BREAKDOWN The Council of Europe asks Romania to modify the laws on justice according to the opinion of the Venice Commission and the anti-corruption body of the States

The monitoring report of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on Romania takes note of the progress made by our country in essential areas, but expresses concern at the failure to respect the opinions of the Venice Commission in the reform of justice and in the fight against corruption. Furthermore, the report calls for the declassification of the parties’ large contracts with the press and officially asks the Venice Commission to express an opinion on the three bills on justice passed by Minister Cătălin Predoiu.

We remind you that in March 2022 The Venice Commission has recommended to the Government that the specialized prosecutors, DNA and DIICOT, acquire powers to investigate crimes committed by the judiciary. According to the document, which is a draft prior to the publication of the opinion, the Venice Commission “regrets the haste with which the controversial law abolishing the Criminal Investigation Section (SIIJ) was passed to Parliament, which means that the law was adopted earlier, a point of view could be elaborated by the Commission “.

The Venice Commission recommends to the Government, if the rule is maintained in its current form, that the prosecutors section of the Higher Council of the Judiciary be more involved in the process of selecting prosecutors in charge of investigating crimes committed by judges and prosecutors, to ensure “a competitive selection procedure and clear criteria for the appointment (and dismissal) of specially appointed prosecutors, a longer appointment period as well as the possibility of challenging decisions to remove from office at the end of the mandate”.

Furthermore, the GRECO 2021 report requires that the opinion of the CSM on the appointment of chief prosecutors is consistent and that the role of the Minister of Justice in the appointment / dismissal of prosecutors to / from the highest positions is reduced. The GRECO report shows that the involvement of the Minister of Justice remains significant at the expense of the independence of the judiciary.

The main conclusions of the report of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe:

– According to the Monitoring Committee, Romania has made significant progress in meeting Council of Europe standards in areas essential for the functioning of democratic institutions, including the judiciary and the fight against corruption.

– The Commission has decided to ask the Venice Commission for an opinion on the three bills on justice, namely on the status of magistrates, the organization of the judicial system and the Higher Council of the Judiciary.

– However, the report prepared by Edite Estrela (Portugal, SOC) and Krista Baumane (Latvia, ALDE) highlights a number of concerns, in particular regarding media freedom and pluralism, the inclusion of Romanian citizens belonging to the minority Roma and the fact that Romania is among the states with the highest number of judgments not executed by the European Court of Human Rights.

– The Commission has issued a series of recommendations addressed to the Romanian authorities in the fields of justice, fight against corruption, enforcement of Court decisions, the media and protection of persons belonging to minorities and vulnerable groups, in order to comply with the best possible possible the obligations assumed at the time of joining the organization. The sustainability and effectiveness of the reforms will have to be confirmed by the correct implementation of the legislation, underlines the adopted text.

– The Monitoring Committee, in charge of drawing up periodic monitoring reports on compliance with the legislation by all Member States that are not subject to specific monitoring procedures, selected Romania in 2019 as the subject of this report.

Consequently, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe appeals to the Romanian authorities:

In the judicial field:

– continue the ongoing reform, respecting the deadlines established by the Judicial System Development Strategy 2022-2025;
– take into account the recommendations and respond to the concerns raised by the Venice Commission and GRECO in the preparation of the bills on justice to be presented to Parliament in autumn 2022;
– ensure the inclusive nature of the legislative process; carry out meaningful consultations with all interested parties and try to take into account different points of view;
– introduce adequate safeguards in the new criminal investigation and prosecution system in the judiciary, following the abolition of the criminal investigation section within the judiciary, in order to guarantee the independence of the judiciary;
– continue implementation of the measures already taken to increase the efficiency and quality of the judiciary, including increasing the number of judges employed, redistributing the workload of the courts and increasing the digitalisation of the judiciary.

In the fight against corruption:
– continue the implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy and ensure certain political support for its effectiveness;
– Smodifies the Codes of Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure in accordance with the decisions of the Constitutional Court and the recommendations of the Venice Commission on the terms established by the National Anti-Corruption Strategy;
– effectively address the problem of the lack of human resources within the National Anti-Corruption Directorate.

In the field of mass media:
– ensure the adequate implementation of the current legislation on access to information;
– ensure the full independence of the National Audiovisual Council, establishing clear professional criteria for the selection of its members and ensuring adequate budgetary resources;
– ensure full transparency of media ownership;
– ensure specific guarantees of editorial independence e introduce legal provisions to oblige the disclosure of secret contracts between political parties and the media on the basis of which public funds are transferred to the media;
– ensure adequate investigation and punishment of offenders in cases of harassment or intimidation of journalists.