For a year and a half, justice has been the subject of the most
\nheated public debates in Romania. The government coalition made up of the
\nSocial Democratic Party (PSD) and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE)
\nsays revising the laws on the functioning of the judicial system and amending
\nthe criminal codes are in keeping with rulings by the Constitutional Court and
\nthe European Court of Human Rights. The opposition, civil society and the media
\nsay, however, that the purpose of these changes is to place magistrates under
\npolitical control and put an end to the fight against corruption and crime in
\ngeneral. Eventually, the sides called for the external arbitration of the Venice Commission, the Council
\nof Europe’s advisory body, whose opinions are generally respected by Member
\nStates. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
In its preliminary opinion, the Commission has warned that the draft
\namendments to the three justice laws will most probably undermine the
\nindependence of Romanian judges and prosecutors and the public’s trust in the
\njudiciary. The Commission’s experts recommend creating a balance between the role
\nof the president, the Superior Council of Magistracy and the justice minister
\nin the appointment of high-ranking prosecutors. They are also concerned about
\nthe restrictions to the magistrates’ freedom of expression, the creation of a
\nbody to investigate their activity and the diminution of the role of the Superior
\nCouncil of Magistracy as a guarantor of the system. Although some amendments
\nwere adopted as a result of Constitutional Court rulings, it is difficult to
\navoid the risk of their undermining the independence of the justice system and
\nhave a negative effect on the fight against corruption, the Venice Commission
\nalso warns. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
A fierce critic of the government’s actions, president Klaus Iohannis
\nsays the assessment of the Venice Commission is an extremely worrying signal as
\nfar the independence of the judiciary is concerned. He says its preliminary
\nopinion confirms the views of civil society, the Superior Council of Magistracy
\nand magistrates and justifies the challenges of unconstitutionality and the
\nrequests for re-examinating these draft laws. The National Liberal Party, the
\nbiggest party in opposition, has requested the Constitutional Court to take
\nnote of the preliminary opinion on the justice laws, which the party says
\nshould be re-discussed by Parliament. The Save Romania Union and the People’s
\nMovement Party, also in opposition, share this view. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
In response, Social Democratic MPs say the preliminary opinion
\ncontradicts the view of the opposition and the president that the justice laws
\nshould not be amended. Moreover, this is not an official document and even
\ncontradicts a previous report of the Venice Commission on the European
\nstandards on the independence of the judicial system. The Senate speaker and
\nALDE leader Calin Popescu Tariceanu also says the warnings of the foreign
\nexperts amount to a political opinion without much substance.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
A final assessment of the
\nVenice Commission is expected in autumn. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A cold shower for the ruling coalition in Bucharest: the Venice Commission disapproves of many of its amendments to the justice laws.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":105,"featured_media":71822,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37738],"tags":[32472,19347],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-78324","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-in-the-news","tag-justice-laws","tag-romania"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n