"Green" magistrates will investigate illegal logging in Romania

Judges and prosecutors specialized in environmental matters will be the ones in charge of investigating and punishing those who illegally cut the forests in Romania, according to general prosecutor Augustin Lazar. “We are launching a new concept of green justice, which involves the specialization of some judges in this area, the establishment of a network of specialized magistrates, judicial police officers, and experts, as well as carrying out scientific research to see which are the most effective legal instruments to clarify the issue of environmental defense,” Lazar said, reports local Digi24. The local authorities have already started fighting illegal logging, which is a major problem in Romania. Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos announced in early-November that the authorities have performed some 55,000 controls and issued some 60,000 fines in August and September. They also discovered more than 2,500 crimes related to illegal logging, which resulted in almost 1,000 criminal files. Romanian mayor sent to court for illegally cutting a whole forest to make room for residential district Romania’s Environment Min. allots funds for virgin forest inventory Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com