Justice Minister Announces Emergency Decree On Re-Opening Five-Judge Panel Cases

Romanian Justice Minister Tudorel Toader announced on Sunday evening that the ministry has a draft emergency decree ready which would re-open all cases which were judged by the Supreme Court’s five-judge panels which were illegally selected, according to a Constitutional Court decision.

4 views

According to the minister, the decree’s draft is finished, and it is up to Prime Minister Viorica Dancila to decide when it will be issued.

The decree in question would re-open all cases which received final decisions from the Supreme Court’s five-judge panels since 2013, regardless of whether they ended in sentencing or acquittals, as the panels in questions were formed through erroneous procedure, according to a November 2018 Constitutional Court ruling.

“We must ensure the citizen’s access to a fair trial, which on one side also means that those who are arraigned must be condemned by a competent judge and a legally-formed court,” Toader said on Monday.

The minister also gave assurances that the decree will have decisional transparency and that it will request reviews from all relevant judicial bodies before it will be passed.

He also announced that a similar decree will probably be drafted for cases which used evidence gathered through illegal secret service-judiciary protocols, as per a Constitutional Court ruling announced last week.

Read more: Medlife Raises Stakes in SAMA Craiova and PDR Brasov

Read more: Romania Had Biggest Government Deficit in EU in 3Q/2018

Read more: Supreme Court Postpones Ruling Party Leader Case In Anticipation Of Panels Ruling

If you liked this story, please follow MEDIAFAX.RO on FACEBOOK »

The content of mediafax.ro is for your information only. Republishing or using this content is forbidden without express consent of MEDIAFAX. For this consent, please ask for it by mail at vanzari@mediafax.ro.