Fabian Gyula (ombudsman candidate): Fundamental rights of Romanians, a shield from state power

Candidate for the position of ombudsman Fabian Gyula said on Wednesday that the fundamental rights of Romanians are "a shield" from the power of the state and from the power of the European institutions, and the people need a shield bearer to hold this shield for them.

"My first goal [as ombudsman]- I do not want to substitute myself for public authorities. I want to exercise correctly my 15 main responsibilities, first of all to focus on swift and efficient work on citizens' petitions. I tell students that the fundamental rights of the Romanians are a shield from the state power, even currently from the power that comes from the European institutions as well. (...) Sometimes, indeed, the people, more precisely individuals, need a squire, one to keep the shield for them, given that there is also the possibility of ex officio steps to go this way alone. At the same time, I want to start the accreditation procedure of the ombudsman as a national institution. Last but not least, to simplify the way petitions are drafted, and I've even seen the Swedish model, which provides a much more friendlier interface than the current procedure, which helps people by accessing a secure page to fill in fields without downloading a pdf, without signing, scanning and so on," Gyula said at his hearing by Parliament's judiciary committees, agerpres report.

He mentioned that he wants to be inspired by the words and theories of Professor Ion Deleanu.

"I want to be inspired by the words and theories of Professor Ion Deleanu, who said that the ombudsman in Romania is unfortunately between the specter of uselessness and balm to the pain of the citizen. It is somewhere there that I want to get, on a middle line, so that the people will not have the impression that they have thrown away some money at this office, but at the same time, I do not want to sell illusions or come up as a knight who can solve anything, because I will be simply, according to the statutes, a mere aid of Parliament in its relations with the government. I don't look like a destroyer, a man who destroys for the sake of the pleasure of ruining something and for the sake of standing out. Maybe that's why I don't have notoriety," he said.

Gyula also said that he is a law school graduate, that he has been a prosecutor for 25 years, and that he has been a professor for 22 years.

The ombudsman will be appointed at a plenary session of Parliament, most likely on Monday. Fabian Gyula is the only one to have applied for the position.