The second level is Courts of Appeals, which examine in the first instance, with trial proceedings, cases specifically assigned to them by the Criminal Procedure Code,35 appeals from the courts of first instance, and cassations from the District Courts’ judgments that cannot be subject to appeal. The Courts of Appeals can examine both the merits and the legal aspects of a case. There are five Courts of Appeals in the country.36 The third level is the Supreme Court of Justice, located in Chişinău. The Supreme Court of Justice examines cassations on hearings from courts of first instance or Courts of Appeals, extraordinary appeals��������������������������������������������������������������������� . It����������������������������������������������������������������� can hear a case in the first instance when the defendant is the President of the country. The Supreme Court of Justice typically examines only the legal aspects of a case, and only in cases against the President of the country can it examine the merits of �������������������������������������������������������������������������������� a������������������������������������������������������������������������������� case. In addition to examining individual cases, the Supreme Court of Justice has the competence to issue explanatory decisions on matters of jurisprudence to promote uniform implementation of criminal and criminal procedure legislation. These decisions play an important role in shaping case law. Hearings monitored during the Programme in District Courts and Courts of Appeals involved examinations of both merits and law. Hearings monitored in the Supreme Court of Justice involved exclusively matters of law. The Superior Council of Magistrates (SCM) is responsible for the organization and functioning of the judicial system in Moldova and has been assigned the role of guarantor of the independence of judicial authority.37 The SCM is composed of 12 members. It proposes candidate judges for appointment, promotion, transfer or dismissal by the country’s President or Parliament and is tasked with ensuring judges’ ethics and discipline. The SCM has important tasks related to the administration of the judiciary, including the adoption of regulations governing the method of assigning cases in courts, oversight of the organization and functioning of the courts���������������������������������������������������� . It propos����������������������������������������� ����������������������������������������������� es��������������������������������������� �������������������������������������� ������������������������������������� the annual budget for the judiciary. Given its competences, the SCM is positioned to play an important role in ensuring both the efficient functioning of the courts and respect for due process and other rights in court proceedings. The prosecutor’s office is an autonomous institution within the judicial authority. Within the limits of its attributes and competences, the prosecutor’s office defends the general interests of society, legal order, and the rights and liberties of citizens; oversees and conducts criminal investigations; and presents state accusation������������ s����������� in courts.38 The prosecutor’s office is a unitary, centralized and hierarchical institution with territorial and specialized offices overseen by the Prosecutor General. Relevant for the Trial Monitoring Programme were the territorial prosecutor’s offices, which present state accusation����������������������������������������� s���������������������������������������� in courts of ����������������������������� first �������������������������� instance unless the case is handled by a specialized office. Such specialized offices include the specialized anticorruption prosecution offices and the prosecution office of the Courts of Appeals. The 35 ���������������������������������������� Art. 38 of the Criminal Procedure Code. 36 ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� The Courts of Appeals of Bălţi, Bender (Căuşeni), Cahul, Chişinău and Comrat (since the present Report refers only to criminal cases, the Economic Court of Appeals is excluded). 37 ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� Law on Superior Council of Magistrates, No. 947 of 19 July 1996, which entered into force on 3 October 1996, with subsequent amendments. 38 ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� Art. 1 of the Law on the Prosecutor’s Office, No. 294 of 25 December 2008, which entered into force on 17 March 2009. 26