Oana Gheorghiu, reaction after her inclusion on the “black list” of the CSM: “Privileges isolate justice from society”
After being included in the list of politicians accused by the CSM of launching a campaign to denigrate justice, Deputy Prime Minister Oana Gheorghiu responded in a Facebook post stating that she is guilty of this accusation, if it is motivated by her statement that special pensions are a privilege.
“Self-declaration: the undersigned, Gheorghiu Oana-Clara, declare on my own responsibility that I am guilty of “discrediting justice” (as the CSM claims) because I allowed myself to state that the special pensions of magistrates represent a privilege that must be eliminated. Yes, it is true, I believe that Romania can no longer afford to have special pensioners, from the judiciary or other fields, who retire from activity at 48-50 years old”, writes Oana Gheorghiu.
“No institution is immune from criticism”
The Deputy Prime Minister argues that magistrates should be paid very well so that they are free from political or pecuniary temptations, but retirement conditions should be fair in relation to the rest of society.
“Retiring at the age of 48-50, with pensions several times higher than the average salary in the economy, is not a tool of judicial independence. It is a privilege. And privileges do not make justice fairer, but isolate it from the society it should serve”, believes Gheorghiu.
She considers it “regrettable” that the CSM has drawn up a 70-page report in which to make accusations of “discrediting justice” and recalls that people from the judiciary have already appeared who say they were not consulted.
“When there are unjustified privileges or benefits, I believe that every citizen has every right to express his opinion without restraint. No institution in a democracy has the right to be sheltered from criticism. Not even the one that distributes justice”, concluded Oana Gheorghiu.
“Black list” made by CSM
The judges of the CSM indicated as authors of the campaign to denigrate justice “politicians of the governing coalition, especially from USR and PNL”.
The prime minister was also mentioned, but without giving his name:
“The campaign was based on constantly repeated lies by a part of the ruling coalition today, especially by the political part under the authority and influence of the prime minister, their media vectors, as well as by NGOs that traditionally subscribe to their messages.”
Dominic Fritz, president of USR, Ana Birchall, former minister of justice, former adviser to the president, former adviser to the prime minister, Cristian Ghinea (USR), Laurenţiu Ştefănescu (USR) and other USR members, as well as former investigative journalist Ionel Stoica, are listed on the “black list”. Several of their posts on social networks are indicated in the CSM decision.
Deputy Prime Minister Oana Gheorghiu, Ruben Lațcau (Deputy Mayor of USR Timisoara), Diana Mardarovici, PNL councilor, Cătălin Teniță (ex-USR) complete the list.
In this decision, which the CSM says it will also communicate to international bodies, the Council also complains about the “malicious attitude of a part of the media” and gives G4Media as an example, accusing that in the last year the publication wrote 405 “negative” articles about justice. The Recorder publications, through the documentary “Captured Justice”, and PressHub also appear on the list.
