Higher Magistrates' Council

Romania's Justice Minister, Tudorel Toader, on Thursday, said he had started the procedure to dismiss the country's anti-graft chief prosecutor, Laura Codruta Kovesi, for alleged mismanagement of the National Anticorruption Directorate, DNA.

Romania's Judicial inspectorate on Friday said that it had launched an investigation against the chief prosecutor of the country's National Anti-Corruption Directorate, Laura Codruta Kovesi, on grounds of misconduct.

The Judicial Inspectorate, the body that oversees magistrates, said investigators had submitted a request to the Higher Magistrates' Council to investigate Kovesi.

Romania's Justice Minister Tudorel Toader has vowed to push ahead with the adoption of a controversial justice reform package, despite street protests and sharp criticism from prosecutors, magistrates and Western embassies.

Experts say the changes pose a distinct risk to the independence of the justice system. However, Toader said on Wednesday he will not give up.