Law on setting up special agency for investigating environmental crimes in RO, challenged at the Constitutional Court

The Romanian government challenged at the Constitutional Court (CCR) the law on the establishment of the "DNA for forests" - a specialized agency tasked with investigating environmental crimes in Romania.

The law, promoted by Save Romania Union (USR), was adopted by the Parliament in mid-June.

The government says the law violates several provisions of the constitution. For example, it fails to mention the source of funding and also lacks clarity and predictability, Radio Europa Libera Romania reported.

USR reacted to the news, accusing the government of trying to block the establishment of the Directorate for the Investigation of Environmental Crimes, a move that will benefit the "wood mafia."

"But it also confirms the hypocrisy of the PNL (e.n. the National Liberal Party). During the parliamentary procedure, PNL abstained from voting in the Chamber of Deputies, but then it voted the law in the Senate, only to give the government something to challenge at the CCR. The double game played by PNL is inadmissible," USR said in a Facebook post.

"Meanwhile, every year, 20 million cubic meters of wood disappear from Romania's forests without documents," the party also said.

The Senate passed in mid-June the law on setting up the Directorate for the Investigation of Environmental Crimes (DIIM) after the project previously passed the Chamber of Deputies. The new agency, nicknamed "the DNA for forests" (after the DNA – the National Anticorruption Directorate), was supposed to operate as a specialized prosecutor's office structure and have the competence to investigate environmental crimes.

(Photo source: Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea)