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CSM's negative opinion regarding JusMin Toader's proposal to dismiss DNA's Kovesi
The Prosecution Section of the Supreme Council of Magistracy (CSM) issued a negative opinion on Tuesday in respect to Justice Minister Tudorel Toader's proposal to remove from office prosecutor-in-chief of the National Anti-corruption Directorate (DNA) Laura Codruta Kovesi, vice-chairman of the CSM Prosecutor Codrut Olaru announced.
According to law, the Justice Minister can request the removal from office of chief prosecutor of the DNA, the Prosecution Section of the CSM issues an opinion, but the decision rests with Romania's President.
National Anti-Corruption Directorate (DNA) Chief Prosecutor Laura Codruta Kovesi said on Tuesday at the Supreme Council of Magistrates (CSM) dismissed reasons put forward by Minister of Justice Tudorel Toader in his proposal to remove her from office as "unrealistic, untenable in any way, while some of them are simple claims that do not confirm anything from reality."
"These grounds claimed are unrealistic, untenable in any way, and ungrounded, while some of them are just claims that do not confirm anything in reality. For some of the statements that I believe are extremely serious, there is no evidence, that is why I put my rebuttal, which I will unveil, in writing as well (...) I have submitted and prepared a report on the management activity carried out in 2016 - the first half of 2017 that was handed over to the Judicial Inspection, and to which, I am convinced, the minister of justice had access, but I did not find any of my arguments in the arguments that he presented," Kovesi said.
She claimed that, while Minister of Justice Tudorel Toader came with suppositions, she brought evidence. "First of all I am not here to convince you, Mr. Minister. Because if you wanted me to convince you, you would have talked to me previously, and you would have requested explanations by following the institutional procedures. So I am not here to convince you. I am here to give explanations and provide evidence to show that what you claimed in the proposal is unfounded and unreal. If we are going to speak of truths, you came with suppositions, you came with allegations, while I brought documents and evidence instead," Kovesi told Toader.
She also stated before the Prosecution Section of the Superior Council of Magistrates (CSM) that she has never contested the authority of the Constitutional Court, as the Minister of Justice claimed in his request for having her removed from office. "I have never, in my public speeches or during the meetings of the National Anti-corruption Directorate, contested the authority of the Constitutional Court, I did not criticize or issued any value judgment, neither critical nor laudatory, with respect to certain decisions," stated Kovesi.
She specified that the only discussions related to decisions taken by the Constitutional Court were those related to the impact they had, in administrative terms, on the institution she leads. "As the leader of the institution, I had to evaluate, each time, the impact that certain decisions of the Constitutional Court had, or the impact that certain legislative modifications had on our activity, in terms of allocating resources. For instance, there is a decision of the Constitutional Court regarding the manner in which interceptions are done, which triggered an institutional reaction from the perspective of the reallocation of resources and the need for making several internal changes, in order to be able to observe these decisions in totality," explained Laura Codruta Kovesi.
În her opinion, "we are witnessing a desperate festival of defendants," based on the fact that "we see defendants in television studios imparting moral lessons."
"It has been argued that the phrase 'we are witnessing a desperate festival of defendants,' which I uttered at a press conference on February 14, has seriously and irreparably damaged the image of Romania, because it allegedly created the impression that Romania is a corrupt country. I still believe what I said, as I also believe that my statement has been removed from its context. The context I was referring to was very clear: I meant those instances in which defendants sued, sentenced convicts, are constantly attacking the DNA, prosecutors. Yes, it is a desperate festival of defendant unjustifiably attacking justice and I will continue to maintain that. I expressed this opinion based on a reality that we can see every day; we see defendants on TV imparting moral lessons. Yes, that is my opinion and I support it," Kovesi said.
În turn, Justice Minister Tudorel Toader said Tuesday that the speech given by the National Anti-Corruption Directorate (DNA) Chief Prosecutor Laura Codruta Kovesi at a meeting of the Supreme Council of Magistrates (CSM) the same day that considered his request for her removal from office may be persuasive if given to newbies. "Your speech can be seductive, convincing, if you give it to newbies. (...) You certainly do not convince me," Toader told the CSM meeting.
The Prosecution Section of the Supreme Council of Magistrates considered on Tuesday a request from Toader for the removal from office of Kovesi.