The Prosecutors' Section of the Superior Council of Magistracy (CSM) announces it will conduct checks regarding the accusations made by several magistrates in the Recorder documentary, taking a different stand from the judges in the Council who argued that the journalistic material represents an 'amplification of the campaign to destabilise the judiciary.'
'The Prosecutors' Section of the Superior Council of Magistracy has taken note of the press material that appeared in the public sphere on 9 December (Recorder) and 10 December (TVR 1) and, in relation to certain positions taken by some fellow prosecutors and to the conclusions assumed by the producers, expresses the following view: the issues presented in the press material reveal facts which, if true, could lead to the conclusion that the judicial system, in whole or in part, has abandoned its legal and constitutional purpose. Taking into account that the law provides internal instruments of control and regulation, the Prosecutors' Section of the CSM will take steps to verify, in line with its institutional role, the accuracy of the conclusions in the press material concerning the activity of prosecutors,' the Section says in a press release issued on Thursday.
The prosecutors argue that they have repeatedly pointed out to justice ministers and other political decision-makers over the past three years that it is necessary to revise certain provisions of the justice laws, some of them in the direction highlighted in the material.
'The successive amendments to the justice laws between 2017 and 2022 have disrupted the functioning of the prosecution service both in the area of criminal investigation and representation before the courts and in the areas of management and administration,' the prosecutors say.
They further argue that linking the issues revealed by Recorder to the changes concerning special pensions 'can only result in manipulating public opinion.'
'The connection between potential system-level or sector-level issues, which must be verified immediately, and the recent changes related to the status of magistrates, referring here to service pensions, is merely circumstantial and can only result in manipulating public opinion and derailing the purpose of the Recorder material. As regards the potential political positioning of certain organisations or parties, we point out that regardless of the political rotation of the past eight years, there has been no will to eliminate the legislative deficiencies identified in line with the recommendations of the Venice Commission, the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism and the European rule-of-law mechanism. In this regard, any proper intervention concerning the reported issues must necessarily include the legislative amendments requested to address the system-level problems,' the press release concludes.
The judges in the CSM expressed a much harsher position towards the Recorder report, arguing that the material represents an amplification of the 'campaign to destabilise the judiciary.'
'The Council notes the amplification of the campaign to destabilise the judiciary by destroying confidence in the justice system and in persons holding leadership positions who have taken consistent public positions in favour of the independence of judges, an essential condition for the protection of citizens' rights and freedoms. The Council cannot ignore the timing of events, previously highlighted in public statements, which has followed a well-established plan involving the destruction of confidence in the justice system by trivialising discussions on service pensions and judges' salaries, organising protests against the manner in which judges apply the law, public calls for revolt from the President of the country, the activation of former retired magistrates who urge the same, culminating in the journalistic report published on the eve of the Constitutional Court decision,' the Judges' Section conveyed in a press release on Thursday.
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