Anti-corruption Measures and Policies

The prospective decriminalisation of abuse of office is a concern for anti-corruption prosecutors.

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Florentin Căpitănescu, 10.06.2016, 13:57

The activity of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate (DNA), which has investigated lawmakers, ministers, mayors, magistrates and businessmen in recent years, in a crackdown that has exposed widespread graft, has turned this institution into a landmark of the Romanian legal system. Constantly praised in the European Commissions reports, which continues to monitor Romanias progress in the judicial field, and often seen as a model of efficiency for other countries struggling with corruption, the DNA is now one of Romanias most trusted institutions. In spite of the fact that the institution has constantly initiated and solved a lot of cases, there have been repeated attempts to change legislation and restrict the prosecutors authority.

It was the chief prosecutor herself who voiced concern, once more, at the possibility of decriminalising abuse of office. This offence is investigated in over 40% of the cases, that is 3,100 out of a total 7,200. Decriminalising the offence would also make it impossible for the government to recover 600 million euros in losses suffered last year alone. The amount should be returned to the Romanian state, but removing abuse of public office from the list of offences means that the damages will no longer be recovered. According to Kovesi, the analysis made by anti-graft prosecutors has led to the conclusion that the abuse of office is an offence that should not be decriminalised, as the legislation in the field is clear and predictable and the court rulings in the past ten years have been consistent.

Its not a coincidence that the people who have challenged this law at the Constitutional Court are precisely people investigated for this offence. Among them is the former head of the Directorate for the Investigation of Organized Crime and Terrorism, Alina Bica, and a former president of the Constanta County Council, Nicusor Constantinescu. Supporting the stand of chief prosecutor Kovesi is the Executive Secretary of the International Anti-Corruption Academy, Martin Kreutner, who said on Thursday, in Bucharest, that criminalising abuse of office is extremely important.