Protests for the reform of the judiciary
Protests against the state of the Romanian judiciary continue
Daniela Budu, 15.12.2025, 14:00
Thousands took to the streets in recent days in Bucharest and elsewhere in the country, including Arad, Cluj, Timișoara, Sibiu, Iași, Alba Iulia and Craiova, in support of an independent judiciary, following revelations in a documentary released by the online media outlet Recorder, regarding problems in the judiciary.
The protesters want the resignation of the High Court of Cassation and Justice chief Lia Savonea, and of the interior minister and former justice minister Cătălin Predoiu. According to some magistrates, in 2022 during his term in office laws were endorsed that allowed for a pyramid structure in the judiciary, which is no longer accountable to anyone.
The protesters also demand that the current justice minister Radu Marinescu and the chief prosecutor of the National Anti-Corruption Agency, Marius Voineag, step down. They call for changes in the structure of the judicial system and a new approach to the powers of the Higher Council of Magistrates, as well as the elimination of loopholes that allow criminal trials to be postponed until the statute of limitations expires. According to participants, rallies are also a sign of solidarity with the judges and prosecutors who had the courage to criticise the situation in the system.
Recorder’s investigation, called “Justiție capturată” (Captured Justice), made public on Tuesday, reveals examples of abuse in the Romanian judicial system. The release of the documentary drove a wedge between groups in the justice system. It triggered an aggressive response from the head of the Bucharest Court of Appeals, an institution subordinated to the Higher Council of Magistrates, while on the other hand sparking solidarity against the abuse documented in the video, expressed by a growing number of magistrates in the country, starting with Laura Codruța Kövesi, the chief prosecutor of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Several prosecutors and judges, some with protected identities, have denounced the way in which the chiefs of the Bucharest Court of Appeals replace judges in panels in order to secure favorable rulings for individuals accused of corruption.
The judges department of the Higher Council of Magistrates announced that it had tasked the Judicial Inspection unit to investigate the issues reported in the Recorder documentary. Checks are also carried out by the Council’s prosecutors department.
Meanwhile, a petition launched by the Declic and Funky Citizens online community and calling on the president and the prime minister to ensure the urgent amendment of the laws regulating the judiciary, has already been signed by about 170,000 people.
PM Ilie Bolojan announced the government set up a task force to review the legislation and suggest reforms.
Ilie Bolojan: “We need to analyse the legislation, to see to what extent this legislation takes into account the facts, so that aspects related to the statute of limitations for certain offences are handled in a certain way, and the duration of trials is shortened. Aspects related to delegations and the possibility of interference so as to extend the length of certain trials should also be clearly regulated.”
President Nicușor Dan invited magistrates who want to complain about problems in the Romanian justice system to a meeting “without time limits” on December 22. When 200 magistrates say there is an integrity problem in the justice system, things are very serious, the head of state argued. (AMP)
