Home > 2.4 Complaints and appeals > MOLDOVA – Urgent joint opinion on the draft Law no. 263 amending the Electoral Code, the Contravention Code and the Code of Audiovisual Media Services
 
 
 
Download file    
 
 
Paragraph 62
 

The proposed Article 74.3 foresees that a judicial appeal may be lodged against the court decision within one day after the decision has been pronounced, and against the decision of the Court of Appeal within one day after the decision has been pronounced. It has to be noted that the persons entitled to lodge electoral complaints, primarily the voters and the candidates, should act quickly in order to avoid disruption of the on-going electoral process. At the same time, the appellants should be provided enough time to understand the procedure (especially as it is provided for not only in the Electoral Code, but also in the Administrative Code and concerning the campaigning, in the Code of Audiovisual Media Services). It has to be noted that the appeal has to be reasoned and the appellant has to submit evidence. Thus, especially in more complex cases, the extremely short deadline may hamper the protection of electoral rights. The Venice Commission and OSCE/ODIHR recommend extending this deadline to three to five days. The aim to shorten the time required to solve all electoral disputes could be achieved, if necessary, by decreasing the number of instances to deal with the case, e.g. by providing a judicial remedy only in one court instance.