PNL, USR notify Constitutional Court regarding amendment to Law on Statute of judges, prosecutors

The National Liberal Party (PNL) deputies submitted on Wednesday at the Constitutional Court of Romania (CCR) the unconstitutionality notification regarding the amendment to Law 303/2004 on the Statute of judges and prosecutors, and the Save Romania Union (USR) deputies joined this demarche. 

According to a press release sent to AGERPRES, PNL has demanded that the CCR notify the Court of Justice of the European Union with a series of preliminary questions regarding compliance with the principles of the rule of law, rights on access to fair justice and the stability of the judiciary in Romania. Similar steps have been taken in the case of Poland and Portugal, in relation to the magistrates' statute. 

At the same time, according to the cited source, the PNL reiterates its request to the CCR to take into account the evaluation of the Venice Commission on the amendments to Law 303/2004, namely to suspend the settlement of the ongoing cases at the CCR until the publication of the Venice Commission's analysis. 

"We remind that similar appeals addressed to the Romanian authorities came from European Commission officials, the Council of Europe, as well as the main strategic partners from the EU and NATO. The main amendments to Law 303/2004, with harmful effects on the judiciary, are aimed at modifying the regime regarding the retirement of magistrates, which could seriously affect the course of the pending cases. 

At the same time, the changes to the manner of appointment to management positions threaten the independence of the magistrates, implicitly the guarantees of independence that this professional body should enjoy," the liberals' release reads.