President Klaus Iohannis on Tuesday praised Romania's Public Prosecution Service for its 2016 activity, insisting that Romania needs the service to be independent and efficient.
"For Romania to be able to protect rights and freedoms, to secure respect for the rule of law and the general interests of the society, we need a public prosecution service that is independent and efficient, a prosecutorial body able to overcome all current challenges. At the same time, improved quality of criminal investigation procedures will only strengthen citizens' confidence in law and justice," Iohannis told a meeting where the 2016 activity report of the Public Prosecution Service was unveiled.
He added that the activity report of the service speaks for itself, as it shows nearly 570,000 cases solved on 47,000 indictments and more than 63,000 defendants sent to court.
Iohannis underscored that the main mission entrusted to the Public Prosecution Service is to guarantee that the law is observed, insisting that this is an essential activity in any consolidated democracy.
"Representation of the general interests of the society and defending the rule of law cannot be conceived without first securing the citizens' rights and freedoms, which are principles clearly defined in the Constitution. From this perspective, strengthening the rule of law in Romania also depends on your capability of carrying out your duties in a balanced way while equally acting to protect public interests and especially civic rights and freedoms. Justice is first and foremost a public service. Consolidating public trust in justice by each passing year is a sign that democracy is getting mature in Romania," said Iohannis.
He added that Romanians are increasingly more vigilant about the slippages from the rule of law as well as more determined to defend their rights and freedoms, all of which are tightly related to their perception over corruption.
"The fact that at the level of an increasingly large part of the society these principles are translated into a way of living means that public expectations from all the components of the judiciary are increasingly higher. All the more reason for you to stay loyal to the constitutional rule that nobody is above the law and to exercise your power objectively and with no influence from the capacity of prosecuted persons, their political affiliation or any other nature," said Iohannis.
He mentioned that caseloads are still heavy despite a slightly falling trend in the last two years.
Comentează