What the Minister of Justice says about the idea of removing the statute of limitations for acts of corruption: “It could be considered a blank check”
Court case, Photo: Andriy Popov / Panthermedia / Profimedia Images
The Minister of Justice, Radu Marinescu, states that the idea according to which there should no longer be a statute of limitations for acts of corruption “is a topic to be discussed from a legal point of view”, but he calls into question the effectiveness of such a provision, drawing attention to the fact that “if we remove the statute of limitations, this may be a blank check for a judicial body which, considering that there is no longer a deadline in which it must the job, he can do it in 20 or 30 years”.
“It is a topic to be discussed from a legal point of view”, says the Minister of Justice, Radu Marinescu, about the idea that the acts of corruption no longer have a statute of limitations, News.ro quotes.
“Such a law, if hypothetically adopted, would practically only operate for the future. If we were to adopt it tomorrow, it would only refer to the acts that are committed after its entry into force, which means that all other acts committed until tomorrow will be subject to the rigor of previous laws, that is, they will be in the same equation of application of the decisions of the Constitutional Court. What would be the effectiveness of such an approach? Is it a sign of question”, added Radu Marinescu, in a broadcast on Digi 24, on Sunday evening.
“Prescription is the sanction that applies to judicial bodies and the state itself”
He recalls that in 2022 the issue of prescription was “corrected” by Ordinance 71. “What would be the effectiveness of such an initiative, since we have already placed the issue of special prescription and general prescription, on some correct foundations, through a legislative measure adopted in 2022?”.
“However, allow me to ask you one more question. The criminal process and any process itself must be carried out with speed. What does speed mean? The obligation of the judicial body to be active, to get involved, to follow. (…) But I would like to tell you something that I firmly believe after 30 years of legal experience: the effectiveness of the law is established by the exercise of powers by the judicial bodies promptly and correctly. Because if we remove the statute of limitations can be a blank check for a judicial body, which, considering that there is no longer a deadline in which it must do its work, can do it in 20 or 30 years. The statute of limitations is that sanction that applies to the judicial bodies and the state itself, that it is not able to prosecute a person in a very generous period of time able to do this with all of us. It is very important to apply the law prosecutor, judge, judicial police body with the same promptness as everyone”, argued the Minister of Justice.
