The Bucharest Court of Appeal (CAB) held an unprecedented press conference on Thursday, December 11, in response to allegations raised in a recent media investigation published by Recorder, with court president Liana Arsenie firmly rejecting the claims. However, at the start of the press event, a judge from within the institution publicly stated that the “toxic” conditions described in the documentary are real.

Arsenie, flanked by members of the court’s leadership, dismissed the investigation as a collection of “manipulative narratives” and argued that changes to judicial panels, including in high-profile cases such as that of former mayor Marian Vanghelie, were based on career considerations and workload distribution, not external pressure. The Recorder documentary alleges that judges were routinely reassigned in order to delay corruption cases until they reached prescription.

Throughout the press conference, the CAB president insisted the court is the target of a so-called orchestrated campaign to discredit it, and urged the media to verify the facts and the authorities to investigate the allegations.

“The law cannot be changed in the streets through lies and manipulation,” she said, framing the criticism as an attempted “hostile takeover” driven by alleged political interests.

“We categorically reject any attempt to denigrate the judiciary or polarize society,” Arsenie added, as reported by Biziday.ro. “Problems in the justice system must be addressed through dialogue and professional competence, not through public incitement.”

She also presented various court documents to back her claims that the media investigation is untrue, such as prescription dates in the Marian Vanghelie case. 

Just as the conference began, judge Raluca Moroșanu from the First Criminal Division within the CAB addressed reporters directly, contradicting the court’s leadership. She said she had worked in the division for 19 years and confirmed that the practices described by Recorder reflect the reality inside the institution. 

“Here at the Bucharest Court of Appeal, we work very hard. The leadership does not help us in any way. We are simply terrorized, through disciplinary actions and everything else you know is happening to us. I don’t want to describe the atmosphere or the toxic and tense situation we are in. Some of my colleagues agree with me; I don’t know what the others will do - as you can see, some are here who will probably support the leadership,” she said.

Moroșanu also mentioned that she was neither violent nor an undercover intelligence operative, as suggested by Liana Arsenie when referring to magistrates featured in the investigation. 

The video recording of the press conference, in Romanian, is available below.

According to the Recorder journalists, judges and prosecutors who do not comply or who push back against the system are harassed through investigations by the Judicial Inspectorate or even removed from the magistracy.

Also, the media investigation, which gathered over 2 million views on YouTube in just over a day, includes testimonies from judges and prosecutors, some anonymous due to alleged fear of retaliation, describing pressure and intervention from court leadership to influence outcomes in corruption cases involving figures such as Marian Vanghelie, Cristian Burci, or Puiu Popoviciu.

The Superior Council of Magistracy (CSM) also reacted to the media report earlier on Thursday, calling the investigation an amplification of a “campaign to destabilize judicial authority.” 

Hundreds of people gathered on Wednesday evening, December 10, in front of the CSM headquarters in Bucharest, in the context of the Recorder investigation into the state of the judiciary in Romania. The demonstrators chanted slogans for an independent judiciary: "We want justice, not immunity", "Independent magistrates, not obedient", "Justice, not mafia", "Integrity, not complicity." Also, they called for the resignation of the president of the High Court of Cassation and Justice, Lia Savonea, and of the minister of justice, Radu Marinescu.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Inquam Photos / Gyozo Baghiu)