VIDEO “Lia called me, I'm going to talk” / Amazing dialogue between the president and the vice-president of the Court of Appeal, during the press conference
Video capture via Recorder
The vice-president of the Bucharest Court of Appeal, Ionela Tudor, was surprised during Thursday's press conference as she told the president of the court, who was responding to the HotNews journalist, that she was being called by “Lia”. Judge Tudor leaves, then returns to the president of the Court of Appeal and whispers what to answer.
- The moment was reported by Recorder journalists.
- In the documentary “Captured Justice”, the Recorder journalists have testimonies from several judges who say that the current president of the supreme court, Lia Savonea, is seen as an “absolute leader of the system”, and an example is the fact that she retained her influence over the leadership of the Bucharest Court of Appeal, which she led from 2012-2023.
“Lia called me, I'm going to talk”
When the HotNews journalist asks the president of the Bucharest Court of Appeal (CAB) about the involvement of politicians in the files, more precisely about the statements of Cătălin Predoiu, then Minister of Justice, the vice-president of the Bucharest Court of Appeal, Ionela Tudor, tells the president Liana Nicoleta Arsenie that her name is “Lia”.
“Lia called me, I'm going to talk,” says Ionela Tudor to the CAB president, in a whisper, even though she had the microphones in front of her.
Judge Ionela Tudor returns to the lectern – after about a minute – next to the president of the Court of Appeal, who was answering the HotNews journalist.
In the video footage, it can be seen that Judge Ionela Tudor then dictates what to say while bending the phone towards her, and the CAB president puts on her glasses and speaks while looking into the phone. “It is excluded that Predoiu intervened… He did not suggest…”, says the president of the Bucharest Court of Appeal.
What did the President of the Court of Appeal, Judge Arsenie, answer when HotNews reminded her that Minister Predoiu announced an acquittal given by her herself two months in advance / “Can you tell the public, please, if you then addressed the CSM?”
Ionela Tudor, the judge who summoned the magistrates to the conference “for support”
Before the press conference, the judges received, on an internal group, a message from judge Ionela Tudor, who is also the spokesperson of the institution:
“The request of the lady president (no – Liana Arsenie, president of the Bucharest Court of Appeal) is to come for support at the press conference. We must be united against this assault against justice. Now we are waiting for you in the council room. Please come, those who are present.”
“Madame President's Prayer”. The message sent to the judges of the Bucharest Court of Appeal before the management's press conference
Who is judge Ionela Tudor?
Ionela Tudor is one of the vice presidents of the Bucharest Court of Appeal.
Judge Ionela Tudor is the one who gave favorable solutions in the file regarding the suspension of the analysis of Nicolae Ciucă's doctorate and in the file regarding the land at Ferma Băneasa. This last decision was the basis of the acquittal of businessman Puiu Popoviciu, initially sentenced to 7 years in prison.
Judge Ionela Tudor is the one who in March 2022 accepted the request of former Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă regarding the suspension of the registration of three plagiarism notifications for his doctoral thesis. This argued the suspension of the analysis of Nicolae Ciucă's doctoral thesis with the need for stability. In addition, Ionela Tudor reasoned that the plagiarism scandal could benefit the former prime minister's political opponents.
“The generation of such a news (about the situation of the analysis of plagiarism no) has a major impact on the credibility of the electorate and the party, which can lead to the withdrawal of the trust granted, especially in the current social and political context, in which there is a need for stability in the executive management of the state”, mentioned judge Ionela Tudor in the motivation.
Judge Tudor's reasoning has sparked widespread criticism in the public space. The Center for Legal Resources submitted, on behalf of several NGOs, a notification to the Judicial Inspection, showing that the reasoning of judge Ionela Tudor includes “evaluations of the board regarding the stability of the executive leadership of the state, the political career of the applicant or the credibility of the party he belongs to in front of the electorate, which could be a violation of the Law on the status of judges and prosecutors.” The Judicial Inspection closed the referral.
