RO+ movement: Felons' puppets lost all legitimacy to amend justice package, criminal codes

The Romania Together Movement (RO+) considers that following the recent verdict of the Venice Commission "the felons' puppets have lost all legitimacy to amend the justice package and the criminal codes." 

In a Monday release, RO+ says the promoters of the changes to the justice package and the criminal codes "have lamentably failed the test before the Venice Commission professionals." 

"With the verdict of the Venice Commission, the PSD - ALDE coalition has lost the last shred of legitimacy to credibly lead the debates on the organization of justice and criminal policy in Romania," the release states, and goes on to note that the conclusions of the Venice Commission "are devastating" for the PSD - ALDE coalition. 

"PSD, ALDE and UDMR have lied to us: despite the leaders of the ruling coalition cynically assuring the Romanians in ill-faith that the adopted amendments were purportedly intended to meet the requirements of the Venice Commission, the recently released conclusions prove the opposite. According to the Commission, which is unanimously accepted as the top-important European body of justice professionals, the changes adopted by Romania's ruling majority undermine the independence of the judiciary and seriously affect the Romanian state's ability to fight corruption, organized crime and violent crimes," the release said. 

According to RO+, the ruling coalition is doubly discredited: from a legal point of view "for the regulatory chaos created and for the lack of professionalism in imposing legislative changes"; and from a political point of view, "for the lawmaking method used to serve criminal interests and for ignoring the magistrates' and the society's opposition to these changes." 

RO+ underscores that the public debate on justice and the rule of law must be restarted on new bases, "but not by those who have taken Romania 15 years back, through the attempted restoration of the party-state, and by setting mechanisms in place to protect public money embezzlement," the release states. 

RO+ also considers that the immediate repeal of the amendments to the justice laws is necessary (the repeal of Law No. 207/2018 amending the Law on judicial organization, of Law No. 234/2018 amending the rules on the Superior Council of the Magistrates, and Law No. 242/2018 amending the statutes of magistrates, as well as Emergency Ordinances 90/2018 and 92/2018). 

RO+ states that a fresh start is needed, based on the completed draft to reform the judiciary package put up for public debate in 2016, and that all proposed amendments to the Criminal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure which were found by the Venice Commission to "undermine the state's ability to combat serious forms of crime, including crimes of corruption and organized crime" must be dropped. 

"Any proposal to amend the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code should start from a previous public debate with magistracy experts and academics to identify criminal policy solutions that are compatible with Romania's international commitments and with the European directives," the cited source concludes.