Who can demand the prosecution of Oana Gheorghiu. Criminal liability procedure for members of the Government

The Superior Council of the Magistrate filed a criminal complaint against Deputy Prime Minister Oana Gheorghiu for “incitement to hatred, violence or discrimination”, after the statements made on the subject of magistrates' pensions. How can the co-founder of the “Give Life” NGO end up in front of the prosecutors?

Any citizen can file a criminal complaint against a member of the Government, but only the Chamber of Deputies, the Senate and the President of Romania have the right to request the prosecution of members of the Government for acts committed in the exercise of their duties, the law on ministerial liability provides.

In the case of Deputy Prime Minister Oana Gheorghiu, complained by the CSM to the General Prosecutor's Office, only President Nicușor Dan can request criminal prosecution, not being a parliamentarian.

The Government is politically accountable only to the Parliament for its entire activity, but for criminal acts, committed in the exercise of their office, the members of the Executive are accountable from the date of taking the oath until the termination of the mandate.

Special Commission at the Presidency

According to Law 115/1999, which regulates ministerial liability in Romania, any citizen who is aware of the commission of a criminal act by members of the Government in the exercise of their duties can address the Prime Minister, the Prosecutor General of the Public Prosecutor's Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice or the chief prosecutor of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, to request notification of the President of Romania.

In exercising the right to request the criminal investigation of a member of the Government, the President of Romania, upon the proposal of a special commission established to analyze the referrals, addresses the Minister of Justice with a request “to proceed according to the law”.

The President of Romania can be referred to request the prosecution of a member of the Government by the Prime Minister, the Prosecutor General of the Public Prosecutor's Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice or by the Chief Prosecutor of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate.

The commission that analyzes the criminal acts complained of in the case of ministers, a status that Oana Gheorghiu also has, is made up of five members appointed for a three-year mandate, which cannot be renewed, and its composition is approved by decree of the President of Romania, at the proposal of the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Administration and Interior, stipulated in the law on ministerial responsibility.

Based on the analysis of the referral, the evidence submitted in support of it, the statements and the evidence invoked by the member of the Government against whom criminal prosecution is requested, the special commission will present a report to the President of Romania with proposals regarding the criminal prosecution or the classification of the referral. Committee meetings are not public. The member of the Government for whom the notification was made has the right to be heard by the commission before drawing up its report.

Her decision to Nicușor Dan

The President of Romania decides on the report presented by the special commission and orders the solution. If the member of the Government for whom the President of Romania requested criminal prosecution is also a deputy or senator, the Minister of Justice or, as the case may be, the Prime Minister will request the competent Chamber to initiate the procedure for adopting the request to initiate criminal prosecution.

The criminal investigation of members of the Government is carried out, as the case may be, by the Prosecutor's Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice or by the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, and their trial by the High Court of Cassation and Justice, a court headed by Lia Savonea.

According to the law, incitement to hatred is punishable by imprisonment from 6 months to 3 years or a fine.

Reporting to the CSM

The CSM announced on Monday that it has notified the General Prosecutor's Office in the case of Deputy Prime Minister Oana Gheorghiu whom it accuses of inciting hatred and discrimination. The CSM accuses Oana Gheorghiu of committing an “attack” on the judicial power through the statements about magistrates' pensions in an interview broadcast on Saturday by Digi24.

“The statements deliberately formulated in a note characterized by an emotional vector, with reference to funds allocated for minors affected by serious pathologies, and the comparison between their situation and the financial guarantees of the independence of justice cannot be simple personal opinions when they come from a representative of the executive power”, the CSM sent.

The CSM claims that “the artificial opposition between the magistrates and the “hungry child whose mouth is taken” is a manipulation and an attempt to divert public grievances towards justice, unrealistically and artificially placing the provision of financial resources in a direct relationship with the financial independence of the magistrates”.

Contacted by HotNews, Oana Gheorghiu did not want to comment on the CSM's approach.