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Justice Minister Tudorel Toader said on Tuesday that he met national leader of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), major at rule, Liviu Dragnea to discuss provisions over judge panels being challenged with the Constitutional Court for legal conflict of a constitutional nature.
"I had a meeting with the PSD national leader Liviu Dragnea; we discussed what can be discussed, what should be discussed between the leader of the majority party and a minister of justice who, even if he is independent, is part of a political government. To the point (...) the Constitutional Court will take up tomorrow that legal conflict of a constitutional nature (...) That was the main topic of the discussion ... (...) Today we are talking about the procedure, about who will go before CCR to represent the government and support the challenge and to present if there are new elements of support, new arguments to the challenge," Toader told journalists at Parliament Palace.
He did not make any clarification as to the person who will represent the Government in relation to the challenge.
Asked if he had asked for the meeting with the PSD chairman, Toader said: "Today's meeting is part of the regular meetings that you know of and, at these important clarifying moments, the meetings are natural."
Asked about Dragnea's role in the CCR ruling on the matter, the justice minister replied that any dialogue is welcomed.
Asked if his meeting with a man directly interested in this decision of CCR is normal, he said: "Tomorrow the judges will give a decision of principle, tomorrow the judges will rule on a matter that generally interests the rule of law, that interests the very many who render judgements and who want to see how the panels are formed, who want to see if a subsequent law can or cannot change a previous law or if a law provides for the opposite and somebody come and says: yes, it's nice, I got it, the constitution of the panels has changed, but it is applicable next year."
"I meet all of the government, of the ruling alliance. I have not met a justice seeker, but the third most important man in the country," said Toader, asked if he meets all those interested in that.
He added that laws cannot be individual in nature.
Toader had a meeting of nearly an hour with Dragnea at Dragnea's Speaker office.
On Wednesday, the Constitutional Court of Romania takes up Prime Minister Viorica Dancila's complaint about a constitutional conflict between Parliament and the Supreme Court of Justice on the subject of five-judge panels.
According to information posted on the CCR website, the agenda of the plenary session includes a request for the settlement of the legal conflict of a constitutional nature between the Romanian Parliament on the one hand and the Supreme Court of Justice on the other hand .
Dancila filed her request on October 2.
Dragnea has recently claimed that the Supreme Court's panel that rules on illegal public hires by him is unlawful, and said he will consult with his lawyers to see what steps can be taken.
In early September, the collegiate leading board of the Supreme Court of Justice decided not to apply the new provisions of Law 304/2004 regarding the election of the five-judge panels.
The head of the Supreme Court, Cristina Tarcea, claimed that the law amending Law 304/2004 does not have transitional provisions requiring for the year 2018 to draw lots to make up the five-judge panels, which will be applied from January 2019 on.
