Bucharest Appeal Court leadership rejects media investigation, but judge says “toxic” conditions are real

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.