Moldovan judiciary implements new workload norms and judicial promotions

The Superior Council of Magistracy (CSM) has introduced a new system for regulating judicial workloads, effective September 15, 2026. Based on European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) data, the mechanism sets a maximum number of annual cases per court level. For instance, a local court judge is slated to handle 288 cases per year, a tribunal judge 192, and an appeals court judge 119. This measure aims to address the imbalance caused by a high volume of new cases per capita, but it has raised concerns regarding potential delays in case resolutions and restricted access to justice.

In a separate development regarding judicial appointments, five judges were promoted to the Supreme Court of Justice on July 3, 2026, following external evaluations and CSM approval. Notably, four of these judges were involved in high-profile cases, some of which had been pending for several years.