The Romanian Intelligence Service and Technical Surveillance
Institutions responsible for national defense and security have reacted to the Constitutional Courts decision to ban SRI from conducting any technical surveillance in relation to cases investigated by various investigation bodies.
Daniela Budu, 14.03.2016, 14:32
The Romanian Government has adopted the emergency ordinance under which surveillance in criminal cases may be conducted, but not by the Romanian Intelligence Service. The document had been endorsed by the country’s Higher Defense Council, summoned by President Klaus Iohannis for an extraordinary session. The ordinance was drafted following the Constitutional Court’s ruling of February 16th, under which the Romanian Intelligence Service is no longer allowed to conduct technical surveillance in relation to criminal cases. The prosecutor offices’ activity would have been seriously affected or even put to a halt, according to the ordinance’s motivation. Klaus Iohannis has stated that this is the first stage, in which the ordinance provides a solution for the judicial bodies. Subsequently, Parliament may also consider other solutions.
President Klaus Iohannis: “There are voices saying that, in the absence of the necessary technical infrastructure for special surveillance activities, the activity of prosecutor’s offices would be affected, both with regard to criminal prosecution as such, and to the rules of evidence. This emergency ordinance is a response to this very concern. The Higher Defense Council has endorsed this draft and the Government will adopt it as a solution, temporary as it may be, to an issue that is concerning both state institutions and the public opinion.”
Klaus Iohannis has also said that the Constitutional Court’s ruling must be observed and harmonized with the legislation in force. According to the head of state, another important aspect is the need to maintain the legislative framework functional, for the judiciary to do their job, be they cases of national security or corruption. Given that the only infrastructure specializing in tapping phone calls belongs to the Romanian Intelligence Service, the Government had to find a solution for that infrastructure to be used without involving any of the Service’s staff and with the exclusive involvement of the criminal investigation bodies.
Romanian Justice Minister Raluca Pruna: “We only have a single type of infrastructure capable of enforcing surveillance warrants, and this structure belongs to the Romanian Intelligence Service. With this ordinance we came up with an immediate solution that would prevent criminal prosecution from being interrupted.”
The emergency ordinance has the power of law, Raluca Pruna also said. The heads of the National Anticorruption Directorate and of the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism, DIICOT, respectively have announced, given the new circumstances, they will need additional staff and funds to be able to conduct surveillance operations using their own resources, and the pace of building cases might slow down in the coming period.
