October 25, 2017 UPDATE
Bill modifying the laws on the judiciary presented to Parliament's special committee
Newsroom, 25.10.2017, 19:39
ARMY DAY – It is essential to ensure the necessary equipment for the Romanian Army, and the funds earmarked to this end must be spent efficiently, President Klaus Iohannis said on Romanian Army Day celebrated on Wednesday. He pointed out that at present Romania looks more confidently towards the future thanks to its NATO and EU membership and to the strength of its partnership with the US, which he described as valuable, efficient and pragmatic. On Romanian Army Day, the national flag was flown at the headquarters of military institutions and on board Romanian vessels, and ceremonies and commemorations were held in all garrisons in the country and in the countries were Romania has accredited military attaches. Special ceremonies were organized in Carei (north-west), the last Romanian town freed from Hungarian occupation in World War II, 73 years ago. According to historians, the Romanian troops deliberately waited for the day of October 25 to launch the final attack, so as to dedicate the victory to King Mihai I on his birthday.
JUDICIARY – The Romanian Justice Minister Tudorel Toader Wednesday presented the bill modifying the laws on the judiciary to the special committee in Parliament. He emphasised that as far as the appointment of high-ranking prosecutors is concerned, the Ministry expected an opinion from the Venice Commission on this aspect. Minister Toader also announced his proposal to make the judicial inspection corps an autonomous institution, subordinated to neither the Higher Council of Magistrates not to the Justice Ministry, and mentioned that a special law must be endorsed within 6 months, to regulate the status of that institution. Also, in terms of the liability of magistrates, the Justice Minister said judges would be subject to pecuniary liability for errors made in bad faith. The ruling coalition decided last week that the bill modifying the laws on the judiciary should be tabled as a parliamentary initiative rather than a government draft law. Next week the bill will be discussed by the special parliamentary committee, and then it will be send to the Chamber of Deputies. The decision-making body for this law is the Senate.
KING MIHAI I – King Mihai I of Romania turned 96 on Wednesday, and had a private birthday celebration at his residence in Switzerland. On behalf of Romanias former sovereign, Princess Margareta, Custodian of the Crown, decorated Romanian and foreign personalities and collaborators of the Romanian Royal House, in a ceremony in Bucharest. On Wednesday evening the Romanian Athenaeum hosted the 10th annual concert organised by the charity Princess Margareta of Romania. King Mihai I is suffering from two severe forms of cancer, and last spring he withdrew from public life. In 1947, only 7 years after taking the throne, Mihai I was forced by the communist regime to abdicate and to leave the country. He was only able to return to Romania after the 1989 anti-communist Revolution, and he regained his Romanian citizenship and some of his estate. King Mihai I lobbied for Romanias NATO and EU accession, as a special ambassador.
OLYMPIAD – The city of Cluj-Napoca, in north-western Romania, will host between July 3rd and 14th next year the International Mathematical Olympiad, the Romanian Education Ministry has announced. Expected to take part in the prestigious competition organized for the 4th time in Romania, are around 600 students from more than 100 countries. The International Mathematical Olympiad was launched by Romania in 1959, and the first editions only involved participants from the former Communist bloc countries. The first Western country took part in the 1969 edition, and since the 1970s the number of Western participants has increased. Romania holds the record as a host country, having organized the 1969, 1979 and 1999 editions. Romania and Bulgaria are the only countries to have taken part in all editions so far, and in an unofficial ranking of nations, Romania comes third.
TENNIS – The Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, number 1 in the world, was defeated on Wednesday by the Danish player Caroline Wozniacki (6 WTA), 6-0, 6-2, in her second Red Group match in the WTA Finals in Singapore. Wozniacki has secured her spot in the semi-finals, whereas Halep has to win the last match in the group, against Elina Svitolina (Ukraine, 4 WTA), to move on in the competition. In the White Group, the Czech Karolina Pliskova (3 WTA) has 2 wins and has already qualified into the semi-finals.
(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)
