The compensatory appeal law and developments in the judiciary

Opposition parties in Romania call for the abrogation of the compensatory appeal law

Corina Cristea, 15.01.2019, 13:38

The death of a 25-year old man in Medias, central
Romania, attacked by three individuals, has once again brought to the forefront
the talks on the law on compensatory appeal, which led to the early release of
a large number of convicted prisoners. Statistics show that, between October 2017-November
2018, some 13,000 people were released from prison, three quarters of them
benefiting from parole and compensatory appeal. In the meantime, several
hundreds of those released have committed new violent crimes, including murder,
attempted murder, rape and burglary. One of them was the very man who stabbed
the victim in Medias 11 times. He had been released from prison in May last
year, two years and two months earlier. The second suspect, who also has a
criminal record, was arrested for 30 days, and is now being prosecuted for murder.

The third perpetrator is being prosecuted for violent actions. In a very prompt
reaction, the right-wing opposition in Romania has called for the abrogation of
the law. The National Liberal Party, the main opposition party in Romania, is preparing
a bill which would ban violent inmates from benefiting from the compensatory
appeal. Also, the Liberals will file a motion against the Justice Minister,
accusing him of destroying the justice system and protecting the criminals. At
the same time, the opposition Save Romania Union has too decided to submit to
Parliament a bill for the abrogation of the law, drawing attention to the fact
that, when the European Court of Human Rights condemned Romania because of the
poor conditions in Romanian penitentiaries, the recommendation was to modernize
and expand the system, not to deal with the issue of lack of space by releasing
prisoners.

According to the Save Romania Union, the coalition made up of the
Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats used the
Court’s ruling to favor criminals. The People’s Movement Party, also in the
opposition, has announced it will support in Parliament any legal initiative
that would correct the catastrophic effects of the compensatory appeal law. In
the opinion of the party’s president, Eugen Tomac, after the crime in Medias, the
ministers of justice and internal affairs should resign. Justice Minister
Tudorel Toader, however, has defended himself, saying that the law was an initiative
of the technocratic government headed by Dacian Ciolos, and the law merely came
into force during his term. Toader has explained in a post on social media that
the law was endorsed by the Superior Council of Magistracy and adopted by parliament
before he took over the office of minister.

(Translated by M. Ignatescu)