Romanian Magistrates’ Vote Fmr Head Lidia Barbulescu For Supreme Court President

Barbulescu headed the council last year, continues to be a member of the council and is the Supreme Court’s interim president.

However, she must be appointed by President Traian Basescu, whom Barbulescu has often criticized, which brought her wide sympathies on the part of judges who found her attitude brave.

During her hearing by the Council of Magistrates, Barbulescu said one of her main goals as president of the Supreme Court would be to unify jurisprudence, an aspect criticized by the European Commission in its country monitoring on Romania released in July.

She also said an essential tool in unifying jurisprudence is to streamline procedure for appeals in the interest of coherent interpretation and application of the law.

Under Romanian law, the president, vice-president and department heads at the High Court of Justice are appointed by the head of state at the proposition of the High Council of Magistrates. Appointments are made from among judges who have worked at the High Court for at least two years. The Supreme Court president has a three-year term and may be reinstated only once.