Romania to allow drone and camera footage from Environmental Guard as court evidence, minister says

Environment minister Diana Buzoianu announced on Tuesday, September 2, that the government is set to introduce an emergency ordinance allowing footage and photos captured by the National Environmental Guard to be used as evidence in court.

The measure is intended to strengthen the fight against environmental crime, giving legal weight to recordings from drones, video-equipped vehicles, and body cameras already purchased by the Environmental Guard.

“We will move forward in the coming weeks with an emergency ordinance making it crystal clear that photos and video recordings taken by these drones will count as evidence in court,” Buzoianu said in an interview with Europa FM, as reported by News.ro.

“We must be 100% sure that when an offender, backed by dozens of lawyers, argues that such recordings lack legal basis as evidence, we have the tools to shut that argument down,” she added.

Buzoianu noted that the ordinance is part of broader efforts to clamp down on environmental violations often linked to organized networks profiting from illegal activities such as waste dumping.

“We must stop once and for all these profiteers who are making mountains of money at the expense of our health,” she stated.

The government had previously approved a decision outlining the use of surveillance equipment by the Environmental Guard. The new emergency ordinance is meant to close legal loopholes and ensure that visual evidence cannot be dismissed in court.

(Photo source: Facebook/Ministerul Mediului)