DNA's Kovesi: Justice laws modification will seriously damage prosecutors' independence and not only

There is an attempt to increasing Justice minister's authority over prosecutors' activity, which will seriously damage their independence, on Tuesday evening said the National Anti-corruption Directorate (DNA)'s head, Laura-Codruta Kovesi. 

The DNA chief prosecutor Kovesi added, at a debate organised by the Social Dialogue Group (GDS) and the "22" Magazine on the Justice laws, that she has said that ever since the draft law of 23 August, enumerating three aspects of the two bills that will lead to "seriously damaging" the prosecutors' independence: the subordination of the Judicial Inspection to the Justice minister, the alteration of the conditions regarding the magistrates' material liability and the establishment of the special Directorate for the investigation of the magistrates. 

She said that as no special investigation department exists to investigate the crimes of the police staff or the mayors, there is no need of a special directorate to investigate the crimes of the magistrates. 

"It was falsely said that the DNA is against this amendment because it would lose its competence. Let's do the math: In 12 years there were definitively sentenced 88 magistrates, 44 prosecutors, 43 justices and one assistant magistrate. If for 88 people sentenced in 12 years we need to establish a special department...In the same period we have 575 police officers sentenced, 121 customs workers, 106 commune, town and city mayors. What are we supposed to do if we have 10 times more police staff sentenced? Shall we establish a department to investigate the police staff, a department to investigate the mayors, and another to investigate the customs workers?!", asked Kovesi. 

She added that a grounding note, an impact study lack which would offer the motivation for such modifications to be included in these draft laws. 

As for the Criminal Code's amendments, the DNA head remarked that the main modification would focus on the abuse of office. 

The DNA chief prosecutor added that "never again existed a special committee for the Justice laws." 

"Nobody is denying the right of the Parliament, and it is the Parliament's right to initiate laws, nobody denied the right of the Parliament to alter laws, to initiate draft laws, to establish certain committees, but here we find a special committee. Never before did a special committee for the laws of Justice exist, the organic laws were always discussed in the lawyer committees and then in the plenary sittings of the two Chambers. Now we find that there is a special procedure in the Parliament, an emergency procedure, a reason for which the opinion of the Superior Council of Magistrates (CSM) was required in an urgency system (...) What all of the magistrates did question was the way the amendment is attempted to be achieved, the total lack of transparence and consultation," Kovesi stressed.AGERPRES .