Romanian prime minister comes out in favor of no statute of limitations for serious corruption

Romanian prime minister Ilie Bolojan stated during an interview on Wednesday, December 17, that there should be no statute of limitations in cases of serious corruption.

The statement comes after a Recorder investigation, which showed that several heads of the major institutions in the Romanian justice system allegedly delayed trials for years until wrongdoings were washed clean by the statute of limitations. The video investigation gathered nearly 4.8 million views on YouTube since its publication, and has led to widespread protests calling for an independent justice system.

“Without being a specialist in legal matters, because that is not my specialty, I consider that at least in cases of serious corruption, there should be no statute of limitations. It should not exist. For minor matters, for issues that have no relevance to society, it is a different situation,” Ilie Bolojan said, cited by News.ro.

The head of the executive also specified that aside from aspects related to the statute of limitations, the fact that a trial lasts a very long time makes it lose its educational role. As a result, people forget why a sentence is handed down.

"When five years or seven years pass, you realize that people no longer remember why a sentence was given, what the case was, because it has disappeared from social memory. The duration of trials is an important issue, and here the legislation must be examined. That is why we decided to form a group to analyze these aspects together with representatives of the CSM, prosecutors, and judges, if they wish to participate,” the prime minister added.

He mentioned that an analysis will be carried out regarding statutes of limitations.

“The government must come forward with a draft law to improve the system,” Bolojan further argued, saying that the first reforms must nevertheless be internal to the justice system.

During the interview, PM Bolojan also refrained from blaming former justice minister - now interior minister - Catalin Predoiu for the state of the justice system.

The same day, president Nicusor Dan promised that there would be a debate which would lead to changes in the justice system. He argued that court presidents have far too much power, and that competitions in this regard are based on subjective interviews, according to