Ex-chief of Anti-corruption Kovesi wins new trial against Judiciary Inspection with Supreme Court

The High Court of Cassation and Justice on Tuesday definitively rejected the appeal filed by the Judiciary Inspection against the Superior Council of Magistrates' decision not to sanction the former chief of the National Anti-corruption Directorate Laura Codruta Kovesi in relation to the insertion in a press release of some parts of discussions recorded at the headquarters of DNA Pitesti.

"We reject the request for suspension made by the appellant, the Judiciary Inspection. We reject the appeal filed by the appellant, the Judiciary Inspection, against the decision number 5P of June 24 2019, pronounced by the Superior Council of Magistrates - the Prosecutors' Section, as unjustified. The decision is definitive," showed the minutes of the decision.

On June 24, 2019, the Section for Prosecutors of the Superior Council of Magistrates rejected the complaint filed by the Judicial Inspection against Laura Codruta Kovesi, related to the insertion by her in a press release of some parts of discussions recorded at the headquarters DNA Ploiesti.

The Judicial Inspection initiated disciplinary action against the former chief of DNA, after she allegedly inserted in a press release parts of recordings of discussions held at the DNA headquarters in Ploiesti, which constituted evidence in a file investigated by the Directorate.

The IJ initiated a disciplinary action against Laura Codruta Kovesi, at that time chief prosecutor of the National Anti-corruption Directorate, "for non-compliance (...) with the confidentiality of works of this nature, as well as of information of the same nature of which she became aware in exercising the function, except for those of public interest, according to the law, disciplinary violation provided by article 99 j of Law No. 303/2004."

"The judicial inspectors noted that the prosecutor inserted in the press release no. 126/VIII/3/2018 passages from the recordings of discussions held at the headquarters of the National Anti-corruption Directorate - Ploiesti Territorial Service, which she learned in the exercise of her position and which constituted evidence - a file registered at the National Anti-corruption Directorate - Section for Combating Corruption Crimes," IJ specified in a press release.