The Justice System and the Fight Against Corruption
Romanian lawmakers are trying to amend criminal legislation in such ways as to make it constitutional without obstructing the fight against corruption.
Bogdan Matei, 06.04.2017, 13:35
Sworn in on February 23, Justice Minister Tudorel Toader was entrusted with the mission of making good on the serious blow his predecessor, the unpopular Justice Minister Florin Iordache, dealt to the image of the ruling coalition. Seen by the public opinion, the media, the right-wing opposition and Romania’s Western partners as a n attempt to weaken the pace of the fight against corruption and prevent high-ranking officials and politicians from being criminally prosecuted, Florin Iordache’s efforts to amend the Criminal Codes by emergency Government decree prompted large-scale protests earlier this year.
A jurist, university professor and former Constitutional Court judge with no political affiliation, Toader did not hesitate to take decisions that go against the expectations of the Parliament majority. Last week the Justice Minister said the external audit the Ministry will be making at the Prosecutor General’s Office, the National Anticorruption Directorate as well as the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism seeks to gather information on the activity of these institutions, which is something that has never been done in the last 10 years.
On the other hand, however, Minister Toader didn’t call for the resignation of Prosecutor General Augustin Lazar nor for that of anticorruption chief Laura Codruta Kovesi, whom the general public see as spearheading the fight against corruption, but whom many Social-Democrats and Liberal-Democrats see as the founders of the so-called “republic of prosecutors”, where human rights are systematically violated. On Wednesday, Tudorel Toader did not sign off on the amendments the Parliament wants to bring to the draft law on the conflict of interests. The Chamber of Deputies’ judicial committee had previously greenlit amendments brought to articles in the Criminal Code, replacing the phrase “conflicts of interests” with “using public office for discriminating in favour of certain people”. In addition, one amendment stipulated that hiring relatives or known associates would not be considered a crime unless this resulted in damages of “public interest”.
Moreover Toader explained the institution he is heading is working on a bill that also refers to modifying provisions linked to abuse of office, whereby the ceiling for abuse-related damages is lifted, giving regular courts of law decision-making power as to the form of punishment. The draft law on amending the Criminal and Criminal Procedure Codes, drafted by the Justice Ministry, as per the provisions of the Constitutional Court, will soon be submitted for public debate. Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu said he called on Minister Toader to consult with all stakeholders regarding this draft law within the next 30 days before calling on the Government to issue an opinion.
(Translated by Vld Palcu)
