Venice Commission argues RO should have reinstated DNA as sole anticorruption body

The Venice Commission “regrets the haste” with which the law on dismantling the controversial prosecution body dedicated to magistrates SIIJ has passed through the Romanian parliament and has been promulgated.

The Commission also argues003-e&mc_cid=b26e569d36&mc_eid=607bd7d763)that the existing specialised prosecution service DNA would perform better than the “structure of non-specialised prosecutors” instated by the bill.

Dismantling the SIIJ has turned into the hottest topic in the area of judicial reform in Romania, recently, with president Klaus Iohannis coming under attack from the reformist USR party for allegedly siding with the Social Democrats (PSD) and Liberals (PNL) in supporting a weaker institutional architecture that would be prone to political inferences.

It is implausible that a structure of non-specialised prosecutors at the level of the prosecutor’s offices attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice and those attached to the courts of appeal will be better placed to conduct investigations into allegations of corruption by judges and prosecutors than the existing specialised prosecution service DNA, the Venice Commission comments in its Opinion on Romania’s law already promulgated by president Iohannis.

The Venice Commission recommends restoring the competencies of these specialised prosecution services to also investigate and prosecute offences within their remit committed by judges and prosecutors. The recommendation is not imperative, though.

If the Law is maintained as is, the Venice Commission recommends providing the prosecutorial section of the CSM a stronger involvement in the selection of the prosecutors designated to investigate offences by judges and prosecutors to do justice to the institutional design of the magistrates’ body CSM, to provide for a competitive selection procedure and a clearer delineation of some of the criteria for the appointment (and termination of this appointment) of the designated prosecutors, as well as a longer period of appointment.

(Photo: Council of Europe website)