The most problematic elements of the 2018 reform, identified in the
\nopinion of October 2018, either remained unchanged or were aggravated, notes
\nthe Venice Commission, the Council of Europe’s advisory body in matters of
\nconstitutional law, in an opinion published on Monday. The Commission levels
\nfresh criticism at the amendments to the justice legislation made by the
\nRomanian government last year and calls on the Romanian authorities to
\ndrastically limit the use of emergency ordinances in this area. The practice of
\nmaking legislative amendments by emergency ordinances weakens external checks
\non the government, it is contrary to the principle of separation of powers and
\ndisturbs legal certainty, writes the Commission in its conclusions. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
As for the recently established
\nspecial section for the investigation of criminal offences in the judiciary,
\nthe Commission’s experts say the reasons for its creation remain unclear.
\nMoreover, they warn that it risks being an obstacle to the fight against
\ncorruption and organised crime. In Bucharest, the opposition and magistrates’
\nassociations view this section as a means of intimidating judges and
\nprosecutors and believe it should be dismantled. The Venice Commission also
\nnotes that the justice minister still plays a decisive role in the appointment
\nand dismissal of top prosecutors, without counterbalancing powers of the
\npresident or the Superior Council of Magistracy. The Commission says it remains
\nat the disposal of the Romanian authorities and the Monitoring Committee of the
\nParliamentary Assembly for further assistance in this matter. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
President Klaus Iohannis believes
\nthe aspects highlighted by the Venice Commission reinforce the conclusion that
\nthe government has abused the instrument of emergency ordinances, bypassing
\nboth real debate in Parliament of the measures pursued and consultation with
\nthe representatives of the judicial system. Overnight changes in such a
\nsensitive area and the lack of real control in terms of the constitutional
\nnature of the emergency ordinances not only upset the entire system, but also affect
\nthe very essence of the rule of law: legal stability and predictability and the
\nprinciple of the separation of powers, the president has emphasised. He added
\nthat the message conveyed by the Venice Commission is loud and clear: the
\ngovernment has to repair the damage caused to the judicial system by putting
\ninto application the recommendations of the European bodies in the field as
\nsoon as possible and in their entirety. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
We recall that president Iohannis
\nwas the initiator of a referendum on judiciary-related themes held at the same
\ntime as the European elections. An overwhelming majority of Romanian voters
\nagreed with a ban on amnesty and pardon for corruption crimes and on
\ngovernment’s ability to issue emergency ordinances in the area of crimes,
\npunishments and judicial organisation. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Venice Commission recommends Romania to give up emergency ordinances in the area of the judiciary.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":110,"featured_media":78355,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37738],"tags":[31432],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-82354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-in-the-news","tag-judiciary"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n