IMPARȚIALITATE·INTEGRITATE·EFICIENȚĂ
September, 18th, 2015
No. 1482/VIII/3
Press Release
Following certain online statements made on September 17th 2015 by the Prime Minister of Romania, Mr. Ponta Victor-Viorel, after our office issued the press release no. 1472/VIII/3 from September 17th 2015, the Office for Information and Public Relations is authorized to inform as follows:
Among other things, the Prime Minister of Romania, Mr. Ponta Victor-Viorel stated on a social network as follows: "(….) the only problem of the country is the obsession of a completely unprofessional prosecutor to distinguish himself and advance in his career by inventing and imagining false facts and situations from ten years ago!”.
On September 18th 2015, within the General Assembly of Prosecutors which was convened following the request of the Superior Council of Magistracy in connection to the proposed amendments and completions to the Law no. 303/2004, on the status of judges and prosecutors, one of the topics for discussion was the online statements made by the Prime Minister of Romania.
On this occasion, by unanimous vote, the ninety prosecutors attending the General Assembly of the National Anticorruption Directorate requested the Superior Council of Magistracy (CSM) to examine whether those statements could prejudice the independence of the judicial system as a whole.
The statement in question is all the more serious since the documents and activities conducted by the prosecutor are subject to a review made by his superiors, in terms of legality and merits, according to the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code
Thus, the statements made by Mr. Ponta Victor-Viorel, considering his capacity, have a significant impact on the public opinion, being able to undermine and prejudice the institution where the prosecutor conducts his activity, as well as the independence of the judicial system.
In their request addressed to the Superior Council of Magistracy, the prosecutors of the National Anticorruption Directorate consider that the defamatory statements made by the Prime Minister affect the professional reputation of the prosecutor who investigated the case and of the prosecutors authorized to rule on the legality and validity of the decision ordered in that file – i.e. indictment.
These statements call in question the objectivity with which criminal cases are investigated and also the moral and professional probity of the prosecutors who conduct their activity in this institution, thus resulting in seriously undermining the independence of the National Anticorruption Directorate.
It is worth mentioning once again that the independence of the judicial system is a consequence of professional and moral integrity and impartiality and integrity are attributes that must be guaranteed according to the law.
THE INFORMATION AND PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICE