The first working meeting at the Government on justice laws. Who is part of the review committee

The Justice Legislation Analysis and Review Committee meets on Tuesday at Victoria Palace. According to the agenda of Prime Minister Ilie Bolojam, the meeting is scheduled to start at 10:00.

“As in the world of politics, also in the world of justice an important problem is the lack of trust of citizens. We must recognize this. (…) Basically, we must see how we improve the activity of these two large systems, so that the degree of trust of our citizens increases and we have better services. In the area of justice, without being a specialist in this, there are three aspects that strongly influence perceptions – the quality of the justice act to provide justice to citizens, to give correct sentences, to generate in what is happening (…) The feeling of injustice is strong”, Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan said on Monday evening, on Antena 3, quoted by Agerpres.

The initiative came about following revelations made by a number of magistrates in the Recorder documentary “Captured Justice”. The prime minister said, last week, in an interview for Cotidianul, that “it should” be until the end of January that the working group from the government come up with the proposals for legislative changes in the field of justice.

The Government meeting takes place after, during Monday, President Nicușor Dan held three rounds of consultations with magistrates on the problems faced by the justice system in Romania.

Marathon discussions in Cotroceni. Nicușor Dan will meet with Cătălin Predoiu

At the Cotroceni Palace, the consultations began with a group of 11 former or current magistrates, who agreed to speak publicly about the irregularities recently reported in the Recorder report. The discussion was broadcast live by the Presidential Administration and HotNews followed it in real time.

Among the problems complained by the magistrates were the need for urgent changes to the Justice laws adopted in 2022, the existence of an “oligarchic system” at the top, especially at the High Court of Cassation and Justice and the Superior Council of the Magistrate, the proximity of some magistrates to political actors, abuses of the Judicial Inspection against some inconvenient magistrates, the way in which the postings and delegations are made, the pressure exerted by the DNA management on some prosecutors. A generalized state of fear among magistrates was also reported. That is why a protection was proposed for whistleblowers in the judicial system.

Afterwards, the discussions at the Cotroceni Palace continued with two other groups, each consisting of 20 magistrates, who requested that the meeting with the head of state be without the press.

In total, with breaks, the discussions in Cotroceni started at 10:00 and ended almost at 20:00.

On Tuesday, “President Nicușor Dan will have a discussion with the Minister of the Interior Cătălin Predoiu on government issues, and on justice issues”, sources from the Presidential Administration told HotNews.

What does the Minister of Justice say?

The Minister of Justice, Radu Marinescu, stated on Monday that the working group established by the Government aims to analyze the Justice laws, to see if their application generates systemic dysfunctions.

“The purpose of the Government working group is to analyze the application of Justice laws, to see if their application generates systemic, structural dysfunctions, because there may be specific issues, perhaps legitimate grievances of the magistrates, because the judiciary system is ultimately a competitive system up to certain aspects. (…) If we identify those problems of a structural nature that arise from the law and not from misunderstandings between magistrates, then we must intervene. This is the role of this working group, and the Ministry of Justice will do everything related to its legal attributions, based on a fully evaluated factual basis, in order to modernize justice”, declared Radu Marinescu, at the Parliament.

The Committee for the Analysis and Review of Legislation in the Field of Justice consists of representatives of the Prime Minister's Chancellery and representatives of the Ministry of Justice, as permanent members.

Representatives of other public authorities and institutions, civil society and international organizations can participate in the work of the Committee, based on the Prime Minister's invitation.

Cine was invited to be part of the Government's working group on justice issues

On Friday, December 19, HotNews asked the Government for the list of organizations or institutions that were invited to be part of the working group.

“At the disposal of the Prime Minister, representatives of the Chancellery of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Justice will be part of it. The Prime Minister invited the Presidential Administration and each of the two sections of the CSM to appoint representatives,” the Government's spokeswoman, Ioana Dogioiu, told HotNews.

In addition, they were invited to appoint representatives:

• Funky Citizens
• latch
• Association Movement for the Defense of the Status of Prosecutors
• Association of Magistrates from Romania
• Association of Prosecutors from Romania
• The Romanian Judges' Forum Association
• Expert Forum
• Initiative Association for Justice
• The National Union of Romanian Bar Associations
• The National Union of Judges from Romania
• Legal Resource Center

On behalf of the institutions, representatives of:

• Superior Council of Magistracy – President
• Superior Council of Magistracy – Vice President
• Ministry of Justice
• Presidential Administration

What duties does the working group have?

According to the text of the formation decision, the committee has the following main duties:

• analyzes the effects of the implementation of the justice legislation adopted in 2022, including the laws on the status of magistrates, the judicial organization and the operation of the SCM;
• analyzes and debates the opinions formulated by the representative associations of judges and prosecutors, as well as by non-governmental organizations regarding the organization and functioning of justice and the realization of the act of justice;
• organizes meetings with representatives of institutions, authorities and organizations, including from the international level, with competences or activity in the field of justice;
• requests points of view from institutions, authorities and organizations, including from the international level, with competences or activity in the field of justice;
• presents progress reports on the status of the fulfillment of the measures and the exercise of the duties provided for in this decision;
• proposes a series of measures to ensure the impartiality, independence and efficiency of the judicial act, in accordance with constitutional values ​​and international standards regarding the rule of law.