Iohannis: The preliminary opinion of the Venice Commission is a very disturbing signal

Iohannis: The prior opinion of the Venice Commission is a very disturbing signal

"The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, considers that the preliminary opinion of the Commission In Venice, the amendments to the laws of justice constitute a very worrying signal with regard to the independence of the judiciary. Thanks to the document made public today. Today, the Commission confirms the views expressed by civil society, the Supreme Council of the Judiciary, judges and prosecutors and the President of Romania, in particular by the complaints of unconstitutionality and the requests for reconsideration made in these laws. in a press release of the presidential administration

According to the Presidency, the conclusions contained in this preliminary opinion, which have the same legal value as the final opinion formally adopted in October by the Commission without amendments, indicate the negative impact

"In order to guarantee the independence of the judiciary and the consolidation of the rule of law in Romania, the recommendations contained in the Venice Commission must be exploited, so that the fight against corruption continues. President Klaus Iohannis calls on Parliament, as the only legislative body in the country, not to ignore the recommendations of the European body

At the same time, the President of Romania declares that the recommendations contained in the 39 preliminary opinion will be taken into consideration. Constitutional Law on the Amendment and the Completion of Law no. 303/2004 on the status of judges and prosecutors, recently examined by Parliament. President Klaus Iohannis reiterates that Romania is committed to respect the European standards and values ​​of constitutional democracy, and that the independence of prosecutors and judges is the foundation of fair justice, principle from which a rule of law can not abdicate. of the Presidency

The Venice Commission recommends to the Romanian authorities to review in the law the projects in the field of justice to appoint and dismiss magistrates to ensure neutral procedures by maintaining the role of the President of the country and the Higher Council

The Venice Commission on Friday presented its preliminary draft on the draft amendments to three Romanian laws in the field of justice, following the petitions of the President of Romania's evaluation and the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of CouncilEurope. In accordance with the procedure of the preliminary opinion in case of urgency, the Venice Commission has authorized the transmission of the assessment of the Romanian authorities. The Venice Commission is expected to endorse this opinion without amendment at the plenary session in October [19659005] According to the report, the Venice Commission makes the following recommendations to the Romanian authorities:

– "to revise the system of appointment / revocation including the revision of the corresponding provisions of the Constitution, in order to provide the conditions for a neutral and objective appointment / dismissal process by maintaining the role of institutions such as the President of the country and the Council Superior of the Judiciary (CSM) able to balance the influence of the Minister
– "Remove proposed restrictions on the freedom of expression of judges and prosecutors"
– "Eliminate or better define the provisions that allow senior prosecutors to invalidate the solutions proposed by prosecutors to situations of incapacity. "

Comi Venice observes in the evaluation report, at points 38 and 39, that, according to the proposals, the SCM receives a "decisive role" in the procedures for the appointment and dismissal of judges. "The major change in the new system is that the president will be totally excluded from the appointment and dismissal procedures," notes the Venice Commission.

"The legislative process that generated major disparities in Romanian society was criticized because it was excessively fast because of a lack of transparency and because it had been conducted in the absence of full and effective consultations ", concludes the Venice Commission.

The response of the Venice Commission by President Klaus Iohannis on 3 May 2018. The request concerned the three laws of justice: amendment of Law 303/2004, on the status of prosecutors and judges, amendments to the Law 304/2004, on the judicial organization and amendments to Law 3017 on the organization of the Superior Council of Magistracy

All these laws were adopted by the Parliament but sent back reconsideration by President Klaus Iohannis. The laws were also repeatedly appealed to the Constitutional Court by the head of state, the opposition parties or the High Court of Cassation and Justice.

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