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| THE JUDICIARY: AT THE HEART OF POLITICAL SCANDALS 17/01/2008 |
| (2008-01-17) |
| Last updated: 2008-01-18 18:37 EET |
“Eight in one go!”, exclaims the press, after President Traian Basescu on Wednesday approved the request of the Prosecutor's Office concerning the beginning of criminal investigations against current and former dignitaries. The shock wave affected all of the anti-presidential parties, especially the ruling National Liberal Party, with the acting Labour Minister Paul Pacuraru, the former Justice Minister Tudor Chiuariu and the former Agriculture Minister Decebal Traian Remes all being affected. The Social Democratic opposition has two leading members on the list: former Prime Minister Adrian Nastase and the former Transport Minister Miron Mitrea.
The Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, the junior partner in the ruling coalition, and the Conservative Party, in opposition, each have one member on the list of investigated dignitaries: Zsolt Nagy, the former Communications Minister, and Codrut Seres, the former Economy and Trade Minister, respectively. The list also includes a former colleague of President Traian Basescu in the Democratic Party, Victor Babiuc, who acted as Defence Minister between 1996 and 2000. Charges against the eight range from treason and undermining national economy to bribe taking, either in the form of land and buildings, or sausages and plum brandy. President Basescu was keen to point out that:
“In each of these cases, I reached the conclusion that not approving the start of the criminal investigation would mean blocking the justice system. All the more so as four of these files came back from court as a result of a decision by the Constitutional Court, by which it becomes obligatory for the investigation of former ministers to have the approval of the President of Romania. The President does not judge and does not incriminate anybody, he merely allows the continuation of legal procedures. The President receives requests from the General Prosecutor's Office or the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, looks at the alleged actions and lets the judiciary take things further and clarify the situation.”
Eagerly awaited ever since last autumn, the President's approval comes after the Constitutional Court decided that the existence of a committee screening the Prosecutor Office's requests before passing them on to the President was unconstitutional. An expert in constitutional law, university professor Corneliu Liviu Popescu explains what's likely to happen next:
“Whether the Prosecutor's Office actually starts the criminal investigation is for the case prosecutor to decide. It is exactly what the recent ruling of the Constitutional Court stipulates, namely that by approving the start of criminal investigations, or refusing to, the President or the other bodies that have the right to do so, the Chamber of Deputies or the Senate, will have to assume political responsibility for their decision.”
Political analyst Cristian Parvulescu says that by giving his approval, the President “did his duty”. His action is not devoid of any political interpretation, however, as Basescu has managed once again to put his political adversaries with their backs against the wall.
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