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Former President Traian Băsescu warns the European Commission that by abolishing the Criminal Investigation Section, SIIJ (also known as the Special Section), Romanian judges run the risk of remaining vulnerable to abuses in the judiciary, abuses by the prosecutors.
“What is the reason why the Commission insists on the abolition of the Criminal Crimes Investigation Section?” Is one of the questions that the former president of Romania, Traian Băsescu, addressed to the European Commission.
Another question, posed by the Romanian MEP, according to the European Parliament website: “What are the alternatives proposed by the Commission to guarantee the independence of judges from pressure from prosecutors?”
Traian Băsescu also makes a preamble, before addressing these questions, and states that the existence of the Special Section would ensure that the ADN cannot use cases against judges.
The two questions addressed by Traian Băsescu to the European Commission:
1. What is the reason why the Commission insists on the abolition of the SIIJ?
2. What are the alternatives proposed by the Commission to ensure the independence of judges from pressure from prosecutors?
“The Judicial Crimes Investigation Section (SIIJ) in Romania, established within the Prosecutor’s Office of the Superior Court of Cassation and Justice and operational since October 23, 2017, has the exclusive competence to investigate crimes committed by judges and prosecutors. According to the 2020 Report on the rule of law in Romania (SWD (2020) 0322), the continuation of the section’s activity may affect the independence of the judiciary, and the Venice Commission suggests its abolition.
In fact, the existence of this special section ensures that anti-corruption prosecutors cannot use cases against judges to pressure them and obtain favorable results in other cases in which they are working.
During a hearing of the US Helsinki Committee in 2017, it was revealed that judges who do not rule in favor of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate (ADN) have become targets themselves, while those considered friends of the interests of the ADN to obtain the convictions were rewarded for their loyalty, which explains how DNA maintained extraordinary conviction rates of 92%, ”said Traian Băsescu.
