A Supreme Court ruling could definitively put an end to famous pending cases in Romania
The Higher Court of Cassation and Justice in Romania on Tuesday made a ruling with major effects on cases subjected to a limitation period. Under the court's ruling this limitation is to be applied retroactively according to the most favourable law. The court ruled that there were no interruptions in limitation for four years between June 2018, when the first ruling of the Constitutional Court (CCR) had come into effect, and May 2022, when the Penal Code was amended also under a CCR ruling.
The special limitation allowed prosecutors to interrupt its course on the base of new evidence or by bringing the offender to court as a defendant. According to some legal sources, the Supreme Court ruling is going to affect thousands of cases pending in courts or under investigation allowing the culprits to avoid sentences or charges thanks to this limitation. The list includes famous cases such as that of former minister Elena Udrea, who has been a constant presence in courts for the past 8 years, since the end of the second term in office of former president Traian Basescu, considered her protector.
Currently serving a prison sentence on corruption charges, the former minister has also been involved in another two pending cases. The first case concerns the funding of president Basescu's 2009 election campaign, when Udrea got an 8 year prison sentence for bribery incitement and money laundering. The former president's eldest daughter, Ioana Basescu, has also been given a five year prison sentence in the same file. The court dealing with this pending case adjourned until December this year, one month after the Supreme Court ruling. Udrea is also being tried in the 'Hidroelectrica' file on several charges, such as influence peddling and money laundering for having allegedly received five million dollars from a businessman. Among the offenders benefitting from limitation are the former Liberal president of the Chamber of Deputies, Bogdan Olteanu and Adrian Mititelu, owner of Romanian football side UCraiova 1948.
Courts adjourned in many other cases until the aforementioned ruling and these cases will probably be closed. Among those to benefit the latest ruling on limitation are the former mayor of the city of Pitesti, in southern Romania, Social-Democrat Tudor Pendiuc, the ex-PSD now Liberal mayor of the city of Iasi, in northern Romania, Mihai Chirica, or the former PSD minister Constantin Nita.
The latest ruling on limitation has made some people very happy. These are usually business people, mainly charged with embezzlement and misappropriation, as well as leading political figures accused of influence peddling, bribery and abuse of office with aggravating circumstances. Most of the cases likely to be closed after the latest Supreme Court ruling, have been dragging on for years. Is this only the merit of lawyers or the consequence of the investigators' incompetence?
(bill)
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