European magistrates concerned that the involvement of the secret services in the Romanian judiciary process has not been clarified yet

Chisinau, Moldova
21 November, 2015

European magistrates concerned that the involvement of the secret services in the Romanian judiciary process has not been clarified yet

MEDEL – Magistrats Européens pour la Démocratie et les Libertés – expresses deep concerns that the Romanian Superior Council of Magistracy failed to clarify for the public the involvement of the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI) in the judiciary and that the matter of the undercover agents among the magistrates has not being yet clarified. The lack of public debate about these important issues concerning the independence of the judiciary is weakening the democracy in Romania.

We were astonished to find out that the Romanian Superior Council of Magistracy decided the statement made by SRI General Dumitru Dumbrava, that the Courts were “tactical fields” for this secret service, did not affect the independence of the judiciary.

Even more shocking was that the Council used in the deliberation process notes from SRI, explaining their involvement in the judiciary, that were classified as “secret”. Keeping such notes secret and inaccessible to the public is depriving the Romanian citizens of their right to a fair trial and is raising more doubts about the independence of the judiciary in the country.

All laws, regulations and agreements involving the administration of justice have to be accessible to the public. The fact that even the judges are unable to know the relationship between the prosecutors and the secret services or how the secret services are operating in the courts, where they should not be present at all, raises serious concerns about the administration of justice in Romania.

MEDEL restates the need for absolute transparency in the judicial system and that it is the duty of the Superior Council to be the guardian of independence and transparency, the foundations of a functional and credible judiciary system.

Another issue that was not yet clarified is that of the undercover agents among the magistrates. The Supreme Council for National Defense (CSAT) failed to provide an update with the status of its investigation to check the magistrate’s declarations that they were not undercover agents of any secret service.

We are also concerned about the SRI’s acknowledgment in its 2014 activity report that this intelligence agency constantly took actions in order to assess the quality and consistency of the information addressed to the prosecutor’s office, the accuracy of the judicial argumentation and, respectively, the relevancy of the evidence. In other words, SRI acts as an active party in the trial, which is strictly and totally prohibited by law.

The lack of public debate, the reluctance of the media to discuss and investigate these important topics and the sporadic reactions from the civil society are weakening the democracy in Romania. The best example to illustrate this is that a new Big Brother law was passed without any public and parliamentarian debate taking place, and with a very weak reaction in the media and from the civil society.

MEDEL calls again on all Romanian authorities to clarify all the aspects related to the involvement of the secret services in the judiciary process, which is undermining the independence of the judiciary and threatening the democracy in Romania. We will support any further actions of the Romanian judges and prosecutors in protecting the independence of the judiciary and we will provide an update about this serious situation in Romania to the European institutions.

Gualtiero Michelini
president of MEDEL