned from the experience of the
Moldovan experts. The
Chairman of the Supreme Court of Justice and the members of the
Supreme Council of
Magistracy have highly appreciated the ideas and opinions
expressed by Seaton about
the best practices and standards for judiciary.
The project was full of cultural activities. During the short
period of the Project Seaton
visited different locations, monuments and historical places.
She has interacted with
Moldovans of different social status, age, sexual orientation
and political views. This
helped her to understand better the culture, traditions and
mores of Moldovans. She has
tasted national food and wine.
The Project had a great impact on the image of Andrei Briceac
and his organization,
Institute for Civil Justice. He established better contacts with
the state authorities and
important members of civil society. He was invited by the
Supreme Council of
Magistracy to participate at the elaboration of a new set of
legal initiatives that are
meant to accelerate legal reform in Moldova.
More people were informed about the Professional Fellowship
Program and about the
great opportunities offered by it to young Moldovan leaders.
V. Related links:
1. Briceac and Seaton at the Supreme Council of Magistracy;
2. Briceac and Seaton at the Supreme Court of Justice;
3. Briceac and Seaton Press Conference;
4. https://justcivil.wordpress.com/
Andrei BRICEAC
PFP Alumni
Institute of Civil Justice, Chairman
Chiinu, Moldova