Anti-corruption in Romania

Chief Prosecutor Laura Codruta Kovesi says the Emergency Ordinance adopted after the Constitutional Court ruled that the Romanian Intelligence Service cannot tap phones as part of criminal investigations.

Daniela Budu, 18.03.2016, 14:04

Technical
surveillance methods were used in more than half of the cases processed by
anti-corruption prosecutors in 2015 in Romania. In an interview on Radio
Romania, the head of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, Laura Codruta
Kovesi claims the Government’s Emergency Ordinance adopted after the
Constitutional Court ruled that the Romanian Intelligence Service cannot tap
phones as part of criminal investigations, upholds the rule of law and even
provides additional guarantees.

Laura Codruta Kovesi: First of all, the ordinance ensures the
continuity of the fight against corruption, so that we may carry through our
current investigations. Secondly, it observes the stipulations of the
Constitutional Court, specifying who can do what, and imposing additional
controls, as the Court had demanded. This additional verification of the way
technical surveillance is being performed will be the responsibility of High
Court judges. The judges of the High Court of Cassation and Justice are
currently authorizing national security warrants, as well as surveillance
warrants that we need in our activity.

Laura Codruta Kovesi went on to say
that people who commit no serious crimes can feel safe, because their phones
will never be tapped. The only crimes for which wiretapping can be used are
acts of corruption, drug trafficking, human trafficking, terrorism, espionage,
treason, murder and deprivation of liberty, as defined by the Criminal Code.
Therefore, the Government’s ordinance observes both the Constitutional Court
ruling on wiretapping in criminal investigations, as well as human rights.
Laura Codruta Kovesi also told us about the minimum amount of resources the
Directorate needs right now.

Laura Codruta Kovesi: If the ordinance allows us to use
technical surveillance equipment to gather evidence, we would require over 130
police officers and approximately 10 million euros, in order to enforce these
technical surveillance warrants. At
present another 40 police officer jobs have been made available for the
Directorate. We will next perform a selection, but we will need the remaining
number of police officers. I repeat, these figures stand only if the ordinance
remains in effect and is adopted by Parliament.

The
Constitutional Court decision applies only to the human resources employed by
the intelligence services and does not ban the Anti-corruption Directorate from
using the technical infrastructure or systems of another state institution, the
chief prosecutor Kovesi also said.