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The Parliament's select committee on the justice package decided on Thursday that the President of Romania can no longer refuse the appointment of judges and prosecutors.
Acting at the proposal of the National Union of Romania's Judges (UNJR) that was also adopted by the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE), the committee members repealed the article in the Law on the Judges and Prosecutors statutes according to which the President of Romania can refuse once the appointment of these legal professionals.
"Vetting is performed beginning right from the nomination of the judge, there are relevant mechanisms in place. What else could the President do, what can he still analyze after the Supreme Council of Magistrates has looked at each and every aspect? (...) The President's refusal could be arbitrary, he is not verified by any instance. At a certain point, the President of Romania can refuse without any possibility of being controlled, this is interference with a judge's activity," argued justice Adina Ghita, speaking on behalf of UNJR.
The Liberals' representatives criticized the proposal, but in the end the repeal of the article was adopted by a vote of 15 to 7.AGERPRES .
