Draft: Romanian magistrates could appear in parliamentary inquiry hearings

Civil servants and magistrates in Romania might be obliged to appear in hearings in front of parliamentary inquiry commissions, according to recent amendments. Eugen Nicolicea, the president of Chamber of Deputy’s Legal Committee, initiated these amendments. A magistrate would be summoned, and even obliged to appear in front of the commission, Nicolicea said. Once the commission finds outs that their inquiry has entered a criminal area, it will send the documents to the Prosecutor’s Office. “The Parliament does not conduct criminal investigations,” Nicolicea added. However, the parliamentary inquiry commission will be able to carry out its activity even if prosecutors have already started a criminal investigation in parallel. If civil servants or magistrates refuse to attend these parliamentary hearings, it could be considered an “obstruction in finding out the truth”, according to the draft proposal. The real stake of this bill is to call Laura Codruta Kovesi, the chief of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate (DNA), in front of the Parliament. editor@romania-insider.com (photo source: Eugen Nicolicea on Facebook)