Romanian prosecutor nominated for DNA chief position receives negative opinion from justice body

Adina Florea, the prosecutor nominated by the justice minister for the position of chief prosecutor of the National Anticorruption Department (DNA), received a negative opinion from the prosecutor section within the Superior Magistracy Council (CSM), the professional body that guarantees justice independence in Romania. CSM’s decision will be sent to the Ministry of Justice. However, this is only a consultative opinion, president Klaus Iohannis being the one who makes the appointment. The CSM members interviewed Adina Florea for nearly three hours, local Mediafax reported. During this meeting, Florea criticized the steps taken by the previous leadership of the National Anticorruption Directorate, and said that the number of acquittals for cases handled by the DNA was quite high. She also said that the DNA spent too much time focusing on cases of abuse of office when, in fact, the DNA prosecutors should focus on high-level corruption. Justice minister Tudorel Toader nominated Adina Florea for the position of chief prosecutor of DNA in early September this year, two months after president Iohannis signed the decree to revoke Laura Codruta Kovesi from this position, following a request of the justice minister. Adina Florea is a prosecutor at the Constanta Court of Appeal’s prosecutor office. Irina Marica, irina.marica@romania-insider.com