From the justice law to the freezing of assets

The planned changes to the justice laws keep stirring discontent in Romania.

Roxana Vasile, 22.11.2017, 13:21

There are three
bills that the Social Democratic Party, the main partner in the ruling
coalition in Romania, wishes to be urgently debated in Parliament, namely those
regulating the magistrates’ status, the functioning of the Higher Council of
Magistracy and judicial organisation.

The head of the
National Anticorruption Directorate Laura Codruta Kovesi is one of the many who
say that there are no serious grounds for such haste, also stressing the lack
of transparency in the drafting of these bills. Laura Codruta Kovesi:

There is no
magistrate in Romania who would deny that there are problems the three bills try
to address, such as the magistrates’ career, promotion and other issues.
However, what the magistrates have contested is the total lack of transparency,
as there have been no consultations on the matter. It’s an attempt to increase
the authority of the Justice Minister over prosecutors, which would seriously
affect the independence of the latter and also, indirectly, the judges’
independence.

The fast-paced
passing of the justice laws was decided last week, after a meeting of the
Social Democrat leaders, who adopted a resolution against a so-called
illegitimate parallel state, which, according to the Social Democrats, would
try to decapitate the political power legitimately elected in Romania. One of
the targets would be the very head of the Social Democratic Party, Liviu
Dragnea.

On Tuesday, the
National Anticorruption Directorate forfeited all of Dragnea’s assets and
accounts, in order to recover the 27 million euros damage incurred in a case of
corruption in which the Social Democrat leader is accused of setting up an
organised crime group and abuse of office with regard to the refurbishing of
county roads with European money, during the time when he was president of the
Teleorman County Council. Liviu Dragnea, however, says he is just the victim of a political
campaign:

I have been a
target every time the Social Democratic Party has tried to do something
important for Romania. Now I am being used as a means to block the justice
package and by whom? By people who are themselves hiding.

Those who are
contesting the actions undertaken by the Social Democratic Party and its junior
partner, the Alliance of Liberal and Democrats, say that the ruling coalition
is actually fighting against a phantom, the so-called parallel state which
they have actually invented themselves. The number of those contesting the
government’s decisions will grow, as the National Trade Union Bloc has decided
to join the protests staged by civil society representatives. Here is the
president of the bloc, Dumitru Costin:

The
confederation’s executive bureau has decided to share civil society’s stand
with regard to the famous justice bills, so, from now on, the National Trade
Union Bloc will take part in the protest meetings organised by civil society
representatives both in Bucharest and across the country, because a proper
settling of this situation will benefit all Romanian citizens.

The Bloc has
already announced a large-scale event for December 12, in Bucharest.