Emblems of justice in the contemporary Moldavian heraldry

The independence of the Republic of Moldova has determined a new prestige of the judicial power in our country. In the field of symbols, this change was manifested in the gradual abandonment of the totalitarian, in effect, Soviet corporate emblems and the spontaneous adoption of new corporate emblems, universal in essence, traditional and easily recognizable. In the first stage, several judicial institutions developed their own para-heraldic emblems based on the image of goddess Themis, which have different artistic solutions and quality. At the next stage, with the foundation of the National Committee of Heraldry under the President of the Republic of Moldova in 1995, state institutions, including those related to the justice system, gradually opted for developing new corporate heraldic and vexillological symbols in accordance with universal and national scientific standards, up to their official registration in the General Armorial of the Republic of Moldova. The new heraldic emblems feature balance scales, a symbol with a very rich tradition in the Romanian principalities. There are a number of other emblems of justice, e.g. a sword, a gladium, fasces lictoriae, a magistrate's hat. The process of developing of coats of arms and flags of the bodies of justice continues to this day. The author reviews new corporate emblems and flags of some institutions of the Republic of Moldova, such as the Constitutional Court, the Prosecutor's Office, the Ministry of Justice, the Forensic Science Center under the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the criminal investigation services of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.