Justice Minister Requests Ruling On Legality Of Publishing General Prosecutor’s Nomination File

Following statements that he would publish documents pertaining to Lazar’s 2016 nomination, the Justice Minister only published information regarding to what he found in the nomination file on Wednesday, while stating that he will send the documents to CSM to rule on the legality of publishing them.

According to Toader, the General Prosecutor’s nomination file also contained a decree which would have closed a civil case involving President Klaus Iohannis, regarding the ownership of a Sibiu house. At the time, Lazar was serving as general prosecutor of the court where the case was registered.

However, CSM sources told MEDIAFAX on Wednesday afternoon that the Justice Minister’s request is unfounded, as documents from a candidacy file are not confidential and can be published.

Romanian Justice Minister Tudorel Toader announced on October 24 that he will launch the procedure to dismiss General Prosecutor Augustin Lazar from office, after criticizing his activity in a 20-point assessment.

The minister’s reasons for launching the request varied from procedural problems in Lazar’s appointment to the office in 2016, to the fact that he criticized the recent formation of a section to investigate magistrates.

In the announcement, Toader stated that upon documenting the prosecutor’s nomination for the office in 2016, he found that it a lacked a mandatory review on his recent activity, and that when he requested a copy from the country’s top judicial watchdog, CSM, it was dated one year after the decree which appointed Lazar as general prosecutor.