Alexandru TĂNASE
PERSONAL STATEMENT
Over 25 years of legal professional experience in justice and public administration, of which over 15 years in the field of constitutional justice, with high qualification in legal elaboration and analysis, in particular constitutional judicial reasoning and argumentation, with in-depth knowledge in the fields of law, the rule of law, protection of human rights, constitutional standards, the Venice Commission, the ECHR, the Council of Europe's legal instruments, free legal aid and also court communication with society and communication with high-level decision-makers, coordination of complex development processes, as well as in the mobilization and management of international projects and assistance of national and international development partners.
WORK EXPERIENCE
01/2023 – present Project Manager
Promotion of the Rule of Law in Central Asia (Tajikistan), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH
03/2020 – 12/2022 Key Expert
- The European Union Rule of Law Programme in the Kyrgyz Republic
12/2019 – present Special Adviser to the Constitutional Court of Ukraine
Providing expert assistance in constitutional proceedings upon constitutional complaints in the Constitutional Court of Ukraine
05/2017–11/2021 Member of the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission) of the Council of Europe
Preparation and adoption of Venice Commission opinions concerning:
- the constitutional, legislative and administrative principles and techniques which serve the efficiency of democratic institutions and their strengthening, as well as the principle of the rule of law;
- fundamental rights and freedoms, notably those that involve the participation of citizens in public life;
- the contribution of local and regional self-government to the enhancement of democracy.
09/2017–06/2018 Lecturer, University “Alexandru Ioan Cuza”, Iasi (Romania)
Course for Master students on European Constitutional Law
09/2013–12/2020 Lecturer, Moldova State University, Chișinău (Moldova)
(1) constitutional law and (2) political institutions
01/2018–03/2018 Minister of Justice
Coordination of all the departments of the Ministry (judicial reform, legislative drafting and legal expertise on draft normative acts, legal aid implementation, legal professions, penitentiary system, enforcement of judgments, international assistance and cooperation, representation of the Government before the ECHR); coordinating analysis, monitoring and policy development; elaboration of policies and strategies, as well as activity reports; elaboration of studies and analyzes on various issues of the Ministry's activity; coordinating communication with the media. Management of state guaranteed legal aid services, implementation of national policies in the field of state guaranteed legal aid, initial and continuous training of the personnel involved in the provision of state guaranteed legal aid services, evaluation of the quality of the legal aid services provided.
04/2011–05/2017 Judge and President, Constitutional Court
General responsibility for the judicial activities of the Constitutional Court (constitutional review, constitutional interpretation, exception of unconstitutionality, validation of elections and referenda, dissolution of Parliament, impeachment or temporary limitation of the powers of the President), administrative management of the Court, management of international relations, protocol, organization of national and international events, communication with the media regarding the acts adopted by the CCM.
09/2009–05/2011 Minister of Justice
Coordination of all the departments of the Ministry (judicial reform, legislative drafting and legal expertise on draft normative acts, legal aid implementation, legal professions, penitentiary system, enforcement of judgments, international assistance and cooperation, representation of the Government before the ECHR); coordinating analysis, monitoring and policy development; elaboration of policies and strategies, as well as activity reports; elaboration of studies and analyses on various issues of the Ministry's activity; coordinating communication with the media. Management of state guaranteed legal aid services, implementation of national policies in the field of state guaranteed legal aid, initial and continuous training of the personnel involved in the provision of state guaranteed legal aid services, evaluation of the quality of the legal aid services provided.
11/2010–02/2011 Member of the Parliament
04/2009–03/2010 Member of the Parliament
06/2007–04/2009 Local Councillor, Chairman of Legal Committee, on public order and activity of the local public administration, Municipal Council, Chișinău
Drafting legal opinions concerning decisions of the municipal council
2007–present Partner Lawyer, "Tănase & Partners" Law Firm, Chișinău (Moldova)
More than 25 cases won before the European Court of Human Rights.
1999–present Lawyer, Moldovan Bar Association, Chișinău (Moldova)
04/2005–06/2005 Legal Adviser, Centre of Juridical Studies and Policies, Chișinău (Moldova)
Conducting legal research in the field of human rights and constitutional law
2003–2005 Project Manager, SOROS Moldova Foundation, Chișinău (Moldova)
Justice Programme: development and implementation of activities in several areas: Human Rights, Access to Justice, and Criminal Justice.
2000–2003 National Project Adviser, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Project focused at providing "Support for Judicial Development in Moldova": support the comprehensive justice sector reform in the Republic of Moldova in order to increase the independence, accountability, impartiality, efficiency and transparency of the justice system.
09/1999–12/1999 Project manager, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Chișinău (Moldova)
Project focused on "Capacity building of Legislative and Judicial systems"
10/1998–08/1999 Project Manager, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Chișinău (Moldova)
Programme "Governance and Democracy", Project focused on "Capacity building of Legislative and Judicial systems in Moldova"
01/1998–09/1998 Senior Consultant, Ministry of Justice, Chișinău (Moldova)
Division of the Governmental Agent and International Relations: representation of the Government before the European Court of Human Rights
01/1995–12/1997 Legal councillor, Freelance
Legal assistance and consultation
EDUCATION AND TRAINING
1990–1994 Bachelor of Law
University “Alexandru Ioan Cuza”, Iași (Romania)
Constitutional Law
2005 Training
Council of Europe and European Commission
Training trainers on the implementation of the European Convention
2004 Training
American Bar Association
Criminal Defense Techniques
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Honours and awards
- Lithuanian Presidential Award ”Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas” (Commander's Cross), for outstanding performances towards the Republic of Lithuania, 2018;
- Moldovan Presidential Award ”Ordinul de Onoare” (Order of Honour), for outstanding contribution to the development of the rule of law and constitutional jurisdiction, 2016;
- Diploma of Honour of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Moldova, 2016;
- Doctor Honoris Causa of the University ”1 December 1918” of Alba Iulia, Romania, 2014.
Memberships
- Moldovan Bar Association;
- International Association of Constitutional Law (IACL).
Publications
Author of a number of political and scientific articles in different publications focused on constitutional jurisdiction, the protection of human rights, independence of justice, rule of law and democracy.
▪ Practical guide "Exception of unconstitutionality", co-author // The project "Strengthening the technical capacities of the national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights", implemented by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), 2018.
▪ Liberty and Security: New Challenges to the Effectiveness of the Rule of Law // Bulletin of the Constitutional Court of Lithuania Nr. 1(49)2018.
▪ Compendium of the case-law of the Constitutional Court of Moldova (1995-2017) // Wolters Kluwers Romania, 2017, 537 pages.
▪ Annual reports on constitutional jurisdiction, coordinator, 2011-2017.
▪ Bulletin of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Moldova, edition coordinator (2016-2017).
▪ The Constitutional principle of military neutrality of the State // Constitutional justice and the evolution of individual rights, book pf the XIXth International Congress on European and Comparative Constitutional Law, Rainer Arnold, Alexandru Tănase (Eds.), ed. ARC, 2018, p. 19-26.
▪ “The law and the state”, Key-note presentation // 4th Congress of the World Conference on Constitutional Justice “The Rule of Law and Constitutional Justice in the Modern World”, Vilnius, Republic of Lithuania, 11-14 September 2017.
▪ Rolul Curţii Constituţionale în soluţionarea conflictelor politice // Role of the Constitutional Court in solving political conflicts, Bulletin of the Constitutional Court of Moldova Nr. 1/2017 (2), p. 5-9.
▪ Schimbare profundă în sistemul juridic: CCM a deschis oricărui justițiabil posibilitatea de a ridica excepția de neconstituționalitate // Profound changes in the legal system: Constitutional Court of the Republic of Moldova made it possible for every litigant to raise the exception of unconstitutionality, Bulletin of the Constitutional Court of Moldova Nr. 1/2016, p. 7-24.
▪ “Role of the Constitutional Justice in Controlling the Balance between State Powers in the Republic of Moldova” // in the volume “Rule of Law, Human Rights and Judicial Control of Power”, from the series “Ius Gentium: Comparative Perspectives on Law and Justice”, Arnold/Martinez (eds.), Springer International Publishing AG, 2017.
▪ Freedom, equality, secularism - elements of the constitutional identity of the Republic of Moldova // alexandru.tanase.md, 2016.
▪ Profound changes in the legal system: The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Moldova made it possible for every litigant to raise the exception of unconstitutionality // Transformation of law systems in Central, Eastern and South-eastern Europe in 1989-2015. Liber amicorum in honorem prof. dr. dres. H. c. Rainer Arnold. Gdansk University Press, Gdansk, 2016, p. 411-422.
▪ Relations of the Constitutional Court with the Parliament and the Government. Role of the Constitutional Court in settling ”the conflicts” among the authorities // International Conference ”Relations of the Constitutional Court with Other Public Authorities”, Publication of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Moldova, Chișinău, 2016, p. 167-178.
▪ Constitutional Identity of the Republic of Moldova // Bulletin of the Constitutional Court of Lithuania Nr. 4(40) 2015.
▪ Constitutional and ordinary courts: Acceptance of the constitutional jurisprudence and question of borderline between illegality and constitutionality // Constitutional courts and ordinary courts: cooperation or conflict, book pf the XVIIIth International Congress on European and Comparative Constitutional Law, Vol.13, Rainer Arnold, Herbert Roth (Eds.), ed. Universitatsverlag Regensburg, 2015,p. 113-123.
▪ The role of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Moldova in strengthening the independence of judicial power // International almanac. Constitutional justice in the new millennium, ISSN 1829-0124, Armenia, 2015, p. 141-145.
▪ Role of Constitutional Justice in Protecting the Rule of Law// International Conference dedicated to the 20th Anniversary of the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova, publication of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Moldova, Chișinău, 2015, p. 9.
▪ History, ethnicity and double citizenship// International Conference “European Union’s History, Culture and Citizenship”, publication of the University of Pitești, 2015 (in Romanian).
▪ Value of the Constitution as fundamental source of law in a democratic state // Collection of articles, Astana, 2015, p. 112.
▪ ”Red Line” between the freedom of expression and right to private life // Limits of the freedom of expression. Politicians, journalists, magistrates. Ed. Hamangiu 2014, p. V-VIII (in Romanian).
▪ Human Dignity as a Constitutional Value // International almanac. Constitutional justice in the new millennium, ISSN 1829-0124, Armenia, 2014, p. 180-187.
▪ Prior review of constitutionality of laws // Bulletin of the Constitutional Court of Romania, 2013, no.2, p. 7-12 (in Romanian)
▪ Procedure before ECHR (2000) – author.
▪ Jurisprudence of the Court of Appeal – coordinator of edition;
▪ Offenses hindering the enforcement of justice – edition coordinator.
▪ Legal regime of intellectual creations – edition coordinator.
▪ Access to Justice (1999) – co-author.
Presentations
Numerous presentations at conferences and seminars on constitutional jurisdiction. Among the most relevant:
▪ Member of the High Level Experts Working Group Assessing the Scope and Effectiveness of Innovative Legal Approaches to Money Laundering Investigations and Asset Recovery (EU AML/CFT) 2021 – present.
▪ Constitutional Review Body”, Short Term Expert, EU-funded project “The Rule of Law Programme in the Kyrgyz Republic – 2nd phase” (ROLPRO 2), GIZ, 11-12 April 2019.
▪ “Collaboration between the Legislator and the Constitutional Review Body in the State Governed by the Rule of Law”, round table discussion with the Constitutional Chamber judges, Short Term Expert, EU-funded project “The Rule of Law Programme in the Kyrgyz Republic – 2nd phase” (ROLPRO 2), GIZ, 11-12 April 2019.
▪ UNDP expert, training seminars for lawyers and judges on the use of the exception of unconstitutionality, the Project "Strengthening the technical capacities of the national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights", implemented by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), seminars organized in Chisinau (3), Balti, Cahul (Moldova), February - May 2018.
▪ "Judicial Reasoning", organized by the Venice Commission and the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, Kiev (Ukraine), expert on behalf of Venice Commission, September 2018.
▪ Legal school on constitutional justice, trainer on "Overview and comparison of American and European constitutional justice systems", Venice Commission expert, Kiev, 12-15 October 2017.
▪ The "Constitutional Law and Fundamental Rights" school, trainer, organized by CCM and the European Union Project "Support for the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Moldova", Vadul lui Voda, June 20-22, 2017.
▪ The Moot-Court competition, member of the jury, organized by the CCM and the European Union Project "Support for the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Moldova", Chisinau, June 23-24, 2017.
▪ Expert of the Venice Commission for the Constitutional Chamber of the Kyrgyz Republic: Constitutional review (approaches, methods, methodology, procedural questions and practical implications); court communication with society, NGOs and mass-media; training of the staff of the Chamber regarding the internal functioning of the court; training session with the NGOs on communication of constitutional jurisdiction, March 2014.
EXPERIENCE IN SPECIFIC REGIONS
▪ Moldova - 1996-2021
▪ Kyrgyzstan - 2020-2022
▪ Kazakhstan - 2021-2022
▪ Ukraine - 2012-2022