Supreme Court's Tarcea: Prosecutors need to be independent, well prepared profesionally and strong

The President of the High Court of Cassation and Justice (ICCJ), Cristina Tarcea declared on Tuesday that the prosecutors that will be part of the special Justice Crime Investigation Section need to be independent, well prepared professionally and strong. 

"We have made our points when the project was under public debate, and I don't think you have ever heard me opposing the setting up of such a section. My only concern was a matter of organisation, but things will probably be organized. A regulation of organisation and functioning has already been approved within the CSM [Supreme Council of Magistrates, ed.n.]," Tarcea stated at the Supreme Court headquarters. 

Asked about how prosecutors who will be part of this section should be like, Tarcea said : "Independent and well prepared professionally and strong". 

On September 19, the plenum of CSM approved the regulations for appointing prosecutors with leadership and execution positions within the special Justice Crime Investigation Section. 

On July 20, President Klaus Iohannis signed a decree, promulgating the bill amending and supplementing Law 304/2004 concerning theon the judiciary. The main provision of the bill is the establishment of the special section for the investigation of magistrates within the General Prosecutor's Office. 

"Within the Public Prosecutor's Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice a new Section will be establishes for the investigation of criminal offenses in Justice, that has the exclusive attribute of carrying out prosecution for crimes committed by judges and prosecutors, including judges and military prosecutors and those that are members of the Supreme Council of Magistrates. The Justice Crime Investigation Section also has prosecution jurisdiction in the situation where, alongside people referred to in paragraph 1, other people are being investigated as well. In the event of criminal offenses committed by judges and military prosecutors, the provisions of art. 56, paragraph 1 from Law no. 135/2020 concerning the Criminal Procedure Code, with the later amendments and completions are not enforceable," reads the law.