The Minister of Justice, Radu Marinescu, declared on Wednesday, in a press conference held in Cluj, that he hopes that the magistrates' protests will end and that the manifestation of dissatisfaction must fall within the limits provided by law.
"The protest itself was not uniform at the national level. The general assemblies at each court or prosecutor's office decide on certain forms of manifestation of dissatisfaction, decide which cases are analyzed or not analyzed during this period. I could not make a general assessment regarding a phenomenon that differs from court to court or from court of appeal to court of appeal. But what I can tell you is that, in principle, a strike is not allowed in this activity. Forms of manifestation of dissatisfaction can exist for any professional category. But, I repeat, they must be done within the limits of the law. In other words, I cannot strike; my protest must be calibrated to what the law allows," stated Minister Radu Marinescu.
On Wednesday, he also had a meeting with magistrates from the Cluj Court of Appeal.
"In the discussions held regarding this protest, we sent a message that comes from the expectations of the litigants, that the judicial activity should take place, should continue. From the representatives of the magistrates, we received the message that at the level of the courts within the jurisdiction of the Cluj Court of Appeal, it was established that there are several cases that will continue to take place, that the urgency was taken into account, the need to resolve those cases that require a faster resolution, and that these aspects of continuing the activity, however, were taken into account," the Minister of Justice pointed out.
He emphasized that "there is currently no legal instrument that would allow the Ministry of Justice to intervene in such forms of protest."
"As you know, assessments of strikes or other protest demonstrations are ultimately made by the judicial authority. Our concept in this state is that the powers - judicial, legislative and executive - should function loyally, through dialogue and by responsibly respecting the attributions that are incumbent on them. So, the responsibility to respect the rights and freedoms of the citizen and to carry out its activities without disrupting the public service of justice rests with the judicial power", Minister Radu Marinescu also said.
The country's court judges have decided to suspend, starting two weeks ago, the resolution of cases, with some exceptions, demanding the urgent withdrawal of the draft law on the reform of magistrates' service pensions. They have been joined in this effort by prosecutors, who have announced that they are suspending their activity, with some exceptions regarding preventive measures involving deprivation of liberty or the issuance of protection orders.
All 16 courts of appeal in the country have requested, following the general assemblies of judges organized on Tuesday, the urgent withdrawal of the draft law on the reform of magistrates' service pensions, the Superior Council of Magistracy announced. According to the CSM, the assemblies of judges "requested the other two powers of the state to urgently withdraw the draft law on the reform of magistrates' service pensions and to cease the aggressive campaign against the judicial authority, which seriously affects the rule of law, the rights and freedoms of citizens that can be effectively guaranteed only by an independent judiciary."
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