Radio România Internațional

Tag: judiciary

March 24, 2021

Restrictions. Romanian president Klaus Iohannis
said the authorities do not want to impose a national lockdown and called for
compliance with the restrictions in place and for the acceleration of the mass
vaccination. He said a lockdown in Bucharest is also not a solution, despite
growing infection rates, but called for additional measures, such as
restricting movement at the weekend and reducing opening hours in shopping
centres. The Bucharest public health directorate is considering imposing
further restrictions in the capital city, such as closing schools and
kindergartens, restricting the number of shoppers at one time, changing working
hours, banning private events or activities for children an enclosed spaces and
closing playground areas in parks. The authorities say they are not planning
imposing a lockdown in Bucharest for the time being despite the high infection
rate of over 6 cases per 1,000 inhabitants. Ilfov county, near Bucharest, hit
the mark of 7 cases in every 1,000 people tested, followed by Bucharest and
Timis, in the west, with 6, while eight other counties across Romania have
passed 3 cases per 1,000 people tested. On Wednesday, Romania saw more than
6,100 new Covid infections and 137 related fatalities, as well as a new record
number of ICU admissions.

Schools. The spring break for pupils will be
extended from 2nd April to 4th May to include both the
Catholic and Orthodox Easter and reduce movement in April, when Covid
infections are expected to see a new peak. Education minister Sorin Cîmpeanu
also explained that the high school entrance examination will be delayed for 5th-8th
July, while the written baccalaureate examinations will be held on the
same dates, between 28th June and 1st July. He said
schools will also remain open in places with more than 6 cases in every 1,000
people tested and that they would only be closed if the places in question go
into lockdown.

Vaccination. More than 1.8 million people have received at least one
dose of the Covid vaccine in Romania. The coordinator of the mass vaccination
campaign Valeriu Gheorghiţă said that from 1st April the vaccine
booking platform will also show the type of vaccine provided by each centre and
that GPs will also be able to give their patients the jab. Also from next
month, the number of persons receiving the vaccine in each inoculation hub is
expected to increase from 60 to 90 per day. Gheorghiţă said the booking
platform will also provide an estimated waiting time until vaccination for
those on the waiting lists. Over 775,000 people are now on these lists.
Timisoara, in the west, has opened the country’s first vaccination centre to
work round the clock.

Bill. Romanian deputies passed a bill on the
dismantling of a special department for the investigation of crimes in the
judiciary in the version received from the legal committee and which contains a
number of amendments, including one from the group of ethnic minorities stipulating
that magistrates can only be prosecuted with approval from the Superior Council
of Magistrates. The ruling coalition agreed to this new version to get the bill
voted. The Liberal leader Ludovic Organ said dismantling this department was
recommended by the European Commission and must be adopted amid discussions on
the lifting of the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism. The leader of the opposition
Social Democratic Party Marcel Ciolacu said his party would challenge the bill
in the Constitutional Court if voted by Parliament. The Senate is the
decision-making body for this particular bill.

Football. Romania are playing the Netherlands today in
their opening match at the European Under-21 Championship hosted by Hungary and
Slovenia. They are in a difficult group that also includes European
vice-champions Germany and Hungary. Romania, who featured for the second
consecutive time and an overall third at a European youth championship, will be
hosting the competition in 2023 together with Georgia. Tomorrow, Romania’s
senior side will be facing North Macedonia in their first match as part of the
2022 World Cup qualifiers. They will next play Germany on Sunday at home and
Armenia next Wednesday away. Iceland and Liechtenstein
are also in their group. The best-ranked side in each group qualify straight to
the World Cup, while the second best-placed sides will go into play-offs.

Olympic Games. Fencer Ana-Maria Popescu is the 60th Romanian
athlete to qualify for the Tokyo Olympic Games after finishing first in the
epee world ranking, said the Romanian Fencing Federation and the Romanian
Olympic and Sports Committee. These will be her fifth Games, having won a
silver medal in Beijing in 2008 and a gold in Rio in 2016. She also took part
in Athens in 2004 and London in 2012. Romanian athletes will be competing in 13
disciplines in Tokyo: swimming, athletics, rowing, football, gymnastics, 3×3
basketball, cycling, wrestling, shooting, canoeing, table tennis, boxing and
fencing. Due to take place last year, the Olympic Games were postponed because
of the coronavirus pandemic and will be held this summer between 23rd
July and 8th August. (CM)

24 March 2021
March 18, 2021 UPDATE

COVID-19 IN ROMANIA – Almost
6,200 new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Romania on Thursday. The total
number of infected people nationwide has exceeded 880,000. Most cases were
registered in Bucharest, with more than one thousand new infections in 24
hours. The capital and eight other counties are currently in the red scenario,
with over 3 cases per one thousand inhabitants. There are 1,286 people in
Intensive Care, a new record for the last months. Another 90 people infected with
SARS-CoV-2 have died, bringing the death toll to 22,000. The alert state
imposed in the pandemic context has been extended in Romania, since March 14,
by another 30 days. All restrictions imposed so far are still in place, and in
addition, night curfew now starts at 10 pm.

VACCINE – In Romania, the national
immunization campaign against COVID 19 continues. Since its start on December
27, over 1.6 million people have been vaccinated, mostly with Pfizer-BioNTech,
but also with Moderna and AstraZeneca. Romania has decided to continue
vaccination with AstraZeneca, based on scientific data and the recommendations
of the European Medicines Agency, the coordinator of the national immunization
campaign, Colonel Valeriu Gheorghiţă, explained. He said the decision was not
easy when many European countries – including Germany, Italy and France -
decided to temporarily suspend the use of the vaccine as a precautionary
measure following reports of blood clotting problems in people who had been
given a dose of this vaccine. The third stage of vaccination has started this
week, addressing the general population. For the time being, vaccinations are
taking place in localities where the incidence of COVID-19 cases is higher than
4.5 per one thousand inhabitants. The rest of the population can subscribe to
waiting lists on the electronic platform.

EMA – The European Medicines Agency (EMA) on
Thursday announced the AstraZeneca vaccine is safe and effective against
COVID-19. The announcement came from EMA director, Emer Cooke, who pointed out
the benefits of this vaccine outweigh the risks, and that there is no
connection between the administration of this vaccine and the development of
blood clots in patients who were given the jab.
The announcement comes after several European Union member states suspended
the administration of this vaccine for fear of side effects. On January 29, the
EMA gave the green light to this vaccine developed by the British-Swedish
laboratory AstraZeneca and Oxford University. Last month, the World Health
Organization authorized the AstraZeneca vaccine for emergency use, making it
easier for developing countries to access this relatively cheap serum.

JUDICIARY – The judicial
committee of the Chamber of Deputies on Thursday adopted, by majority of votes,
the Government’s bill on abolishing the Special Section Investigating Crime in
Justice. The document also includes an amendment tabled by the group of
national minorities, which calls for an opinion from the Superior Council of
Magistrates for indicting magistrates. The opposition and part of magistrates’
associations have criticized the bill. Social-Democrat leader Marcel Ciolacu
said his party would challenge the bill at the Constitutional Court if adopted
by Parliament. Coalition parties on the other hand expressed their support for
the bill, which is due to be debated in the Chamber of Deputies. The Senate is
the decision-making body in this matter. Prime Minister Florin Cîţu in February
said shutting down the Special Section is one of the projects of his coalition
government, as well as a recommendation of the European Commission under the
Cooperation and Verification Mechanism.

ALPINE CLIMBING – Romanian
alpine climber Horia Colibăşanu has left for Nepal where he begins his 17th
expedition in the Himalayas. His objective is open up a new route to Dhaulagri
summit (8.167m). The 2021 expedition will take place over March – June. His
team also includes another two seasoned climbers: Marius Gane – a
top-performing athlete and high-altitude climber and Peter Hamor, a Slovakian
climber who’s summited all 14 8,000-meter peaks in the Himalayas. The three
will try to summit without oxygen and Sherpa support. This will be Colibăşanu’s
22nd international expedition. He is the only Romanian climber to be
awarded the Spirit of Mountaineering distinction by the British Alpine Club,
the first and most prestigious mountaineering club in the world.

TENNIS – Romanian tennis player
Jaqueline Cristian (160 WTA) obtained the best performance of her career after qualifying
to the quarterfinals of the WTA 500 tournament in St. Petersburg, totaling 565
thousand dollars in prizes. Cristian ousted Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, a
former winner at Roland Garros and seeded 6th in the competition. In
the next round, Jaqueline Cristian will take on Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia
(39 WTA). In the doubles, the pair made up of Monica Niculescu of Romania and Lesley Pattinama
Kerkhove of the Netherlands advanced to the semi-finals, where they will play
Raluca Olaru of Romania and Nadia Kicenok of Ukraine. The top favorites, Olaru
and Kicenok, ousted Arina Rodionova of Australia and Rosalie
Van Der Hoeck of the Netherlands in the quarterfinals. (M.I. & V.P.)

18 March 2021
Talks on the reform of the judiciary

‘The independence of the justice system is and must remain a principle from which nobody can depart,’ president Klaus Iohannis said on Wednesday, at the release of the annual report for 2020 of the High Court of Cassation and Justice. A year ago, the head of state had praised society for standing by magistrates and giving the appropriate response to attempts at making the Romanian justice system subordinated to political interests. But now, the president reiterated that the judiciary needs several reforms, in line with EU guidelines.

Klaus Iohannis: “In 2020, with their votes, citizens clearly expressed their support for reforms and the strengthening of the rule of law. In this context, revising the Justice Laws cannot be postponed any further. I trust that in the forthcoming period, the framework that regulates the work of Romanias justice system will once again be predictable and in line with the standards of an EU member country.

Klaus Iohannis pointed out that 2020 was a difficult year for all public institutions, which needed new and innovative ideas, solutions and practices. The crisis entailed by the COVID-19 pandemic required immediate response, including from the judiciary, which is why digitisation processes were stepped up, he explained. He also emphasised:

Klaus Iohannis: “Large-scale discussions are needed in Parliament, with the participation of not only stakeholders in the judicial system, but also academia and human rights activists. I hope this dialogue will help address the controversial legislative acts passed in recent years and adopt solutions in keeping with the new judicial and social circumstances.

In turn, the president of Romanias supreme court, judge Corina Corbu, said that in spite of the pandemic and of challenges like excessive workloads, retirement issues and a lack of office space, her colleagues finalised more cases than in 2019.

Corina Corbu: “Being a supreme court judge is not easy. The emotional toll, the need to maintain the highest level of professionalism at all times, the possibility of criticism—sometimes harsh criticism—coming from the public, all come with the job. The issue of supreme court judge retirement remains for me a reason for sadness. The High Court is now losing judges, through retirement, at an age when everywhere else in the world one is believed to only acquire the wisdom and judicial refinement required in trying last-instance cases, in a supreme court.

The High Court president also added that this year she would like a supreme court that is more forward-looking, more efficient and more focused on citizens needs, but she also said she wished public institutions were more open to the issues facing the judiciary. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

4 March 2021
The rule of law and the laws on the judiciary

Several amendments to the laws on the judiciary, dating back to 2018 and 2019, continue to raise concern with respect to their impact on judicial independence, says the chapter on Romania in the first report on the rule of law in the EU made public by the European Commission.

The document assesses 4 key areas: national justice systems, anticorruption legislation, mass media pluralism and freedom, as well as other institutional aspects related to checks and balances systems.

Last April, a number of amendments to the Criminal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure and the special law on corruption were passed by Parliament in an emergency procedure, but sparked wide-spread criticism and they were eventually ruled as unconstitutional in July. The task to bring the Criminal Code and Criminal Procedure Code in line with all decisions of the Constitutional Court remains pending. The legal uncertainty and the risks to the sustainability of the fight against corruption therefore remain, reads the report.

The document also says Romania has a comprehensive national anti-corruption strategic framework based on the large participation of national and local institutional actors, providing for the voluntary involvement of a very large part of the public administration, including local government, and State-owned enterprises, as well as law enforcement, the prosecution service, the courts, and civil society.

Although the Constitution provides that the adoption of government emergency orders is only possible in exceptional and motivated cases of urgency, successive governments have used GEOs to legislate in many areas, raising concerns regarding the quality of legislation, legal certainty and respect for the separation of powers, the report also says, mentioning that Romanian civil society is active in defending the rule of law.

Also, the level of implementation of the national anti-corruption strategy has increased and preventive actions are being followed up both at national and at local level. At present, the document says, the Ministry of Justice is evaluating the strategy in view of designing the next one.

On the very day the EC report was released in Brussels, in Bucharest the Justice Ministry initiated a public debate on proposed changes to the laws on the judiciary. The announcement was made by minister Cătălin Predoiu, who said these amendments ensure the implementation of European recommendations:

Cătălin Predoiu: “[The amendments concern] strengthening the role of the Higher Council of Magistrates in the organisation of exams and competitions through the National Magistracy Institute, ensuring that magistrate selection is based on professional criteria and eliminating any possibility of entry into profession without an exam, scrapping early retirement schemes, strengthening the independence of prosecutors, reintroducing compulsory competitions for access to High Court judge posts, and the dismantling of the special section investigating offences in the judiciary.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

1 October 2020
July 22, 2020 UPDATE

Coronavirus Romania. Romania reports a record 1,030 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours and 27 new deaths. The number of confirmed cases thus hits 40,100, while the death toll rises to 2,101. Almost 25,000 people have recovered. A law regulating the conditions for quarantine and isolation came into force on Tuesday, which, according to the health minister Nelu Tataru, lays down the instruments required in order to reduce the number of new cases. The minister warned however that the next two weeks will be difficult, with lots of active cases. As of Wednesday, the village of Cartojani in Giurgiu County in the south is under lockdown, after reporting 32 infections through community spread for a total population of 3,600. Local authorities say epidemiological risks are extremely severe, given that current protection measures are not observed. Another village in Prahova County, also in the south, is under a 2-week lockdown as well, while similar measures are being considered in several localities in Arges County.

Coronavirus world. Global coronavirus infections near 15.1 million, while the death toll nears 620,000. In his coronavirus press briefing, which he resumed after many weeks of interruption, US president Donald Trump told Americans that the pandemic may get worse before it gets better and urged them to wear face coverings where they cannot maintain physical distance, something he had previously opposed. The US saw more than 600,000 new cases for the 8th day in a row. On Tuesday, the World Health Organisation said it would bring together scientists and experts from various fields as part of a project to combat disinformation, a relatively new threat to public health. In another move, a number of British researchers told the British Parliament that people would have to live with the pandemic for many years, believing it is unlikely for a possible vaccine to eliminate this coronavirus definitively.

Industry President Klaus Iohannis and a governmental team headed by PM Ludovic Orban Wednesday discussed
means to correlate the 2 national plans through which Romania will have access to
nearly 80 billion euro under the European Union’s post-coronavirus economic
recovery plan. Some of the money may be accessed this year, if the related national plan
is prepared quickly, as the Cabinet intends, the President explained. Also on Wednesday, but in Craiova, in the south, Iohannis said that the automotive industry is vital for Romania and it
still has a lot of growth potential. He visited the Ford production unit in
Craiova, southern Romania, which has resumed its 3-shift working hours, and has
a production volume comparable to the one before the pandemic. The management
announced having initiated additional investments of 30 million USD for parts
and components. The American carmaker has already invested over 1.5 billion
euro in the plant in Craiova, which employs nearly 6,000 people. Another major
carmaker operating in Romania is the French company Renault, producing the
Dacia brand in Pitesti, in the south of the country, and employing over 17,700 workers.

Deficit. Government deficit grew both in the eurozone and in the European Union in the first quarter of the year compared with the previous quarter, because of the lockdown to contain the spread of the pandemic, according to the latest figures published by Eurostat, the EU’s statistical office. In the eurozone, the government deficit grew from 0.7% of GDP in the last quarter of last year to 2.2% in the first quarter of this year. Malta, with 8.5%, Romania, with 7.2%, and Belgium, with 6%, have the highest deficit levels in the European Union.

Judiciary. The Romanian senators rejected a bill to dismantle the special department to investigate offences in the judiciary. The Save Romania Union, the party that initiated the bill, said the department is criticised by magistrates, European institutions and various organisations in the field, while the Social Democratic Party said it guarantees the independence of the judiciary. The Chamber of Deputies has already rejected the bill, but the Senate was the decision-making body in this case.

(translated by: CM, Ana-Maria Popescu)

22 July 2020
July 10, 2020 UPDATE

BILL A bill on quarantine and self-isolation initiated by the government in Bucharest is currently being debated upon in the Senate. The document, which includes a large number of amendments, was endorsed by the Chamber of Deputies on Thursday. It regulates a number of necessary temporary measures in the field of public safety in situations of high epidemiological and biological hazard with a view to preventing and limiting contagion on the national territory. The government has resorted to the move after the Constitutional Court decided that self-isolation, quarantine and hospitalization cannot be imposed through a ministry order even in the case of infected persons. Judges believe that the aforementioned procedures are infringing upon individual rights and liberties and that restrictive measures must be imposed only under a law clearly regulating these restrictions. On Friday Romania reported 592 new infections, which brings the total number up to 31,400. About 22,800 people have recovered whereas 1,847 died. The number of Romanians infected abroad exceeds 5,100, with a death toll of 122.

RESTRICTIONS With the number of COVID-19 cases in Romania on the rise, some countries, like Malta, Finland and Norway have banned the access of travellers from Romania, while others introduced quarantine or isolation requirements. The Netherlands firmly recommends Romanian nationals should self-isolate for 14 days upon entry. As of Thursday, Austria also requires that Romanians present a certificate in English or German, confirming a negative SARS-COV-2 test no older than 4 days, otherwise travellers must self-isolate for 14 days. The UK has put together a list of safe countries, which does not include Romania, which means that travelers from Romania must self-isolate for 2 weeks. Hungary also announced it would revise the rules of access from neighbouring countries that report growing numbers of infection. In turn, Greece wants Romanian tourists coming into the country through the Kulata-Promachonas check point, the only one opened at present, to have negative COVID-19 tests issued in the last 72 hours. Tourists must also fill in an online form at least 24 hours prior to entering Greece.

JUDICIARY Romania is one of the lowest-ranking countries in an EU list based on the perceived independence of judges and courts, according to a poll made public on Friday, together with the 2020 EU Justice Scoreboard. An even more worrying situation is reported for Bulgaria, Poland, Italy, Slovakia and Croatia. As many as 45% of the Romanians have a bad opinion on the independence of judges and courts. For UE-28, which includes the UK, the figure is 33%. At the opposite end, only 37% of Romanians have a good opinion on the independence of judges and courts, which is lower than last year, whereas at EU level the rate is 56%. Denmark ranks first on this list, with 86% of its population sharing a positive view on the topic.

EUROSTAT Nine out of the 27 EU member countries, Romania included, reported population decline last year, while in 18 countries the population increased, according to a report released on Friday by the European Statistics Institute (Eurostat). The highest increase was reported in Malta, Luxembourg, Cyprus, Ireland and Sweden, with the most significat drop rates reported in Bulgaria, Latvia, Romania, Croatia and Italy. In Romania, the National Statistics Institute announced on Friday that the negative rate was 1.5 times higher in May 2020 than in May 2019.

INFLATION In Romania, the year-on-year inflation rate reached 2.6% this June, from 2.3% in May, as the prices of foodstuffs, services and non-foods went up, the National Statistics Institute announced on Friday. The National Bank of Romania lowered its inflation forecast for this year from 3% to 2.8%. Early this week, the Finance Minister Florin Cîţu announced that an inflation rate lower than in previous years means smaller interest rates in the economy, and smaller interest costs mean access to cheaper loans to all Romanians. According to the National Statistics Institute, last year the annual inflation rate was 3.8%, and in 2018 it was 4.6%.

PANDEMIC The total number of coronavirus cases worldwide is over 12.4 million, with the death toll standing at 558,000. In the USA, the worst hit country in the world, the number of cases passes 3.2 million, and 136,000 people died. News agencies say the record-high COVID-19 figures in most American states reduce the hope for economic recovery. The second worst affected country remains Brazil, with over 1.7 million cases and nearly 70,000 deaths. In Europe, Italy has closed its borders to 13 non-EU countries, including the Republic of Moldova, Bosnia-Herzegovina and North Macedonia. The restrictions include the travellers who only transit those countries. Only Italian nationals are allowed to re-enter the country coming from those regions, subject to compulsory 2-week self-isolation.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu, Daniel Bilt)

10 July 2020
February 11, 2020

ELECTIONS In Bucharest, the PM designate Ludovic Orban has talks today with parliamentary party officials, in an attempt to garner support for the organisation of early elections. Snap elections may only be called if 2 Cabinet nominations are rejected by Parliament within 2 months. Orban, whose Liberal Cabinet was recently dismissed under a no-confidence motion, Monday sent to Parliament a list of ministers, with no changes whatsoever from the previous team, and a slightly updated government programme. The main party in Parliament, the Social Democrats, announced they will not take part in the talks with the Liberals. The Social Democratic Party filed a challenge with the Constitutional Court, arguing that the President designating a prime minister who has already been dismissed comes against the will of Parliament. On the other hand, the Social Democrats announced they would not hinder the procedures and announced a meeting of Parliament leaders to set a calendar for the hearings of the ministers designate. The idea of early elections is mainly supported by the National Liberal Party and Save Romania Union. Without a parliamentary majority, the Orban Cabinet has resorted more than once to pushing legislation through by requesting Parliaments confidence. Regular general elections are scheduled for this autumn.

JUDICIARY The incumbent Justice Minister Cătălin Predoiu today in Bucharest presented European Commission experts with a bill on dismantling the special division investigating magistrate offences as well as the progress of debates on this topic. In its latest Cooperation and Verification Mechanism report the Commission criticised the establishment and the activity of this division, which it said was an instrument of political pressure. The latest report under the Mechanism was released in October 2019, and suggested the extension of verification on the Romanian judiciary, on grounds that in 2019 Romania backslid in terms of the fight against corruption and the independence of the justice system. A team of EC experts are in Bucharest until tomorrow, on an assessment mission. They are also scheduled to have talks today with leaders of the Higher Council of Magistrates and members of the judicial committees in Parliament.

INFLATION The central bank has lowered Romanias 2020 inflation forecast from 3.1% to 3%, Governor Mugur Isărescu announced on Tuesday. For next year the National Bank expects a 3.2% inflation rate. A number of elements have been taken into account, which might lead to a decrease of the inflation rate from the forecast value. These elements include developments in the Eurozone economy, including geopolitical tensions and weaknesses in emerging markets, a possible escalation of trade conflicts, the completion of Brexit, as well as the accommodating monetary policies of the European Central Bank and the Fed. On the other hand, liberalisation of the electricity and natural gas markets may push inflation higher than expected, as do the problems in the labour market, such as the shortage of labour and the mismatch between demand and supply in this respect.

112 February 11 is the European 112 Day, to celebrate the introduction of the Europe-wide emergency number 112. In Romania, the national emergency call system, run by the Special Telecommunications Service, was introduced in 2004. Last year STS operators managed over 11 million calls to this number.

CORONAVIRUS China announced that the novel coronavirus has already killed more than 1,000 people, and the number of cases exceeds 42,000. In the last 24 hours alone, over 100 deaths have been reported, which is the largest number of victims in just one day since the epidemic broke out. Most deaths were reported in the Hubei province. A team of doctors with the World Health Organisation has arrived in China to help in the research. Meanwhile, the WHO organises a 2-day meeting in Geneva, with renowned physicians, public healthcare experts and scientists, in an attempt to encourage a better response of the international community to the new coronavirus outbreak. On opening the meeting, the WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the coronavirus epidemic was a major threat, and called on scientists to work together to develop vaccines or medication to fight the virus. In Romania, several people, including Chinese nationals, are under house monitoring, and the authorities continue to take measures to prepare for possible infection cases. A special unit was set up in Bucharest for the Romanians who return from China and have to be quarantined for 14 days.

AFGHANISTAN Reconstruction and stabilisation missions in Afghanistan had resulted by the end of 2018 in over 2,200 dead and 2,900 wounded, according to an official American report released on Tuesday with regard to the “human costs of these civilian and humanitarian missions. This is the first report focusing on reconstruction and stabilisation operations alone, including construction of infrastructure, hospitals and schools, military and civilian training, rather than on combat operations against the Taliban or other jihadist groups in the country. The report does not cover attacks on American military bases or on civilian targets either. Romania, which has been taking part in missions in Afghanistan ever since 2002, has lost 30 troops so far. In 2020, Romania has over 700 military deployed to Afghanistan under the Resolute Support mission.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

11 February 2020
Nominations for chief prosecutors

Romanias main prosecutors offices, the General Prosecutors Office, the National Anti-Corruption Directorate and the Directorate Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism, have too long been headed by interim chiefs. This happens at a time when the administrative and legislative problems in the judiciary have piled up and threaten to disrupt the activity of the judicial system. But these provisional terms are about to come to an end. The new Justice Minister Catalin Predoiu announced on Tuesday the proposals for the new prosecutors office chiefs.

Gabriela Scutea is nominated for chief prosecutor of the Prosecutors Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice. According to Minister Predoiu, she had the most substantial professional record and the best performance of all candidates. She has proved to be knowledgeable, farsighted, strong and a good professional, and her plan for the organisation of the office was the best of those presented so far, covering both the administrative side and internal organisation of the Public Ministry, and the representation side, Predoiu emphasised. The length of investigations into economic and financial cases and the deadlock in the Directorate for Criminal Investigations within the Romanian Police are the main weaknesses identified by Gabriela Scutea.

Nominated for chief of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate is Crin Bologa, a prosecutor that the Justice Minister has described as a guarantor that the fight against corruption will be carried on vigorously, while also in full compliance with civil and judicial rights and guarantees. Crin Bologa must honour the legacy of the most successful of the former chiefs of prosecutors offices, Laura Codruta Kovesi, whose outstanding performance has secured her the European Public Prosecutor post, in spite of the sabotage of the Social Democratic Party in power at that time.

Last but not least, Catalin Predoiu announced that Giorgiana Hosu is the nomination for chief of the Directorate Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism, DIICOT. Predoiu highlighted that the work of DIICOT mainly consists in cross-border investigations and inter-institutional and international cooperation, and Giorgiana Hosu is in the best position to handle this aspect. She came up with a comprehensive organisation plan and a balanced performance, supported by all-encompassing knowledge of the problems and activities of DIICOT, Predoiu argued.

The Ministers nominations require the advisory opinion of the Higher Council of Magistrates, and President Klaus Iohannis will sign the appointments. Like many other competent and honest prosecutors, the ones nominated for these top positions see the division investigating crimes in the judiciary, established by the Social Democratic Party while in power, as an offence to all magistrates, or, even worse, as an instrument to intimidate them. This is precisely why the Liberal Government is considering the option of dismantling this division.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

22 January 2020
European Commission criticises Romania

Just weeks ahead of the end of its term in office, the outgoing European Commission is once again voicing severe criticism against the political class in Bucharest. In its latest Cooperation and Verification Mechanism report, made public on Tuesday, the Commission finds Romania has taken steps back in terms of judicial reforms and the rule of law, as well as in its efforts to fight corruption.

According to the institution, Romania has failed to implement recommendations to reconsider the justice laws and to cancel the amendments to the Criminal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure, all of them likely to hinder the fight against corruption and to bring magistrates under the control of political circles. Key Romanian institutions must work together to prove their commitment to the independence of the judiciary and the fight against corruption, the report also reads.

In Bucharest, Justice Minister Ana Birchal says Romania is ready to take on an active role in consolidating the European project, in which justice plays a key part. The National Anti-Corruption Directorate remains committed to combating high-level corruption with impartiality and professionalism, but also points out that the CVM report takes note of the successive changes in the relevant legislation and of the attacks against the activity and decisions of this institution.

Describing the current state of affairs as a source of concern, the European Commission recommends that the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism, introduced ever since Romanias EU accession in 2007, should remain in place. In contrast, the same report finds that Bulgaria, admitted into the Union concurrently with Romania, has met the commitments it made upon accession, and that the CVM oversight on the Bulgarian judiciary could be lifted.

Anti-corruption expert Laura Stefan told Radio Romania that the problems pointed out in the CVM report are the consequence of Romanias backtracking from the progress made up until 2017:

Laura Stefan: “This report is particularly alarming if we draw a parallel with Bulgaria, which paradoxically enough was commended for its progress, although to be fair Romania has achieved things that Bulgaria has never even set out to do. In Romania there has been a true campaign against high-level corruption, resulting in prison sentences and seized assets. Romania has never been affected by large-scale violent crime, as it was the case with our neighbours. So all in all, it is a rather bitter pill to swallow.

In turn, the mass media blame the Commissions criticism on the policies implemented by the successive leftist governments of the past 3 years. Headed by Sorin Grindeanu, Mihai Tudose and Viorica Dancila, all these cabinets were in fact brought to power and controlled by the former Social Democratic leader Liviu Dragnea, who was eventually imprisoned for corruption offences.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

23 October 2019
Recommendations on combating corruption

The foreign diagnosis confirms what
the Romanian president, the opposition, civil society and the media have been
saying for two and a half years. On Tuesday, the Council of the European Union
voiced concern over the modification of the justice laws in Romania, which could
undermine the efficacy of the activity of judges and prosecutors and reduce
trust in the judiciary.

Also on Tuesday, the Council of
Europe’s anti-corruption body GRECO said that under the government led by the
Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, Romania has
made very little progress in putting in place measures to prevent corruption
among parliamentarians, judges and prosecutors and to address the concerns
raised by its controversial reform of the judicial system. The GRECO reports
voice deep concern in particular about the fact that the authorities completely
disregarded the recommendation to abandon the creation of a department to
investigate offences in the judiciary and which is viewed as a means to intimidate
and inhibit magistrates. GRECO welcomed the announcement made by the country’s
Social Democrat prime minister Viorica Dancila to abandon the controversial
reforms in the judiciary, which have been repeatedly criticised as seeking to
subordinate magistrates and halt the fight against corruption.

GRECO has requested the Romanian
authorities to report back on progress achieved by 30th June 2020.
This is the final deadline in the evaluation process, after which the Council
of Europe may declare that the situation in Romania is not compliant with its
standards.

The political class in Bucharest was
quick to comment on the GRECO reports. Ludovic Orban and Dan Barna, the leaders
of the Liberal Party and the Save Romania Union, respectively, both in
opposition, say the reports confirm the fact that the decisions taken by the
Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats were aimed
at blocking the fight against corruption and undermine the independence of the
judiciary and the rule of law. They call for the dismantling of the special
department to investigate magistrates.

The leader of the Alliance of
Liberals and Democrats Calin Popescu Tariceanu has accused the GRECO experts of
bias, saying they disregarded the existence of secret protocols between
magistrates and the intelligence services. The justice minister Ana Birchall
believes that, based on the GRECO reports, each institution mentioned should
conduct its own assessment and take the necessary measures.

The president of the High Court of
Cassation and Justice Cristina Tarcea says GRECO experts have confirmed the
worries voiced by the Supreme Court with respect to the lack of transparency
and dialogue, the risk of magistrates leaving, arbitrary promotions and the weakening
of the independence of judges and prosecutors. She expressed hope that those
who proposed and supported unconditionally the legislative amendments that
violate the independence of the judiciary would accept responsibility for the
consequences of their actions by doing the decent thing, resigning or
withdrawing from public life.

10 July 2019
7 July, 2019

Justice Day. Romania’s president
Klaus Iohannis said in a message on Justice Day on Sunday that recent years
have been marked by repeated attempts to subordinate the judiciary to politics through
sudden changes to the laws on the organisation of the judiciary, the status of
magistrates and the criminal legislation, but that this attack has been met
with a prompt reaction from citizens and magistrates. Justice minister Ana
Birchall has also conveyed a message saying citizens’ respect and trust must be
earned back. She also said that the future of the Romanian judiciary can only
be in Europe and the Transatlantic family, and this means assimilating the
values, principles and standards these partnerships imply. Established 25 years
ago, Justice Day is celebrated every year on the first Sunday in July.

Diaspora. By the end of August,
3,000 pupils, students and teachers from the ethnic Romanian communities in the
neighbouring countries and around the world have a change to enhance their
knowledge of Romanian culture and civilisation in a series of special camps.
The programme is organised by the ministry for Romanians abroad and the
ministry for youth and sports and takes place at four locations: Sulina, in
Tulcea county, in the Danube Delta, in the south-east; Oglinzi, in Neamt
county, in the north-east; in Sacelu, in Gorj county; and Caprioara, in
Hunedoara county, both in the south-west. The participants come from the
historical ethnic Romanian communities in the Republic of Moldova (with a
majority Romanian-speaking population), including Transnistria, Serbia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Albania, North Macedonia
and Hungary, as well as from the diaspora, from Italy, Spain, Greece, Portugal,
the UK, France, Germany, Canada, the US, Australia and the United Arab Emirates.
The Romanian minister for Romanians abroad Natalia Intotero says the goal of
these camps is to increase awareness with respect to belonging to the Romanian
identity, enhance knowledge of Romanian language, facilitate interaction and
dialogue and promote Romania’s image.

Music. Constanta, in the south-east, has played host
to the Neversea music festival, the biggest held on a beach in Europe. The
festival boasts more than 150 well-known musicians and some 200,000 spectators
from Romania and abroad. The line-up features names such as Afrojack, G-Eazy,
Jessie J, DJ Snake, Sean Paul, Lost Frequencies, Kadebostany, Salvatore
Ganacci, Dub FX, ATB, Mahmut Orhan and Will Sparks. The festival’s budget this
year stands at some 9 million euros. The main stage is 25 m high and contains
over 400 last-generation LED screens. 22 electrical generators are used
consuming the amount needed by a town with 40,000 inhabitants in Romania.

Football. FC Viitorul Constanta have won for the
first time the Romanian football Supercup after defeating the defending
champions CFR Cluj 1-nil on Saturday evening. FC Viitorul have also won the
championship title and the Romanian Cup. This month, both sides will play qualifying
matches for European cups. CFR Cluj will be facing FC Astana from Kazakhstan in
the Championship League, while FC Viitorul Constanta will meet the Belgian side
FC Anvers managed by the former Romanian international player Ladislau Boloni
in the Europa League. FCSB will face the Moldovan side Milsami Orhei and CSU Craiova the Azeri side FK
Sabail, also in the Europa League.

Tennis. Romania’s Simona Halep on
Monday faces the American 15-year old Cori Gauff in the quarterfinals at
Wimbledon. A former world no. 1 and currently seeded 7th, Halep is
the only Romanian player still in competition in the women’s singles. In the women’s
doubles, the all-Romanian pair Monica Niculescu and Irina Begu have reached the
quarterfinals where they will face the pair seeded third, Barbora Strycova of the Czech Republic and Hsieh Su-wei
of Taiwan. In the men’s doubles, the Romanian-Dutch pair Horia Tecau and
Jean-Julien Rojer have also reached the quarterfinals and will meet the
Argentine pair Maximo Gonzalez and Horacio Zeballos.

7 July 2019
Criticism and recommendations from the Venice Commission

The most problematic elements of the 2018 reform, identified in the
opinion of October 2018, either remained unchanged or were aggravated, notes
the Venice Commission, the Council of Europe’s advisory body in matters of
constitutional law, in an opinion published on Monday. The Commission levels
fresh criticism at the amendments to the justice legislation made by the
Romanian government last year and calls on the Romanian authorities to
drastically limit the use of emergency ordinances in this area. The practice of
making legislative amendments by emergency ordinances weakens external checks
on the government, it is contrary to the principle of separation of powers and
disturbs legal certainty, writes the Commission in its conclusions.

As for the recently established
special section for the investigation of criminal offences in the judiciary,
the Commission’s experts say the reasons for its creation remain unclear.
Moreover, they warn that it risks being an obstacle to the fight against
corruption and organised crime. In Bucharest, the opposition and magistrates’
associations view this section as a means of intimidating judges and
prosecutors and believe it should be dismantled. The Venice Commission also
notes that the justice minister still plays a decisive role in the appointment
and dismissal of top prosecutors, without counterbalancing powers of the
president or the Superior Council of Magistracy. The Commission says it remains
at the disposal of the Romanian authorities and the Monitoring Committee of the
Parliamentary Assembly for further assistance in this matter.

President Klaus Iohannis believes
the aspects highlighted by the Venice Commission reinforce the conclusion that
the government has abused the instrument of emergency ordinances, bypassing
both real debate in Parliament of the measures pursued and consultation with
the representatives of the judicial system. Overnight changes in such a
sensitive area and the lack of real control in terms of the constitutional
nature of the emergency ordinances not only upset the entire system, but also affect
the very essence of the rule of law: legal stability and predictability and the
principle of the separation of powers, the president has emphasised. He added
that the message conveyed by the Venice Commission is loud and clear: the
government has to repair the damage caused to the judicial system by putting
into application the recommendations of the European bodies in the field as
soon as possible and in their entirety.

We recall that president Iohannis
was the initiator of a referendum on judiciary-related themes held at the same
time as the European elections. An overwhelming majority of Romanian voters
agreed with a ban on amnesty and pardon for corruption crimes and on
government’s ability to issue emergency ordinances in the area of crimes,
punishments and judicial organisation.

25 June 2019
June 13, 2019 UPDATE

AGREEMENT A National Political Agreement aimed at consolidating Romanias European path was signed in a public ceremony in Bucharest on Thursday. In his address on this occasion, president Klaus Iohannis once again criticised the Social Democratic Party, which, he said, harmed Romania a lot. It is because of the Social Democrats that Romania has been unable to develop more, Iohannis said, and emphasised that the Constitution and related legislation must be amended. Attending the ceremony were the leaders of the National Liberal Party, Save Romania Union, ProRomania and Peoples Movement Party, all of them in opposition. The Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, in power, as well as the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians, were not on the list of signatories. The Agreement was proposed by Klaus Iohannis to all the parliamentary parties that took part last week in consultations on means to implement the outcome of the May 26th justice referendum. At that time the head of state explained that the agreement is designed to help introduce legislation prohibiting amnesty and pardon for corruption offences and prohibiting the passing of emergency government orders in the field of the judiciary.

CONGRESS The Social Democratic Party, in power in Romania, will elect its new leaders in a special congress on June 29th, with the partys presidential candidate to be chosen in another congress. These are the main decisions made by the Social Democrats Executive Committee on Thursday. On June 29th the Social Democrats are to elect their president, executive president and secretary general. Following a change in the party rules, the president will be elected by delegates appointed by local branches, rather than by all party members as it happened so far. PM Viorica Dancila, who is currently the interim president, has already announced her candidacy.

COMMEMORATION Romania commemorated on Thursday 29 years since the June 1990 miners raids that ended a large-scale protest against the leftist party that took over power after the fall of the communist dictatorship in December 1989. On June 13, 1990, clashes broke out between the protesters in University Square in Bucharest and the police. The next day, coal miners from the Jiu Valley in western Romania arrived in Bucharest and raided opposition party offices, the University and other buildings, attacking protesters and other civilians. Six people died, nearly 1,000 were wounded and several hundred others arrested illegally. A criminal case in which the then president Ion Iliescu, ex-PM Petre Roman, former Deputy PM Gelu Voican Voiculescu and former intelligence chief Virgil Măgureanu are accused of crimes against humanity, is yet to reach the actual trial stage. In 2014, the European Court for Human Rights issued a decision forcing Romania to carry on investigations in this case.

UK Boris Johnson, who promised to complete Brexit on October 31st, is in the lead in the Tory leadership race, after getting 114 out of 313 votes on Thursday. Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt came second with 43 votes, followed by Environment Secretary Michael Gove with 37 and Home Secretary Sajid Javid with 23. Ten candidates were enrolled in the race to replace Theresa May, who stepped down as Prime Minister on June 7. The second round of voting is scheduled on June 17th.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

13 June 2019
Romania’s Prime Minister in Brussels

The tone seems to have changed in the dialogue between the left-of-center Government in Bucharest and Brussels authorities after a long period ridden with warning signals launched by Brussels. Romanias Prime Minister and Social-Democrat interim leader Viorica Dancila was encouraged by EU officials, pledging not to continue any controversial judicial reforms.

The meeting follows the poor results grabbed by the Social-Democratic Party in the European Parliament election and the imprisonment of the Social-Democrat strongman Liviu Dragnea, sentenced for corruption. Observing the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary were high on the agenda of talks between Viorica Dancila and the President and Vice-President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker and Frans Timmermans, respectively. The Prime Minister gave assurances that Romania wants an independent judiciary and to observe citizens rights.

As regards the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism in the justice field, Viorica Dancila said talks have to be very strict, since some requirements can be implemented while others cant, because they go against Constitutional Court rulings.

Viorica Dancila: “I have reiterated what Ive been saying since I took over the interim presidency of the party, namely there wont be any emergency decrees in the justice field, as this discussion is now obsolete and we want an independent justice system, we want a rule of law and to observe the rights and liberties of our citizens. We also talked about the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism, where talks have to be very punctual. Vice-President Frans Timmermans did not make any threats against Romania.

EU officials have hailed Romanias commitment to uphold the justice system and resume dialogue under CVM, with a view to reporting progress in terms of reforms and combating corruption. Not too long ago, however, the Commission warned Romania it would not hesitate to take swift action, including invoking Article 7, if Romanias actions went against European values.

According to a Government release, President Juncker thanked Prime Minister Dancila for the remarkable results obtained by the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU, which completed over 100 pending files, some of the most notable being the European Border Police and Coast Guard, the European Labor Authority, the Copyright Directive and the Gas Directive. At political level, the Social-Democratic Party still has to mend its relations with the European Socialists. Concerns regarding the rule of law and the independence of the justice system prompted the latter to freeze relations with the Social-Democrats.

Prime Minister Dancila also met in Brussels with the President of the Party of European Socialists, Sergei Stanishev, ensuring him the Social-Democratic Party is on the path to reform. Viorica Dancila pointed out the Social-Democratic Party belongs to the family of European Socialists, and that her party will make efforts to stay the course.

(translated by: Vlad Palcu)

5 June 2019
May 13, 2019 UPDATE

JUDICIARY The European Commission confirmed on Monday that its first vice-president, Frans Timmermans, sent a new letter to the Romanian authorities on Friday, warning against the developments related to the rule of law in Romania. As the EC spokesman Margaritis Schinas put it, “The main concerns relate to developments interfering with judicial independence and the effective fight against corruption, including the protection of financial interests of the EU and particularly to the recently adopted amendments to the criminal code that create a de facto impunity for crimes. He added that unless these concerns are addressed or if further negative measures are taken, such as the promulgation of the latest amendments to the criminal legislation, the Commission will immediately activate the rules for safeguarding the rule of law and will suspend the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism. This is the instrument used by the Commission to monitor developments in the Romanian judiciary ever since the country joined the bloc in 2007. On April 24, the European Commission announced it would closely monitor the draft amendments to the Criminal Code and Code of Criminal Procedure, adopted by the Chamber of Deputies, and reiterated that Romania must immediately resume reforms in this field.

EASTERN PARTNERSHIP Brussels is hosting for 2 days several events marking the 10th anniversary of the Eastern partnership. Romania is represented by the head of state, Klaus Iohannis, and the foreign minister, Teodor Melescanu. Officials for the 28 EU member states and the 6 partner states, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine, are assessing the progress made in an ambitious schedule for the coming year, aimed at ensuring concrete benefits for the citizens of the entire region, by means of efforts targeting stronger economies, governments and societies. The Eastern Partnership is an initiative that consists in the creation of a common area of democracy, prosperity, stability and close cooperation between the EU and the partner countries.

POLL The Army, the Church and the Romanian Academy are the institutions Romanian trust the most, according to the public opinion Barometre released on Monday by the Romanian Academy. The survey indicates that 68% of the respondents have “a lot of confidence in the Army, around 57% in the Church and over 45% in the Romanian Academy. Next come, in descending order, the Police, the Presidency, the National Bank of Romania, the City Hall, the Mass Media, the Constitutional Court, the Government, Parliament and the political parties. As for the international institutions, Romanians have “a lot of confidence in NATO – over 56%, EU – more than 55%, the UN – over 52%. The survey was conducted between April 12 and May 3.

CORRUPTION The Bucharest Court Monday sentenced a former mayor of Bucharest, Sorin Oprescu, to four and a half years in prison for bribe-taking, and dismissed the charges of money laundering. The ruling is not final and may be appealed against. In November 2015, the National Anti-Corruption Directorate indicted Sorin Oprescu for bribe-taking, money laundering, abuse of office and forming an organised crime group. Sorin Oprescu, a former member of the Social Democratic Party, was elected mayor of Bucharest in 2008, running as a non-affiliated candidate, and won a second term in office in 2012.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

13 May 2019