Justice Minister: Constitutional Court Decisions Cannot Be Verified By ECHR
Romanian Justice Minister Tudorel Toader told MEDIAFAX on Tuesday that decisions of the country’s Constitutional Court are not subjected to ECHR checks, after the country’s former top anticorruption prosecutor announced that she challenged her dismissal from office with the European court.
“Constitutional Court decisions cannot be subjected to ECHR checks. Constitutional Court decisions are final, they refer to constitutionality or judicial conflicts of constitutional nature,” the minister told MEDIAFAX.
Toader’s statements come after the former chief of the country’s National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA), Laura Codruta Kovesi, announced earlier on Tuesday that she challenged the decision which dismissed her from office with the ECHR, citing human rights violations in the procedure.
According to the former DNA chief, the decree signed by President Klaus Iohannis last year, issued in accordance with a Constitutional Court ruling on the matter, violated several rights established by the European Convention on Human Rights. The challenge was filed in December 2018.
“The reasons I included in the challenge regarded the fact that, through its decision, the Constitutional Court decided my dismissal from office, although I was not formally a part of the conflict solved by the constitutional tribunal, I was never summoned for a hearing by the Constitutional Court and I did not even have at least the capacity to intervene and express a point of view in my defense,” Kovesi announced in a response issued by the press bureau of the General Prosecutor’s Office.
The former chief prosecutor added that the court’s decision could not be contested in any manner internally by its nature, thus denying her an appeal.
Kovesi was dismissed from office by President Klaus Iohannis in July 2018, who was forced by the Constitutional Court to heed the recommendation of the justice minister on the matter, despite initially refusing the latter’s proposal to dismiss her. (evz.ro)
Possible Merger Between Liberal Party And People’s Movement Party
The National Liberal Party (PNL) and People’s Movement Party (PMP) could merge, according to sources close to the matter.
The two parties ordered a huge opinion poll and held talks regarding a possible merger after the European Parliament elections. (romanialibera.ro)
Adrian Falub Takes Over As Coach Of Concordia Chiajna
First league football club Concordia Chiajna announced on its website that it appointed Adrian Falub as coach.
”Concordia Chiajna and Adrian Falub have reached an agreement on the latter taking over as coach until the end of the 2018/2019 season (…)”, the football club said in its statement.
Falub, 47, will be running the first training session at Concordiei Chiajna on January 9, 2019. Falub had also coached the team between November 2015 and June 2016.
Falub is replacing Dorinel Munteanu whose contract with Concordia Chiajna was terminated on January 7, 2019.
Dorinel Munteanu took over as coach of Concordia Chiajna on September 18, 2018 after the dismissal of Ionut Badea.
Concordia ranks next to last in the ranking (13th), with 17 points after 21 stages. (romanialibera.ro)
Central Bank Governor Says ROBOR Rate Unconnected to Bank Tax
Romania’s central bank governor Mugur Isarescu said Tuesday after the bank’s monetary policy meeting the recent drop in interbank interest rates has nothing to do with the tax on bank assets but with market liquidity and analysts’ inflation expectations.
Short-term money market rates are connected to liquidity on the money market, Isarescu underscored.
Regarding the government’s recent introduction of a tax on bank assets, Isarescu said the main problem is that the tax has been tied to the interbank interest rate level and was not discussed with the banking industry and adopted out of the blue.
The central bank on Tuesday kept its benchmark interest rate on hold at 2.5% at its first monetary policy meeting this year. It also kept rates for its deposit and lending facilities unchanged at 1.5% and 3.5%, respectively.
Board decisions aim to ensure and preserve price stability over the medium term in a manner conducive to achieving sustainable economic growth and amid safeguarding financial stability, the central bank said in a detailed statement Tuesday.
It added the Board underlines that the balanced macroeconomic policy mix and the implementation of structural reforms designed to foster the growth potential over the long term are of the essence in preserving a stable macroeconomic framework and strengthening the capacity of the Romanian economy to withstand potential adverse developments. (romanialibera.ro)