Innovators & Influencers

Meet Innovators & Influencers—a network of local rule of law experts available to help navigate the terrain and design activities in their countries and regions

Otilia-Moldova

Otilia Bologan-Vieru

Former USAID/Moldova  •  Independent Rule of Law and Governance Consultant  •  LinkedIn Profile  

Country & Regional Expertise

  • Moldova 
  • Romania
  • Ukraine
  • Europe and Eurasia 
  • Global

Technical Skills & Leadership

  • Judicial Reform & Court Management 
  • Judicial and Prosecutorial Vetting and Integrity Checks  
  • Anti-Corruption & Good Governance
  • Public Integrity & Accountability 
  • Access to Justice & Legal Empowerment

Favorite Justice Quote

“If we do not maintain justice, justice will not maintain us” - Francis Bacon

Program Design & Management

In the former USAID-world, program design and program management were always interrelated and complimentary good practices. Through application of Continuous Learning and Adaptation techniques and “on the go” and “flying the plane as it is being built” approaches — like used in the design and implement recent vetting of judges and prosecutors — I have been able to quickly identify challenges as well as new ideas.  For this and other initiatives, I also heavily relied on co-creation with beneficiaries and state partners to facilitate locally-led solutions and support innovations that accelerate Moldova’s pace towards EU integration and respect for the rule of law.   

Innovations & Achievements

Connecting Courts with the Public at Scale: Designed, implemented, and supervised the second phase of the multi-year Model Court Initiative that included more than half of the country’s district courts.  Building upon years of USAID contributions to court digitization and other judicial performance reforms, these model courts improved public relations and management capabilities that in turn have increased user-satisfaction and citizen trust in the Moldovan judiciary.

Linking Judicial and Anti-Corruption Institutions for Systemic Reform: Integrated an anti-corruption component in activities to strengthen the judiciary’s independence, integrity, and openness and its leadership in initiating and protecting reform. This holistic approach to judicial reform linked key anti-corruption institutions, such as the Anti-Corruption Prosecution and the National Anti-Corruption Center, to the entire reform architecture and proved conducive to positive systemic transformation.

Vetting for Integrity - Unlocking Moldova’s Path to EU Accession:  Supported the design and implementation of the preliminary vetting of judges and prosecutors.  Developed the capacity, expertise, and processes of the two vetting self-administration bodies – the Councils with specialized boards – to undertake full-fledged vetting of all management positions in the judiciary and in the prosecution. The finalization of pre-vetting was a benchmark that played a key role in Moldova’s EU advancement. With this effort, Moldova continues to move beyond the label of “captured state with captured justice”.

Most Significant Justice Innovation Obstacle

Innovation in the justice sector is challenged by institutional resistance to change, corruption, scarce human resources in public institutions and civil society, and limited funding. 

Best Practice for Justice Innovation

Justice innovation results from focused efforts to build and maintain political will and stability, facilitating institutional buy-in, and ensuring sustainable funding.  Collaboration and partnership between justice institutions and leaders with civil society is also important. 

Most Promising Area(s) for Justice Innovation

E-Justice such as e-filing and case tracking, e-courts, E-apostille for example. Digitization of services that bring them closer to the citizen at minimum cost and in a user-friendly manner remains the most promising area of justice innovation. 

Rethinking Design, Delivery, and Financing of Rule of Law and Justice

Moldova is a candidate country for EU accession with justice reform a priority area of continuous support. Moving forward, assistance should be tailored to making the country, including justice institutions and actors, more resilient to malign influence given the current geopolitical context.