According to European Commission’s report on the country’s progress under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM) released Wednesday, the High Court approach on high-level corruption files faced a proactive case management.
“The High Court’s approach towards high-level corruption cases has continued to be characterised by a welcome degree of proactive case management. The HCCJ reported significant progress in the handling of high level corruption cases with a decrease from 28 to 10 open cases, as well as a rise in the number of cases solved in first instance. Where defendants have been convicted, there has also continued to be a more proportionate and consistent approach to penalties. The result is that justice is seen to be performing its dissuasive role more effectively,” the paper read.
According to the EC, law enforcement must work effectively and fairly throughout the system, with the HCCJ continuing to make progress with setting standards and guidelines for lower courts.
“The past few months have seen the Public Ministry, the Directorate-General for Anti-Corruption and the High Court all continuing to work professionally and impartially, sometimes under extreme pressure. The resilience of these institutions so far reinforces the conclusion that their track record on high-level corruption is one of the most significant signs of progress achieved by Romania under the CVM. It is essential that this advance is maintained under new leadership. It must also not be undermined by other restrictions on the ability of law enforcement agencies to pursue justice,” the report states.
The EC’s report also says the new legal framework for the Judicial Inspection adopted in 2011 has allowed the Judicial Inspection to deliver more effectively, resulting in 21 new disciplinary actions taken in its first few months. Moreover, the Ministry of Justice has supported the new Inspectorate with a number of practical measures, including arranging for a new headquarters building.
“More general lessons learned from individual cases could feed into the joint policy recommended by the Commission for the Superior Council of Magistracy (SCM) and government to promote accountability and integrity,” the document read.
According to the EC, the consistency and transparency of the judicial process is a key element in its credibility and its effectiveness. Thus, since the July report, the High Court of Cassation and Justice has continued to take concrete steps to unify jurisprudence and improve its quality, ensuring the transmission of decisions to lower courts and improving online access.
An important issue for the unification of jurisprudence is the updating of the outdated IT system, which limits judges’ knowledge of parallel judgements. Two projects are underway. Also, the Ministry of Justice intends to implement a strategy to have a simple and quick access to ECRIS (the main judicial database) and the SCM also tries to improve in parallel the existing “Jurindex” system (an alternative system).