The CSM sent the president Nicușor Dan and the government the results of the questionnaire in which the judges saw other problems of justice than those revealed by the Recorder
The Superior Council of the Magistracy (CSM) announced, on Wednesday, that it sent to the President Nicușor Dan, the Government and the Ministry of Justice the preliminary results of the questionnaire on the problems in the judiciary, initiated by the Section for Judges, from which it appears that the overwhelming majority of judges are calling for “a public campaign” against the judicial system and that the “passivity of the Parliament” is the main cause of the numerous prescriptions.
“In the context of the approach initiated by the Section for Judges of the Superior Council of the Magistracy regarding the consultation of the professional body of judges on current issues in the judicial system, we inform you that the results of this consultation, respectively the preliminary analysis regarding the questionnaire completed by judges regarding current issues in the judicial system, were communicated to the President of Romania, the Government of Romania and the Ministry of Justice”, informed the CSM, in a statement published on the institution's website.
Over 98% of responding judges accuse “a public campaign against justice”
The Superior Council of the Magistracy presented on Tuesday the results of the first centralization of answers from the questionnaire addressed to judges and said that more than 98% “answered that they felt in the last year a public campaign against justice”. Citing the answers received, the CSM mentioned, among other things, that “the prescription of criminal liability cannot be imputed to the judges, but primarily to the passivity of the legislature”.
On Monday, the CSM announced that 2,583 judges responded to the questionnaire launched after the Recorder documentary “Captured Justice”, representing 56.5% of the active body.
“The questionnaire included a number of 20 questions, of which 17 allowed answers that can be centralized automatically, while for 3 questions they allowed open answers (free text). At the same time, it was not mandatory to fill in all the answers considering that some assumptions were not applicable to all judges, in relation to their specialization or the specific situations that were the subject of the questions”, stated the CSM in the statement on Tuesday.
The institution noted that “the data presented are preliminary, being the result of a first centralization and an overall analysis carried out based on the full coverage of the three areas of free answers”. “At a later stage, a detailed analysis and an extensive classification will be carried out, which will take into account all the nuances and particularities of the aspects indicated in the answers to the open questions,” the CSM added on Tuesday.
The council said that “the judges felt the public campaign against the judiciary carried out in the last year” and that they “support the public reactions of the CSM to the campaign carried out”.
“The data indicate that the public reactions of the CSM have benefited from a high level of support among judges, the disagreement being very low compared to the number of respondents,” the CSM claimed.
A total of 192 respondents, representing 8.4%, said they had been replaced from a bench, while 2,081, or 91.6%, said they had not been replaced. Only 31 of those replaced “showed that they were replaced without their consent.”
“Only one respondent assessed that the change was made with the aim of leading to the intervention of the prescription of criminal liability, while 159 judges answered in the opposite sense. At the same time, 3 judges showed that they challenged the administrative act in court, while 71 judges showed that they did not formulate such an action”, noted the CSM.
The cause of the statute of limitations, according to the CSM: “Parliament's passivity”
The CSM also claimed that in the responses to the questionnaire, the “passivity of the Parliament” was indicated as the main cause of the prescription of criminal liability.
“The judge's perception is that the main cause that led to these situations in which it is found that the prescription of criminal liability has intervened is the passivity of the Parliament. At the same time, the length of the criminal investigation and the decisions handed down by the Constitutional Court are significant causes”, according to the Tuesday statement of the CSM.
The council added that “the judges perceived as the last reason the reason regarding the illegitimate or unjustified changes brought to the composition of the panel, an aspect that strengthens the conclusion regarding the generalization and the formation of a wrong perception among the public, a perception that has the effect of discrediting justice”.
The CSM also claimed that “the volume of activity is the main systemic problem that judges feel”.
“In an overwhelming proportion, the judges appreciated that the high volume of activity and the lack of regulation of the activity represent real problems that directly affect the act of justice”, wrote the CSM.
According to the Section for Judges of the SCM, approximately 2,600 judges responded to the questionnaire on current issues in the judicial system, which represents 56.5% of all those in office.
Referendum announced by the president
“Does the Superior Council of Magistrates act in the public interest or does it act in the interest of a group within the judicial system?”, is the question that Nicușor Dan announced that he wants to ask Romanian magistrates. “If they say that the CSM does not represent the public interest, then the CSM will leave immediately,” the president said on Sunday.
The announcement was met with criticism from the judges' and prosecutors' sections of the SCM, which also accused the president of interference in the judiciary. Also, a former president of the CCR, Augustin Zegrean, questioned the way the referendum was organized.
