The Association of Prosecutors “Initiative for Justice” asks Nicușor Dan to notify the RCC regarding the procedure for appointing the ICCJ chief. “A constitutional legal conflict”
The Professional Association of Prosecutors “Initiative for Justice”, led by the military prosecutor Bogdan Pîrlog, appeals to President Nicușor Dan to notify the Constitutional Court regarding the existence of a constitutional conflict between the judicial authority and the Parliament, as the SCM has prematurely initiated the procedure of the court, Legal.
“In view of the initiation of the procedure for appointing the president of the High Court of Cassation and Justice by the Superior Council of Magistracy, with the flagrant violation of the provisions of art.142 paragraph (3) of Law no.303/2022 on the statute of judges and prosecutors, we request that, in the exercise of the constitutional duties, Constitutional between the judicial authority and the Parliament of Romania ”, it is shown in the appeal addressed to President Nicușor Dan.
“CSM ignored the legal provisions”
The article invoked by the “Initiative for Justice” provides that the procedure for appointing the President of the High Court of Cassation and Justice can be triggered with a maximum of 60 days before the date on which the position is to vacate.
“As the mandate of the current president expires on 16.09.2025, the procedure for the appointment of the new president could not be initiated before the date of 16.07.2025. By the announcement of 19.05.2025, the Section for Judges within the Superior Council of Magistracy initiated the procedure for appointing the president of the High Court, Indicated ”, it is said in the quoted document.
Prosecutors in the association led by prosecutor Bogdan Pîrlog claim that the early initiation of the procedure is not justified since the mentioned legal provision has not been modified. The constitutional conflict is related to the fact that the SCM ignores the law in force.
“In this context, the legal conflict of a constitutional nature is necessary to be to be resolved to the constitutional court, the only one able to settle on the intervention that the Section for Judges within the Superior Council of Magistracy has generated in the legal norm entered by the legislative authority,” the prosecutors argue to the prosecutor.
The association recalls that the role of the judicial authority under which the High Court of Cassation and Justice is to carry out justice in the name of the law, not to legislate.
“Without any reference to the person of the only candidate in the procedure triggered on 19.05.2025, we consider that the obligation of the institution that has the role of being the guarantor of the independence of justice is to respect the law, in its spirit and letter, especially when it names the head of the supreme court, through which the justice is carried out in Romania”.
Procedure triggered four months before
The Supreme Council of Magistracy published Monday, May 19, the announcement on the initiation of the procedure for the position of president of the High Court of Cassation and Justice. The mandate of the current head of the Supreme Court, Judge Claudia Corbu, expires on September 16th.
The estimated calendar of the procedure begins with May 19 when the announcement is posted on the Council's website, June 16, 2025 is the last day for the candidates, on June 17, the names of those want to lead the JCCJ and their candidacy projects are published. Starting with June 23, the Judges Section can begin to analyze the candidates and approve the interview.
The competition procedure for the position of president of the High Court of Cassation and Justice has already been initiated taking into account “administrative factors”, says the Superior Council of Magistracy.
“According to the reason for the legal provisions in force, the procedure for occupying the position of president of the High Court of Cassation and Justice is triggered in a time interval to ensure an institutional transition appropriate to the responsibilities of the function. The competition procedure was triggered in considering some objective factors, of the administrative nature, which imposed on the interference, which imposed the person, The greatest eligible candidates, avoiding the interference with the court holiday in July and August 2025.
At the same time, the calendar of the competition ensures the continuity of the previous administrative practice of the Council, the last two competitions being triggered on May 30, 2019, respectively May 2, 2022. The calendar of the competition, as established, is not likely to affect the possibility of any of the judges from the High Court of Cassation and Justice to participate in this procedure as for this procedure. Between June 16 and September 16, 2025, ”the SCM said on a press release on Thursday.
Lia Savonea, the name conveyed for ICCJ leadership
Lia Savonea promoted as a judge at the High Court of Cassation and Justice – the Criminal Section in 2023. Previously, he was president of the Bucharest Court of Appeal. Lia Savonea was a member of the SCM in the period 2017-2023, and in 2019 he was president of the Council.
HotNews.ro wrote, at the time of appointment to the Supreme Court, that it is considered one of the most influential people in the judicial system and leader of the anti -reformist group in the SCM.
In 2023, the Declic community launched a public petition against Liei Savonea, a petition signed by tens of thousands of people, in which he asks the SCM not to promote it at the Supreme Court.
Declic brought as an argument that in 2015 Lia Savonea sentenced a man to just 8 months in prison with suspension for sexual intercourse with a minor. The man was accused of maintaining sexual relations with his 13-year-old granddaughter, but the judge applied a small sentence justifying that the little girl would have given her consent.
