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Corruption Trial Of Former Romanian PM Suspended

The trial of former Romanian Prime Minister Adrian Nastase was suspended on Tuesday and the file was sent to the Constitutional Court, after the Supreme Court admitted an exception of unconstitutionality to the Anticorruption Department’s summons.
Corruption Trial Of Former Romanian PM Suspended
16 iun. 2009, 15:26, English

This decision is final according to legal norms and Anticorruption Department prosecutors may not ask for an appeal in this case, because of the exception of unconstitutionality.

The attorney of co-defendant Diana Gasparovici stated Tuesday before the Supreme Court that Government Emergency Ordinance 134/2005, amending and completing Government Emergency Ordinance 243/2002 on the National Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office (PNA, now DNA), is unconstitutional because the Government did not give a legal reason for the ordinance to be implemented as an emergency.

The attorney pointed out that the Ordinance called for a limit on the duties of the PNA in the cases of high-level corruption, given the perpetrator’s status and the amount of the damage. The attorney showed that Ordinance 134/2005 infringes on paragraphs 4 and 6 of article 115 of the Constitution, whereby emergency ordinances cannot be adopted in the field of constitutional laws and may not affect the operation of fundamental state institutions.

The Supreme Court is expected to take a decision in this case.

In January, Anticorruption Department prosecutors charged former Prime Minister Adrian Nastase with using his position in 2004 as president of the Social Democratic Party in order to obtain money or goods for himself or others.