| REPAIRS TO THE NATIONAL INTEGRITY AGENCY 29/04/2010 |
| (2010-04-29) |
| Last updated: 2010-04-30 17:34 EET |
The new law passed after two voting sessions, and some amendments to the draft proposed by the government. The law was endorsed by the MPs representing the ruling parties, the independents supporting the executive and the liberal opposition. On the other hand, the left wing opposition abstained, warning it was possible for the law – which in their opinions was debated superficially - to flunk in Constitutional Court again. The Government had to draft a new law on the functioning of the Agency after the High Court discovered the old law contained provisions that were unconstitutional.
The new law provides for two types of statements of wealth which dignitaries and public officials must fill in, one public and one confidential. In the first one the MPs will no longer have to include information about the addresses of their houses, the banks at which they have accounts or the companies they own shares in. In this way the right to private life is observed, a right which, according to the Constitutional Court, is violated in the old law. However, all available data has to be included in the confidential statements, which will actually be analysed by the National Integrity Agency.
If the agency finds about fixed and movable assets for which no taxes were paid, discrepancies in the statements or evidence that those assets were acquired illegally, it has the right to notify the internal revenue services or the prosecutor’s office.
So far, the agency has only had the right to inform the prosecutor’s office and to request in court the seizing of illicit assets, which, the Constitutional Court has ruled, generates confusion and an overlapping of responsibilities for the two bodies. The new law will be submitted for approval to the Romanian Senate, which is the decision maker. On Monday, during consultations with the parliamentary parties, Traian Basescu called for the new law to be passed urgently. The fair and effective functioning of the Integrity Agency is one of the commitments that the Romanian authorities made towards the EU.
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2025-04-03
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