Over 10,000 people demonstrated on the evening of December 14 in Bucharest and several other cities across Romania, demanding changes to the justice laws, to ensure the independence of the system and limit the possibility of abuses. It was the fifth day of demonstrations triggered by the Recorder documentary titled "Captured judiciary," which revealed the mechanisms by which court managements allegedly manage to modify the composition of trial panels and thus postpone high-level corruption trials in order to reach the statute of limitations. 

In the capital city, people marched from University Square to Victory Square. A similar march was held in Cluj-Napoca, while in Timişoara, protesters gathered in front of the Dicasterial Palace, Cursdeguvernare.ro reported.

Demonstrators demand the dismissal of Justice Minister Radu Marinescu, Interior Minister Cătălin Predoiu, the head of the National Anticorruption Directorate, Marius Voineag, and the president of the High Court of Justice, Lia Savonea.

An open letter in support of fellow judges who denounced problems in the judiciary was signed by over 800 magistrates. Among the signatories is the former head of Romania's National Anticorruption Directorate - DNA and current chief prosecutor of the European Public Prosecutor's Office, Laura Codruța Kovesi.

Separately, a petition for the amendment of the justice laws was also launched, which was signed by almost 160,000 Romanians by the evening of December 14.

The media investigation, which gathered roughly 4.5 million views in YouTube in five days, features testimonies from several prosecutors and judges, some speaking under protected identities, who claim that the leadership of the Bucharest Court of Appeal routinely changed the composition of judicial panels to secure favorable rulings for individuals accused of corruption. Among the cases cited in the documentary are those involving Marian Vanghelie and Puiu Popoviciu.

The Judicial Inspection announced that it is conducting checks into the issues raised in the investigative report published by Recorder, with a summary of its findings expected to be presented in the coming days, Agerpres reported. The institution noted that some of the elements highlighted in the media investigation had already been under its review and urged the public to await the outcome of the checks.

The Judges’ Section of the Superior Council of Magistracy (CSM) announced on Friday, December 12, that it had decided to formally notify the Judicial Inspection to carry out verifications regarding the matters signaled in the Recorder report. Earlier, on Thursday, the Prosecutors’ Section of the council said it would also conduct checks into the allegations made by several magistrates in the documentary.

Meanwhile, president Nicușor Dan invited prosecutors and judges to a meeting on December 22 to discuss concerns over the functioning of the judiciary.

iulian@romania-insider.com, irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Inquam Photos / Pană Tudor)