Romania Former PM Says Constitutional Court Head Tries To Influence Judges

Ioan Vida, president of the Constitutional Court, made a public statement on the effects of a court decision regarding criminal investigations that target dignitaries for deeds committed while in office, before the court argued and published its decision.  

“It is for the first time in the history of the Constitutional Court when the court president makes personal remarks before the court decision is published. The court’s argumentation can only be known after the decision is published in the Official Gazette,” Nastase said, mentioning Vida’s statement “was an extremely strange and serious act.”

Nastase, who is himself targeted by prosecutors over financial irregularities for the period he was prime minister, said it was “unnatural” for the president of the Constitutional Court to make public statements in general, as judges are bound by their deontology not to make statements regarding their decisions.

Vida’s statements are meant “to influence the votes of the other judges in the process of finalizing the decision. It is a serious matter,” Nastase said.

The Constitutional Court acknowledged, on March 10, the existence of a legal conflict of constitutional nature between the Public Ministry and the Parliament, regarding the procedure to be observed in the criminal investigation of former and current government members, for deeds committed while in office.

The Court decided the Public Ministry is to ask the Parliament’s approval when launching criminal probes against MPs, but the decision was not published in the Official Gazette, so the judges argumentation in not yet known.