Radio România Internațional

Tag: Justice Day

  • July 2, 2023 UPDATE

    July 2, 2023 UPDATE

    European Games – On Sunday, the Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu congratulated the Romanian athletes for the results obtained at the European Games in Krakow-Malopolska, Poland held between June 21-July 2. The 17 medals won by Romanian athletes (…) prove – once again! – the value, determination and courage of the Romanian athletes – the prime minister wrote on Facebook. Romania took 14th place in the medal ranking: 6 gold, 6 silver and 5 bronze. Gold medals were won by the cyclist Vlad Dascălu in the mountain bike race, by the athlete Claudia Bobocea in the 1,500 meters event, by Bernadette Szocs in table tennis (female singles), by Kinga Barabasi (female singles teqball), Apor Gyorgydeak (male singles teqball) and by the women’s table tennis team of Romania. The silver went to the athletes Bianca Ghelber in the hammer throw event and Daniela Stanciu in the high jump, to Cătălin Chirilă in the 500 meters solo canoe, the fencer Ilinca Pantiş in the saber event, the pair Kinga Barabasi and Katalin Dako in the womens double teqball and to the boxer Lăcrămioara Perijoc in the 54 kg category. Finally, the bronze medals went to karateka Ştefan Comănescu in the 67 kg category (kumite), to athlete Andrea Miklos in 400 m event, to fencer Mălina Călugăreanu in the foil event, and in table tennis – to the pair Ovidiu Ionescu/Bernadette Szocs (mixed doubles) and Elizabeta Samara (female singles). Romania participated in the European Games in Krakow-Malopolska with 150 athletes, 74 women, 76 men, in 18 sports disciplines. At the first edition of the European Games, Baku 2015, Romania ranked 17th and in 2019, in Minsk, it finished 26th.



    Justice Day — The Justice Minister, Alina Gorghiu, pleaded, in her message on Justice Day, for collaboration and dialogue in finding good and balanced solutions to ensure both the functionality and efficiency of the judicial system, as well as the quality of the justice act. The legal system needs now, more than ever, unity, balance, mutual trust and openness. This is the message sent on Sunday, on Justice Day, by the president of the High Court of Cassation and Justice, Corina-Alina Corbu. She says that this anniversary takes place, this year, in a complicated context marked by tension, which should not have an impact on the citizens. The statements come in the context in which the representatives of the High Court challenged at the Constitutional Court the changes made to the special pension system which benefits the magistrates. Prosecutor General Alex Florența stated, in his message, that the legislative changes related to the magistrates pensions were made by simulating a dialogue, ignoring the principles of loyal cooperation and mutual respect that the powers of the state owe to each other. The chief prosecutor of the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA), Marius Voineag, said, on Justice Day, that the role of the Directorate in the entire judicial system contributes to the development of Romanian society and to reaching the countrys real potential as a member of the EU and NATO. According to him, the issue of fighting corruption remains as topical as before because Romanians are perfectly aware of the fact that each act of corruption means the waste of public resources, missed opportunities for the country and a more uncertain future for the future generations.



    iMapp – The international iMapp Bucharest – Winners League contest, the largest video mapping event in the world and the most important New Media Art project in Romania, will bring back, on September 23, the show of visual arts and technology on the facade of the Palace of the Parliament, the Bucharest City Hall officials announced on Sunday. In a press release they say that the public will be able to admire the 3D works of some of the most valuable artistic teams in the world, winners of iMapp Bucharests partner festivals in France, Germany, Greece, Hungary and Japan. The theme of the contest in Bucharest, this autumn, will be CONTRASTS, and a jury made up of important international specialists in the audiovisual arts will decide the grand winner of the editions Prize. Besides the 3D works projected on the 23,000 square meter facade of the largest administrative building in Europe, the public will be able to enjoy, for 12 hours, music, relaxation areas and street food.



    Statistics – Last year, Romania had the cheapest food in the European Union, according to an analysis made by the National Institute of Statistics. At the opposite pole were Denmark and Luxembourg, with the highest food prices. Bulgaria had the cheapest alcoholic beverages and tobacco products, as well as the cheapest clothing and footwear in the entire Union, and utilities, water, electricity, gas and other fuels had the lowest costs. Bulgaria also had the lowest prices for accommodation and restaurant services, and Hungary had the lowest prices for transport, recreation and culture. In terms of purchasing power, Romania ranks last in the European Union. (LS)

  • July 2, 2023

    July 2, 2023

    Justice Day — The Justice Minister, Alina Gorghiu, pleaded, in her message on Justice Day, for collaboration and dialogue in finding good and balanced solutions to ensure both the functionality and efficiency of the judicial system, as well as the quality of the justice act. The legal system needs now, more than ever, unity, balance, mutual trust and openness. This is the message sent on Sunday, on Justice Day, by the president of the High Court of Cassation and Justice, Corina-Alina Corbu. She says that this anniversary takes place, this year, in a complicated context marked by tension, which should not have an impact on the citizens. The statements come in the context in which the representatives of the High Court challenged at the Constitutional Court the changes made to the special pension system which benefits the magistrates. Prosecutor General Alex Florența stated, in his message, that the legislative changes related to the magistrates pensions were made by simulating a dialogue, ignoring the principles of loyal cooperation and mutual respect that the powers of the state owe to each other. The chief prosecutor of the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA), Marius Voineag, said, on Justice Day, that the role of the Directorate in the entire judicial system contributes to the development of Romanian society and to reaching the countrys real potential as a member of the EU and NATO. According to him, the issue of fighting corruption remains as topical as before because Romanians are perfectly aware of the fact that each act of corruption means the waste of public resources, missed opportunities for the country and a more uncertain future for the future generations.



    Festival — The Sibiu International Theater Festival ends on Sunday with a performance of the show “Faust”, directed by Silviu Purcarete, followed, at midnight, by a demonstration with drones. The Walk of Fame was enriched, on Saturday, with seven more stars, attributed to important names in the world of Performing Arts. One of the stars was awarded to the president of the Festival, Constantin Chiriac, director of the Radu Stanca theater in Sibiu. He was also decorated by the Presidency of Romania with the National Order of Merit in the rank of Officer. The distinction was granted in sign of appreciation and gratitude for the professionalism and dedication put at the service of art and the public, for the important contribution brought to the domestic and international affirmation of the values ​​of Romanian theatre. Thanks to the tireless involvement of maestro Constantin Chiriac, Sibiu International Theater Festival – FITS is today a landmark for Sibiu and for Romania, as well as an example of the multiple benefits that the promotion of culture can bring to local communities, the Culture Minister Raluca Turcan wrote on Facebook.



    Tennis — The Romanian womens table tennis team won the gold medals at the European Games in Krakow – Malopolska (Poland), on Saturday evening, after defeating the German team in the final with the score 3-2. Romania led 2-0, but the Polish players had a come back and equalized the score, and later Bernadette Szocs scored the winning point. The Romanian athlete also won the individual competition. Romania won four medals in table tennis at the European Games in Poland, two gold and two bronze. Romania now has a total of 16 medals, six gold, five silver and five bronze, at the European Games in Poland. On the other hand, the pair Monica Niculescu (Romania)/Eri Hozumi (Japan) lost 2-0 to the pair Lidia Morozova (Belarus)/Ingrid Gamarra Martins (Brazil) in the doubles final of the WTA 250 tennis tournament from Bad Homburg (Germany). The match was interrupted on Saturday in the first set due to the rain.



    Weather – Meteorologists have issued a warning for severe atmospheric instability, valid throughout Sunday, in three-quarters of Romanias territory. Thus, in the mountainous area, in the north-west, center, north-east, south-west and partially in the south and south-east, there will be periods of showers, including torrential ones, electrical discharges, short-term wind gusts of 55…70 km/h, isolated gales and hail. The maximum temperatures, decreasing compared to the previous day, will generally fall between 25 and 34 degrees C, except for the eastern and south-eastern regions which will enjoy warm weather. Unstable weather has been announced for Bucharest as well, where the maximum temperature will be around 30 degrees. (LS)

  • July 3, 2022

    July 3, 2022

    Refugees – On July 2, within 24 hours, at national level, 177,869 people entered Romania through the border points, out of whom 12,060 Ukrainian citizens (more by 4.7% than in the previous day). According to the Border Police General Inspectorate, 6,748 Ukrainian citizens entered Romania through the border crossing point with Ukraine (by 18.5% more), and through the one with the Republic of Moldova – 1,321 (by 12.8% more). Since the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian troops, until Saturday, at midnight, 1,402,572 Ukrainian citizens entered Romania.



    Ukraine – The Ukrainian army and the Russian troops are involved in heavy battles for the city of Lisiciansk, the last Ukrainian-controlled town in the Luhansk region of the Donbass coal basin (east). Fortunately, the city is not surrounded and it is under the control of the Ukrainian army, said Ruslan Muziciuk, a spokesman for the Ukrainian National Guard. Earlier, Moscow-backed local separatists said the city had been completely surrounded. The fall of Lisiciansk would allow the Russian army to advance towards Slaviansk, about sixty kilometers west, which is already under Russian artillery fire, and towards Kramatorsk, another large city in Donbass, which is bombarded daily. The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says 2,610 Ukrainian villages and towns are under Russian occupation, and several hundred of them have been destroyed and will have to be completely rebuilt. The Ukrainian army, he says, has managed to free 1,027 localities. The Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said that the enemy was suffering heavy losses on all fronts.



    Sibiu Theater Festival – After nine days of shows, street events, conferences and exhibitions, the International Theater Festival in Sibiu (FITS), in central Romania, comes to an end on Sunday. The last day of FITS offers the public dozens of shows indoors and outdoors, and in closing, starting from 11.15 p.m., a show is scheduled on the city sky, with over 200 drones, music and lasers. The city’s state philharmonic will hold the closing concert of the festival. The event takes place in the Great Square, where tens of thousands of people are expected. In parallel, the audience will be able to watch an aerial dance show by a Spanish-Argentinean company. On Saturday, a special moment took place, in which four international personalities and two Romanians were honored. The late Romanian actor Ion Caramitru, the German choreographer Sasha Waltz, the Polish director Krzysztof Warlikowski, the famous cellist Götz Teutsch, born in Sibiu and settled in Berlin for over 50 years, the French-Belgian playwright Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt and the German director Claus Peymann now have a star on the Star Alley in the Citadel Park in Sibiu.



    Tennis – The Spanish player Paula Badosa will take on the Romanian Simona Halep, on Monday, in the round of 16 at the Wimbledon tennis tournament, after passing, on Saturday, the Czech player Petra Kvitova, at the end of two very balanced sets, 7-5, 7 -6 (7/4). In turn, Halep qualified after a clear victory, 6-4, 6-1, against the Polish Magdalena Frech. On April 30, the Romanian player defeated Badosa, 6-3, 6-1, in the second round of the WTA 1,000 tournament in Madrid. Badosa never passed the round of 16 at Wimbledon, reaching this stage at last year’s edition. A former world leader, Halep won the London tournament in 2019 and, one year before, the one at Roland Garros, in France.



    Rugby – Romania’s national rugby team left for Uruguay, where it will play, on July 10 and 17, in Montevideo, two test matches against the host country’s team. On Friday, Romania was defeated by the Italian national team 45-13 (19-6), in a test match held in Bucharest. The Romanians are qualified to the 2023 Rugby World Cup, which will take place in France. Romania will play in Group B, and will have matches in Bordeaux and Lille, alongside South Africa, Ireland, Scotland and the team from the Asia-Pacific area that will obtain qualification. Since the inaugural tournament in 1987, Romania has participated in all the editions of the World Cup, except for 2019, when, although it had qualified on the field, it was disqualified for using a naturalized player from Tonga, even though he did not meet the eligibility criteria.



    Justice – The President of the High Court of Cassation and Justice of Romania, Corina Corbu, on Sunday conveyed a message on the Justice Day, in which she states that the citizen must be at the center of this system. In her opinion, any reform in the field must ensure an independent, impartial and professional judgment, be the result of strategic thinking, and should take into account the efficiency of the system and its capacity to guarantee the rights of the citizen. The Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă himself advocates a modern, efficient judiciary, accessible to the citizens. In his Justice Day message, the PM says that the government will continue its efforts to complete the process of monitoring Romania through the Mechanism for Cooperation and Verification – MCV, and ensure an act of justice at the level required by the European Union. The National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) considers, in turn, that a clean, corruption-free society is the guarantee of efficiency, performance and development. In a previous statement, the DNA reported that in May, 41 defendants were definitively convicted in corruption cases, for such crimes as bribery, influence peddling and embezzling European funds. Among those who received definitive sentences are persons who, at the time of perpetrating the crimes, held such positions as: senator, mayor of the capital, Bucharest sector mayor, officer with the Emergency Situations Inspectorate, director with the Bucharest City Hall, lawyer, school inspector, university lecturer and commune mayor. According to the source, the sentences ruled by the judges against the 41 defendants vary between 6 months and 11 years in prison. (LS)



  • Justice Day was celebrated in Romania on July 4th

    Justice Day was celebrated in Romania on July 4th

    Aiming to mark the role and importance of the judiciary, of the partners of the justice system and of all law enforcement officers in an attempt to consolidate the rule of law, Justice Day was established in Romania in 1994 and is celebrated every year on the first Sunday in July. “We are now an EU and NATO member state, we are connected to the values ​​of consolidated European democracies and we are about to undergo a massive process of economic, social and political change”, reads a message sent, on this occasion, by the Romanian Prime Minister Florin Cîțu. “Against this background, the reform of the justice system is a process that has already been started by the coalition of pro-European forces, which is now leading Romania. It will not be easy. There are still many who want justice to remain inefficient and controllable. But, together with our institutional partners at European level, we are engaged in a process of healing the justice system from the harm it had been inflicted on it the past years”, the Prime Minister also stressed.



    “The reform of the judiciary can no longer wait”, the line minister Stelian Ion has also stated, stressing that the Ministry of Justice is working on increasing the pace of digitalization, of interconnecting the institutions responsible for related fields of activity, materials and logistics for the good development of the judicial activity, as well as for the coherence of the legislation in the field of the judiciary. The Minister also spoke about Romanias objectives at EU level, namely “relieving the courts, lifting the CVM and continuing to monitor the rule of law through the Rule of Law Conditionality Mechanism, as well as modernizing and rendering the justice system in Romania more effective.”



    In its message, the DNA leadership shows that corruption continues to be present in many areas of society, so combating this scourge must remain a goal that brings together energy, political will, human resources and logistics. And for anti-corruption prosecutors to be effective in their work, the guarantees of independence must be maintained and reconsolidated. The President of the Superior Council of Magistracy (SCM), Mihai-Bogdan Mateescu, speaks, in the message he conveyed on Justice Day, about the need for unity within the judicial system. He says that justice will carry on, with honest, balanced, good professionals, with respect for society and by honestly assuming responsibility for all internal vulnerabilities, but true progress can only be achieved in a society that understands the place, role and the real importance of the justice system, beyond slogans and biases.



    The Prosecutor General of the Prosecutors Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice, Gabriela Scutea, also sent a message, reading that there are strong arguments, in relation to other state authorities, that some directions of modernization in this area entail changing the law. And the president of the High Court of Cassation and Justice (HCCJ), Corina-Alina Corbu, believes that today, the justice system needs more balance than ever and calls on the members of the judiciary to inform society about the common goals, despite the inherent divergences in relation to some issues. (MI)

  • July 4, 2021 UPDATE

    July 4, 2021 UPDATE

    Covid ▪ Romania’s entire territory remains in the green scenario regarding the spread of the novel coronavirus. 33 new cases of contamination were reported on Sunday out of more than 17 thousand tests made in 24 hours. 2 more deaths were announced besides another one reported from the previous months. Since the start of the pandemic, a total of 33,928 diagnosed with COVID-19 have died in Romania. 67 patients are currently in ICUs. Around 12 thousand people were vaccinated on Sunday, of whom almost half with the first dose. Since the onset of the vaccination campaign on December 27, 2020 over 4.7 million persons have been fully vaccinated.



    Independence Day ▪ President Klaus Iohannis on Sunday conveyed a message on the occasion of the United States Independence Day wishing Romanias American friends and partners “a happy 4th of July”. At the party hosted by the American Embassy in Bucharest on Thursday, on the occasion of the 245th anniversary of Independence Day, President Iohannis stated that Romania was promoting a solid transatlantic relationship and would continue to support a robust and indivisible North Atlantic Alliance, as well as the cooperation between NATO and the European Union. Allies within NATO, Romania and the United States are also linked by a strategic partnership.



    Justice Day ▪ The Romanian Justice Minister, Stelian Ion, encouraged all magistrates who want to change the justice system to courageously assume leadership positions. In a Facebook post on Justice Day, minister Ion said that the reform of the judiciary could no longer wait. “Many of those who sometimes criticize justice have taken to the streets to protect justice and the independence of magistrates. The latter should not be discouraged by criticism, they should understand the message given by society and respond by giving correct solutions according to the law”, minister Ion added. He reiterated his objectives at the helm of the justice ministry, which include increasing the pace of courts’ digitalization and interconnecting institutions that have common fields of activity. In another development, the National Anticorruption Directorate leadership has conveyed a message which shows that corruption lingers on in many areas of the Romanian society and for prosecutors to be efficient in their work, guarantees of independence must be preserved and reconsolidated.



    Football ▪ Italy vs. Spain, on Tuesday, and England vs. Denmark, on Wednesday, are the two semifinals matches of the European Football Championship. On Saturday night, in the last quarterfinals, Denmark defeated the Czech Republic 2-1, in Baku, and England outclassed Ukraine 4-0, in Rome. Both semi-finals and the final will be played in London. Bucharest hosted four matches from the final tournament, three in the groups stage and one in the Round of 16. After a mediocre run in the preliminaries, Romania failed to qualify for the Euro. Instead, Romanias Under-23 team has qualified for the Tokyo Olympics. Romania has been assigned to Group B and will face Honduras on July 22, South Korea on July 25 and New Zealand on July 28. Romanian footballers have qualified for the Olympics after reaching the semifinals of the European Under-21 Championship in 2019, hosted by Italy and San Marino. Romania has not participated in the Olympic football tournament since 1964, when it ranked 5th also in Tokyo. Before 1964, Romania’s team had participated only in the European Championships of Paris in 1924 and of Helsinki in 1952.



    Rugby ▪ Romania’s national rugby team was defeated, on Saturday evening, on home turf, 17-24, in a test match, by Argentina’s national team. The match that officially inaugurated the Arch of Triumph National Rugby Stadium in Bucharest was an opportunity for the Romanian players to face a top team – said the Romanian teams English coach, Andrew Robinson. Argentina is ranked 9th in the world classification, while Romania is ranked 18th. Romanian’s team was to play another test match, against Scotland, on July 10, also in Bucharest, but the match was canceled, due to several COVID-19 contaminations in the British team. (LS)