RSS
Changes in Justice in 2016: New nominations to the Prosecutors’ office and the High Court of Cassation and Justice, DNA, the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court, elections for the CSM
The constitution and the leadership of the Constitutional Court (CC) will be changed this year, similarly to the leadership of the High Court of Cassation and Justice (ICCJ) and the leadership of Prosecutors’ office by the High Court of Cassation and Justice (PICCJ) and National Anticorruption Department (DNA) could have new prosecutors elected, as Tiberiu Nitu and Laura Codruta Kovesi have the end of their mandates. There will be elections for new members of the CSM.
The Constitutional Court
Three of the judges of the Constitutional Court – Augustin Zegrean (nominated by the president), Puskas Valentin Zoltan (the Senate) and Toader Tudorel (the Deputies’ chamber) end their mandate this year so that president Klaus Iohannis and the two chambers of the parliament have to nominate one member each.
At the same time, a new chairman of the CC will be elected, position occupied by Augustin Zegrean for two mandates in a row in the last six years. Zegrean was elected for the first time as chairman of the CC in June 2010.
The Constitutional Court is made up of nine judges, names for a mandate of nine years, which could be renewed or prolonged.
Out of the nine judges three are named by the Deputies’ Chamber, three by the senate and three by the president of Romania. The composition of the court is renewed with a third of the number of judges every three years, each of the authorities naming a judge. The application of this system of renewal was made possible when the court was set up by the nomination of the first judges for a period of three, six and nine years, for each of these periods being named one judge for each group.
The judges of the court must have superior judicial qualification, high professional competence and experience of at least 18 years in the judicial domain or high judicial studies.
The Constitutional Court has a chairman elected by secret vote for a period of three years with a majority of the votes of the judges, after five days since the renewal of the Court. The mandate of the chairman can be renewed.
ICCJ
The chairman of the High Court of Cassation and Justice (ICCJ) Livia Stanciu finishes in September the second mandate as she cannot be named for this position again. She was named for the leadership in September 2010 and then in 2013 when she was the only candidate for this position.
The new chairman of ICCJ will be proposed by the Superior Council of the Magistrate (CSM) and named by president Klaus Iohannis.
The president, the vice-president and the presidents of the sections of the High Court of Cassation and Justice are named by the president of Romania at the proposal of the Superior Council of the Magistrate for a mandate of three years with the possibility of renewal once, out of the judges of ICCJ who had activity at this tribunal for at least two years. The president of Romania canNational Anticorruption Department (DNA) refuse the nomination for good reason.
PICCJ and DNA
New nominations could be made for the leadership of the prosecutors’ office by the High Court of Cassation and Justice (PICCJ) and the National Anticorruption Department (DNA). The mandate of the general prosecutor Tiberiu Nitu and the head prosecutor of DNA Laura Codruta Kovesi finishes in May this year, with the possibility of renewal.
Kovesi who previously had two mandates as general prosecutor of Romania (2006 – 2012) and Nitu had been nominated by the former president Traian Basescu on 15 May 2013 at the proposal of the former premier Victor Ponta as interim minister of Justice. Nitu had been nominated as general prosecutor of Romania together with Ioan Irimie at the leadership of DNA by the former minister of justice Mona Pivniceru in November 2012 but he had negative vote on the part of CSM.
The general prosecutor of Romania and the headprosecutor of DNA are nominated by the president of Romania at the proposal of the minister of justice with the approval of CSM from the prosecutors who have experience of minimum 10 years in the position of judge or prosecutor for a period of three years, with the possibility of renewal for one time. The head of state can refuse on good reason to nominate for the position of leadership in the public ministry.
The mandate of Nitu was recently marked by the closing of the file of the revolution by the military prosecutors of PICCJ in a resolution of 14 October announced on 23 October. The same prosecutors announced on 21 October the beginning of the criminal investigation in the file of the Mineriad in the name of several people among whom the former president Ion Iliescu.
DNA was in the public eye by the huge number of officials among whom the former premier Victor Ponta, former ministers, MPs and representatives of the local authorities under investigation and sent to be judged for corruption.
Laura Codruta Kovesi stated in September on Digi 24 that she did not want any position outside the judicial system and that she will announce at the end of the mandate if she runs for a new mandate for the leadership of DNA.
In an interview published by Romania Libera on 22 December, the minister of justice Raluca Pruna said that she believed that, as a principle, the procedure for reinvestment ‘ of a person who proved to be good administrator the proof of integrity and professionalism whould expose that person to the criticism on a part of the society’.
‘Surely, as a principle, I said that the law gives the possibility of reinvestment of a person, but, again , I think that the Romanian society is, at present, antagonic enough and I think that a procedure – I am talking about general things – of reinvestment of a person who proved to be a good administrator,with integrity and professionalism would expose that person to the criticism of a part of the society. I understand that out of reasons of transparency to make public the criteria of professionalism,integrity,performance, so that I could be satisfied with the proposals I give to CSM and finally, to the president’ Pruna said.
The Superior Council of the magistrates proposes in a draft for the amendment of the law 303/2004 regarding the statute of the judges and the prosecutors that the heads of PICCJ, DNA and DIICOT be nominated at the proposal of CSM and not of the minister of justice for a period of four years instead of three years, with the possibility of renewal for one time. This proposal was voted in favour by 2,668 judges and 1,441 prosecutors while921 judges and 599 prosecutors opposed it.
CSM
Moreover, similarly to every year, in January 2016 there are elections for the leadership of the Superior Council of the Magistrates (CSM). The judge Mircea Aron presented his candidature for the position of chairman of CSM while the prosecutor Luminita Palade ran for the position of vice-chairman of CSM, the elections taking place on 6 January.
The Superior Council of the Magistrates is led by a chairman and a vice-chairman who cannot belong to the same section, each having a mandate of one year, with no renewal. Thus, if one of the two is part of the section for judges, the second one has to be a prosecutor. The institution was led in 2015 by judge Marius Badea Tudose as chairman and prosecutor Bogdan Gabor as vice-chairman.
This year must be elections for the nomination of new members in the CSM, the latest elections being at the end of 2010 and the present members starting their mandates of six years in 2011. The mandates of the members of CSM cannot be renewed.
‘At present, the number of places to be opened for the election is under discussion;some CSM members consider that the whole CSM should be renewed, others consider that only the places occupied by the members who had a full mandate starting January 2011. The present CSM members have no right to be reelected. The new members will start their mandate in January 2017 and this will be for a period fo six years’ judge Cristi Danilet, CSM member says on his blog.
The CSM elected members are nine judges and five prosecutors named by elections organised by the general meetings of the prosecutors’ offices and courts. They are also accompanied by the minister of justice, the general prosecutor of Romania and the chairman of the supreme court, as well as by two representatives of the civil society elected by the senate. As a total, CSM has 19 members.
For the elections for the leadership of CSM there are only the nine judges and five prosecutors who could take part.