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The president signed the decree after receiving information from Attorney General Nida Grunskienė about the pre-trial investigation initiated for bribery and the granting of permission to prosecute, arrest or otherwise restrict his freedom.
According to the head of state, any manifestation of dishonesty in the judiciary is intolerable. This destroys the rule of law and undermines the public’s confidence in the administration of justice.
“The president believes that it is necessary to implement an anti-corruption culture in the judiciary more effectively,” the report reads.
President of the court: R. Grigas, suspected of corruption, did not show up for work after announcing that he was ill
Rimantas Grigas, judge of the Kaunas Chamber of the Kaunas District Court, is suspected of corruption not acting through intermediaries on Wednesday, and announced that he was not ill, says the president of the Kaunas District Court, Arūnas Purvainis.
“Yesterday, as far as I know, it worked, today, as far as I have information, the judge reported through other people (I personally have not received any information from him, although the judge must, according to the ethics of judges, inform the head of the court) who felt ill and went to a medical institution or somewhere, ”the president of the court said at a press conference on Wednesday.
He also said the opening of a pretrial bribery investigation “is unpleasant news” for the court; According to him, Grig has long specialized in criminal cases and administrative offenses and was “one of the oldest judges on the court.” According to A. Purvainis, no serious offense has been recorded by R. Grigas, although “certain deficiencies have been expressed both due to procedural and ethical activities.”
A. Purvainis also stated that he had no data on the arrest of a judge, as only the Seimas or the president can allow a judge’s freedom to be restricted between sessions of the Seimas.
“There is a presumption of innocence, we are not speaking today and we cannot say that the judge has assumed guilt. “added the head of the court.
A. Purvainis says he cannot yet name a specific case of administrative misconduct, in which a judge is suspected of accepting a bribe.
According to the president of the court, “while the issue of the suspension of the powers of the judges is resolved” and then the dismissal, the court will decide on the transfer of cases pending before a judge to colleagues. A. Purvainis also stated that the question of the possible review of the judge’s decisions already taken “is early”.
VIDEO: The president of the Kaunas District Court is about to begin a pre-trial investigation for a judge in relation to bribery.
“If the ongoing pre-trial investigation is related to a case that is being examined or possibly examined by a judge, depending on that, the pre-trial investigation officers and prosecutors could also evaluate,” said the presiding judge.
According to him, the forces of order could decide to return the cases that have not yet been heard on appeal and in cassation, because “the partiality of the court would be more than obvious in such a case.” At that time, if the pre-trial investigation includes cases in which final and unappealable decisions have been made, the process may be reopened.
According to research, at least 2,000. The goal was for Judge R. Grigas to shorten the driver’s license revocation period from 12 to 3 months.
A. Purvainis says that rotation of judges would not be possible due to the principle of independence of judges, but sees the problem that not all judges are able to recognize corruption and resist it.
“I can ask rhetorically: is it not worth it at some stage of the selection process of judges to create, to think of a certain methodology that allows us to evaluate candidates for judges due to their resistance to corruption?” I don’t know how to do it, there may be more specialists, but it could probably also be a strong tool and contribute to the effective prevention of corruption in the courts, ”said the president of the court.
Police announced Wednesday that they were conducting pre-trial investigations, according to which the judge accepted a bribe for a decision in an administrative case.
According to police data, at least 2,000. A bribe of 1 million euros was requested for Judge R. Grigas, in a case of administrative fault of a person, to impose a less severe measure of administrative sanction and to shorten the revocation period of the driving license from 12 to three months .
According to the Prosecutor’s Office and the Special Investigation Service, lawyers Bronislavas Liatukas and Valda Grigonytė and a son of Judge Tautvydas Grigas, an employee of the law firm, were involved in the bribery transfer scheme for R. Grigui. They were charged with bribery of a judge.
A search was also carried out on Tuesday at the residences of the judge and the suspects. During a search of Grigo’s residence, he tried to destroy the evidence, law enforcement officials said.
Police announced Wednesday that they were conducting pre-trial investigations, according to which the judge accepted a bribe for a decision in an administrative case.
Attorney General Nida Grunskienė asked President Gitan Nausėda for permission to prosecute, arrest or otherwise restrain Judge Griga.
Allowing this to do so would remove the judge from office.
President Ridas Jasiulionis’ spokesman told BNS that the president had been informed of the request to waive Grig’s immunity.
“The necessary decisions will be made in the near future,” he said.
The Council of Judges is also reviewing Mr. Grigo’s conduct and will decide whether he should not be removed at all as a judge demotion.
The judicial authority requested this Wednesday from the Attorney General’s Office more information on the investigation prior to Grigo’s trial.
“In order to decide something, we first need to receive additional material and supporting data,” Sigita Rudėnaitė, president of the Judicial Council, told BNS.
A judge of said circuit may be removed by the President on the advice of the Council of Judges.
“According to what the prosecution provides, we will see if there is enough data to prove that the judge’s actions are incompatible with his presence as a judge. If it is sufficient, we will take steps to initiate the removal of a judge due to demotion, ”said S. Rudėnaitė.
The Council of the Magistracy stated in a press release that “it is in principle of the position that any action by a judge that is incompatible with the duties of a judge is intolerable.”
R. Grigas has served as a district court judge in Kaunas since 1999.
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