The criminal complaint against Oana Gheorghiu has been sent to the Prosecutor's Office, announces number 2 of the CSM: “A red line has been crossed” / Sandu indicates the “reasonable percentage” for magistrates' pensions

The Vice-President of the CSM, Claudiu Sandu, announced on Tuesday evening that the criminal complaint against the Deputy Prime Minister Oana Gheorghiu has been drawn up and sent to the General Prosecutor's Office, claiming that the action represents “a democratic exercise”.

“It was drawn up and sent to the PICCJ. We appreciated that there were certain indications of the propagation of hatred in the public environment towards the professional category of magistrates. A criminal complaint is a democratic exercise within certain limits because it does not amount to a conviction or criminal prosecution”, declared number 2 of the CSM, in a telephone intervention to Digi24.

“It was decided to file this complaint, as it was considered that, however, the campaign which is not accidental against the magistrates went from a point where it could be discussed and reached an incitement to hatred against this profession, which is, I think, abnormal in a state of law and in a democratic society”, he stated.

Sandu also said that Deputy Prime Minister Oana Gheorghiu's statements about magistrates' pensions crossed the “red line of a political statement”.

According to Sandu, the category of magistrates is “subject to continuous attacks for five to six months” and “a red line has been crossed”.

“At the moment we have a notification that will reach the table of a prosecutor and who will assess further what are the steps to follow. It is very possible that it will not even reach the president of Romania”, added the vice-president of the CSM.

CSM's announcement and Nicușor Dan's reaction

The Superior Council of the Magistracy, headed by Elena Costache, accused Oana Gheorghiu on Monday of committing an “attack” on the judicial power, through the statements about the magistrates' pensions. In an unprecedented move, the CSM stated that “it decided to notify the bodies empowered to carry out investigations under the aspect of committing the crime of incitement to violence, hatred or discrimination”.

The council claimed, in a press release, that, through his statements, Gheorghiu violated the independence of the judiciary and the status of magistrates in an “irresponsible” and “populist” way.

In a Saturday show on Digi24, Oana Gheorghiu compared the magistrates' pension system to “a kind of Caritas” and told the employees in the sector that “if that money has to go to them because they give sentences, they take it from somewhere, and they can take it from the mouth of a child who goes to bed hungry”.

“I would send a message to the magistrates – I would tell them that I understand them. It is very difficult to give up something that was given to you. (…) It is very difficult to benefit from it for years, decades and suddenly to be told that you no longer have it. It would be difficult for anyone to do this. But I think it was a kind of Caritas this. They were caught in a Caritas, which could not last forever and people who are pragmatic and rational people should understand that. Romania can't afford to pay this money anymore, we can't afford to have special pensioners, and if that money has to go to them because they give sentences, they can take it from the mouth of a child who goes to bed hungry, from the budget of a hospital that has no medicine,” said Oana Gheorghiu.

On Tuesday morning, President Nicușor Dan announced that he would not sign a possible criminal prosecution request for Deputy Prime Minister Oana Gheorghiu.

“I think that the statement of the Deputy Prime Minister was unfortunate and that the reaction of the CSM was greatly exaggerated. It cannot be said that an opinion constitutes a criminal act. And when it comes, if the request for the approval of the criminal investigation comes, I will not sign it. It is not a criminal act at all”, declared Nicușor Dan.

According to the head of state, Gheorghiu must remain in office. “Of course, everyone makes mistakes, and it's not that big of a mistake,” he said.

Sandu: A “reasonable” percentage for magistrates' pensions would be 65% of gross salary

The vice-president of the CSM also claimed on Tuesday that magistrates' pensions should represent around 65% of the last gross salary received, as have the military and other special categories, and the transition period should be between 15 and 20 years.

Claudiu Sandu was asked, on Digi24, by the producer of the show how the new project regarding the reform of the magistrates' pensions should look, in the context of the discussions that will take place on Wednesday, at the Cotroceni Palace, between the president Nicușor Dan, the leaders of the governing coalition and the representatives of the magistrates.

“It is difficult for me to express a point of view now. It is a mandate entrusted to me by my colleagues and any law on magistrates' pensions should concern all magistrates, not only those who are currently active, but also those who are already retired (…) I hope that tomorrow we will not have the same reaction that we had two months ago, when we met in Cotroceni and talked and nothing happened. We presented a point of view and not no one paid attention to us. We would like the magistrates' pensions to be close to the last salary in payment. What does this “close” really mean that we have to discuss (…) This 70% of the net (proposed by the Bologan Government in the project failed at the CCR – no) is taxed with 10% – income tax, 10% – CASS, which is If the Government wants to pay pensions to the magistrates, there is no problem, provided that they pay pensions to all the other special categories (…) I think that 65% of the gross would be a reasonable percentage. Now it is 55% of the gross, as the military and other social categories have, we arrive at a reasonable percentage,” he said. the vice-president of the CSM, quoted by Agerpres.

According to it, the magistrates want a transition period between 15 and 20 years for the application of the new provisions.

“What the prime minister does not understand is that this project of his takes the magistrates below the percentages that apply to other categories. We would like a transition period between 15 and 20 years, so that a real reform in the judiciary can be carried out, to redistribute human resources”, explained Claudiu Sandu.

Nicușor Dan, meeting with the leaders of the coalition and the representatives of the magistrates

President Nicușor Dan will meet, on Wednesday, at 16:00, with the leaders of the governing coalition and with representatives of the magistrates at the Cotroceni Palace, according to the agenda of the head of state. He had a discussion on prosecutors' and judges' pensions on Tuesday as well.

Before that, the president stated that magistrates' pensions have become the subject of a “political campaign”, and prosecutors and judges are “guilty of service”. “Because of this political campaign, they (magistrates – no) have become some kind of guilty party, and that is not normal,” declared the head of state.

Last Friday, Nicușor Dan stated that the discussions on this topic are approaching “a compromise”.

“From the information I have, the compromise is quite close. (…) There are several aspects under discussion and obviously I will not tell you now what is the position of each of the parties, what they have sent me. (…). We will, very likely, have a meeting next week, on several issues related to the current activity, a start of discussion on the 2026 budget”, the president said then.