Romanian Judges Demand EU-Slated Special Court’s ‘Immediate’ Abolition

Two associations of Romanian judges on Thursday demanded the immediate abolition of a special court set up by the former government after an EU Advocate General on Wednesday submitted a highly critical opinion of the tribunal to the EU Court of Justice.

In a statement released in reaction to the Advocate General's opinion, they called for the "unconditional" abolition of the special tribunal with "immediate" effect.

The Advocate General, Michal Bobek, on Wednesday warned Romania that the special court established by the former Social Democratic Party government in 2018 to investigate magistrates and prosecutors for corruption is contrary to EU law and poses a threat to judicial independence.

Bobek, one of the Advocates General charged with giving legal advice to the Court of Justice of the EU, delivered his opinion to the EU court ahead of its forthcoming ruling on Romania's special tribunal. His advice, which is not legally binding on the court but should be taking into account, was communicated to the court on Wednesday in a four-page opinion.

It notes that Romania's creation of a tribunal to probe magistrates was "not accompanied by sufficient guarantees to dispel any risk of political influence on its functioning and composition". It also criticised the lack of transparency in the creation of this body.

Romania's current minority centre-right government has been a vocal opponent of the special tribunal. However, despite that, the tribunal is still functioning as the Romanian parliament, in which the Social Democrats remain the largest party, has refused to dismantle it.

The establishment of "Special Sections for the Investigation of Crimes in the Justice System" was part of a broader reform of the justice system pushed by...

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