Romanian President Nicusor Dan has vowed to launch an investigation into alleged irregularities in the judiciary after meeting with judges and prosecutors, Reuters reports.
Dan said hundreds of judges had described the Supreme Judicial Council’s attitude as creating an atmosphere of fear and accused it of acting in the interests of a particular group rather than the public. The president’s statement said the situation was very serious and raised concerns about the integrity and independence of the judiciary.
The meeting followed an open invitation by the president to members of the judiciary to submit complaints, and on the 21st of December Dan was reported to have received around 2,000 pages of examples of problems in the system, which meant an investigation and appropriate action were needed.
In Romania, the president appoints the chief judges and prosecutors,
and he can attend meetings of the highest-level judiciary, but he has no legal authority to replace or dismiss judges and prosecutors.
However, far-right lawmakers have accused the centrist Dan of interfering with the independence of the judiciary and have called for his impeachment.
Accusations of judicial abuses have flared after the independent media outlet Recorder aired a documentary showing that chief judges, who have political backing, exploit loopholes in the system to engage in unethical practices, including issuing questionable acquittals. Thousands of people took to the streets in Bucharest and other Romanian cities for protests.
Romania is one of the most corrupt countries in the European Union, and Brussels has been paying close attention to its judiciary since joining the bloc. Since the monitoring was suspended in 2023, corruption investigations have also slowed.
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