Renovated Courts Grow Pride in Rule of Law

Maria Mustea, a lawyer in the town of Rezina. May 21, 2009. Challenge Maria Mustea is a lawyer in the town of Rezina, Moldova where, with over 60 cases per year, she visits the court daily.  When Ms.  Mustea and her clients used to go to the district court, they were forced to wander through the court looking for the offices they needed.  Judges’ offices were scattered and administrative areas were cramped.  The corridors were dark and crowded with people participating in court hearings or seeking documents.  Obtaining a court document could take a while since all the secretarial work was done manually.  Because the prisoner holding areas were so far from courtrooms, criminal defendants had to be moved through public spaces.  Victims who were either defendants or witnesses often came in direct contact with the prisoners resulting in intimidation and disruption of justice.   Initiative However, in the last twelve months, the Rezina court has undergone significant physical and administrative changes under the Threshold Country Program, funded by the Millennium Challenge Corporation and administered by USAID.  Renovations have improved public access to court services and facilities, as well as increased transparency, efficiency, and security.  Services used most frequently by the public, including the schedule of court hearings and court archives, are now conveniently situated within a few steps of the entry.  For the safety of both the public and witnesses, criminal defendants now have a separate entrance and holding areas that do not intersect with the space used by the public.  Maria Mustea and her clients now experience justice in a dramatically different way. Results Court decisions and other court information are now readily available helping her prepare her appeals and court arguments.  New audio recording equipment installed in each courtroom ensures that hearings are accurately recorded.  With a modernized IT system, an automated case management software tracks all case actions from inception through final disposition and randomly assigns cases among judges, thus reducing the opportunity for corruption.

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