Chairman of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE) Calin Popescu-Tariceanu considers that both the Ministry of Justice and the Superior Council of Magistrates should proceed to an analysis of the recommendations made in the GRECO report, for an "appropriate response" to be prepared.
"I was reading a few days ago that France too is subject to a GRECO report. I was recently in France and I didn't notice any public debate, the subject is of minor concern. I wouldn't say this should be necessarily of minor interest in Romania too, but each judicial system has its specifics and France will probably not give up on certain elements that pertain to the tradition of the French judiciary just for the sake of strictly complying with the recommendations in the GRECO report. I believe that in Romania too, the recommendations in the GRECO report should be analyzed both by the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Council of Magistrates, followed by an appropriate response and a discussion with those who prepare the report because, as you know, this process of integrating and analyzing the recommendations isn't done at a snap of fingers, it requires a discussion on certain subjects listed in the report and on others that are not entered in this document," Tariceanu said on Tuesday after the meetings of ALDE's Standing Executive Bureau and Central Political Bureau.
He argued that the GRECO report does not approach the existence of secret protocols, which he considers to be a subject of major concern in any democratic country, with a strengthened judiciary.
"There is no mention of the broad-scale phone tappings, there is no mention about the existence of a magistrates investigation section that worked within the National Anti-corruption Directorate, and many such things which I think should be the subject of this discussion with the authors of the report," said Tariceanu.
He also remarked that the GRECO report does not state that the Section for the investigation of offences in the judiciary (SIIJ) should be dismantled, but expresses concerns that this section might have a certain political approach.
Tariceanu further said that so far SIIJ has proved to be "completely cut off from politics" and should stay like that.
He emphasized that the fundamental element that needs to be taken into consideration is ensuring the independence of the magistrates and said he would further advocate this as the "core point" of the discussion on the reform of the judiciary.
Tariceanu didn't venture to say what elements of the GRECO report will be taken into account by the ruling coalition, stating only that an analysis will be conducted together with the judiciary, and that the Senate and Lower House Law Committees too will look at the report and put down a set of proposals based on the respective analysis.
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