JusMin Toader announces move to axe anti-corruption head Laura Codruta Kovesi

Friday, February 23, 2018 Share

Minister of Justice Tudorel Toader announced on Thursday that he will start procedures for removing from office Chief Prosecutor of the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) Laura Codruta Kovesi.

Minister Tudorel said that the making of the report on the managerial activity of the National Anti-corruption Directorate (DNA) was carried out based on the very broad debates in the public space in the last year, debates that have "deeply" divided the public opinion.



"The realization of this report is completed based on the debates that have gotten a special amplitude in the public space in the last year, (...) that have deeply divided the public opinion and have raised personal attacks at unprecedented odds in the recent history of Romania (...), that have polarised the attention of the European and international forums on Romania, have unleashed evaluation mechanisms that have never before been used against Romania (...), by even threatening the rule of law," said Toader.

He added that Chief Prosecutor of the National Anti-corruption Directorate (DNA) Laura Codruta Kovesi had "an excessively authoritarian behaviour" when she "personally" supervised the investigation related to OUG 13/2017.

According to him, an unprecedented situation within the relations between public authorities in Romania have been recorded in 2017, in which the National Anti-corruption Directorate (DNA) was sanctioned by the Constitutional Court for disloyal behaviour.



"First of all, we retained an unprecedented situation within relations between public authorities in Romania. I repeat, an unprecedented situation of the public authorities' relations. In only one year, 2017, three constitutional legal conflicts were recorded, conflicts that led to the National Anti-corruption Directorate, through its leadership, being summoned in front of the constitutional administrative court. Three legal conflicts of a constitutional nature, in which the Constitutional Court firmly detailed the competency of the National Anti-corruption Directorate, in two of these [conflicts - ed.n.] sanctioning the disloyal behaviour, the unconstitutional behaviour of the Chief Prosecutor of the National Anti-corruption Directorate," Toader told a press conference.



The Justice minister further said that in less than a year, the DNA was summoned by the Constitutional Court for two more conflicts of a constitutional nature.



"I have showed through the activity report of the DNA's Chief Prosecutor that, per se, the recording of a single legal conflict of a constitutional nature does not carry the ability to determine the removal from office of the head of the institution that triggered the conflict. I was saying this in March 2017. Conducts counter to the Constitution, isolated, can be corrected, this actually being the reason for constitutionally enshrining an adequate instrument and properly establishing the competency of the Constitutional court, of solving this conflict. The conclusions are obviously different, when the Constitution infringement exceeds the competency limits provided for by the Constitution and the law, when the breaches become systematic. In less than half a year from the publication of the decision no 68 from 2017, the National Anti-corruption Directorate, through its leadership, was again called in front of the Constitutional Court, for two more conflicts of a constitutional nature," Toader specified.

Romania’s General Prosecutor Augustin Lazar expressed his support for Kovesi, saying there were no legal grounds to dismiss her.

“The justice minister once again abandoned his responsibility as minister in order to serve political interests,” said Romania Platform 100, a non-governmental group headed by former Premier Dacian Ciolos.

The country’s ruling Social Democrats tried a year ago to decriminalize several corruption offences by emergency decree, leading to its largest street protests in decades.

A judicial overhaul approved by the ruling coalition late last year - which was criticized by the president, thousands of magistrates, the European Commission and the U.S. State Department - is back in parliament after the Constitutional Court ruled some of its provisions were unconstitutional.

DNA has investigated lawmakers, ministers, mayors, magistrates and businessmen in recent years, exposing conflicts of interest, abuse of power, fraud and the award of state contracts in exchange for bribes.

It has sent over 70 members of parliament to trial since 2006. The speakers of parliament’s lower house and senate are both currently on trial in separate cases.

In a news conference last week, Kovesi defended DNA against attacks by some of those currently on trial, saying she would have no reason to resign if she was asked to.

“This attack isn’t about Kovesi, it is about the prosecutors who have done their job. It aims to make the Romanian state kneel, humiliate society and the Romanian people,” she said.

Hundreds of protesters gathered outside government headquarters following Toader’s news conference, chanting “You’re not getting away with it”.

More were joining them and demonstrations also broke out in at least three other cities, according to social media postings by participants.

“In case there were people doubting the justice minister was not a political actor, this evening has clarified that,” said Sergiu Miscoiu, political science professor at Babes-Bolyai University.</s>BUCHAREST: Romanian Justice Minister Tudorel Toader called on Thursday for the dismissal of chief anti-corruption prosecutor Laura Codruta Kovesi for what he said were "acts and facts intolerable to the rule of law."

President Klaus Iohannis, who has the final say on the removal of chief prosecutors, said this month he currently saw no reason to dismiss Kovesi.</s>Laura Codruta Kovesi, the chief prosecutor of the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA), said she will “follow the legal procedure and be present, whenever needed, to answer, point by point, to all statements presented by the justice minister.”

Kovesi is reacting to requests for a point of view after the justice minister, Tudorel Toader, announced he started the procedure to revoke her from her post.

Yesterday, February 22, Toader presented a 36-page report on the DNA chief’s activity. The report included 20 “acts and facts” related to the activity of the DNA’s chief prosecutor, all of them negative. He criticized the DNA head for her authoritarian management style and her involvement in investigations, and for trying to get convictions at any price, among other things.

In a two-hour press conference held last week, Kovesi tackled many of the points raised by minister Toader. The DNA head said that the institution had always taken action when some of its prosecutors didn’t follow the law and internal procedures and that the recent media scandal about anticorruption prosecutors allegedly fabricating evidence is aimed at discrediting the prosecutors and weakening the people’s trust in the justice system.

Meanwhile, the Presidential Administration said the President’s evaluation of the DNA’s management differs from that presented by the justice minister, and that it would analyze the justice minister’s report. President Klaus Iohannis has repeatedly said he was satisfied with DNA’s activity and its management and maintains this point of view.

Romania’s general prosecutor Augustin Lazar also expressed his support for DNA chief Laura Codruta Kovesi after the justice minister’s announcement, saying that there was no legal reason for revoking her.</s>Romania’s justice minister Tudorel Toader announced he started the procedure to revoke the chief prosecutor of the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) Laura Codruta Kovesi.

He presented a 36-page report on the DNA chief’s activity during an 80-minute press briefing. The report included 20 “acts and facts” related to the DNA chief prosecutor’s activity, all of them negative. Some of them were based on the Constitutional Court’s decisions on the conflicts between the DNA and the Parliament and Government. Others were based on media reports and interviews that Kovesi gave to the local and international media. Tudorel Toader said that Kovesi’s statements in these interviews damaged Romania’s image abroad.

The justice minister criticised the DNA chief prosecutor for her authoritarian management style and her involvement in investigations, for trying to get convictions at any price, for the higher number of defendants acquitted following DNA investigations and the higher costs of DNA investigations, and for delaying the investigations in some cases. However, he didn’t answer the journalists’ request for examples based on which he formulated these critics.

At the end of his presentations, Tudorel Toader acknowledged DNA’s results in fighting corruption and said the fight against corruption should continue in Romania. However, he added that the DNA must continue to function legally and that the institution does not identify with its chief prosecutor, whose actions “have demonstrated that they can endanger the very institution that she has been managing”.

In the end, he summed his critics on Kovesi’s activity in several words: “excess of authority, discretionary behaviour, defying the Parliament, challenging the Constitutional Court’s decisions and authority”.

“For these acts and facts that are intolerable in a rule of law, I start the procedure to revoke the DNA chief prosecutor,” Toader concluded.

The report will be sent to the Superior Magistracy Council (CSM) and to President Klaus Iohannis, the only one who has the authority to revoke the DNA chief. President Iohannis said last week that he was satisfied with DNA’s activity and that he saw no reasons to revoke the DNA chief.

The justice minister started presenting his report on the management of the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) at 18:00. He said the report was not an evaluation of DNA’s activity, which would be presented to the Parliament together with the reports on the activity of the Public Ministry and the Anti-Organized Crime Directorate – DIICOT.

He added that the report he would present was strictly on the activity of DNA’s management. The report has 36 pages and the minister warned the journalists it would take a while for him to present it.

He said the conclusions of the report were based on 20 acts and facts related to the DNA chief’s activity between February 2017 and February 2018.

The justice minister’s report will also be published on the Justice Ministry’s website after his presentation.</s>Several protests against the Romanian justice minister’s proposal to dismiss the chief prosecutor of the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) Laura Codruta Kovesi are planned this weekend in Bucharest and in several cities across the country.

The first protest is planned for today, February 23, in the capital’s Victoriei Square.

“Come to the square to protest against this decision targeting the fight against corruption, which breaks Romania’s European commitments and proves once more that the Social Democratic Party (PSD) did not understand any of the main messages of the protesters in Victoriei Square: We want justice, NOT corruption!,” an announcement on the event’s Facebook page reads. The protest is to start around 19:00.

Other protests in support of the activity of the DNA have been announced on Facebook for Sunday, February 25 in Bucharest, Cluj, Ploiesti and outside of the country, under the slogan “Tudorele, you leave, you and your thieves!”

Another protest has been called on March 10, also in Bucharest’s Victoriei Square. The event plans to draw 1 million Romanians to the capital on the day the PSD is holding a congress to reconfirm its leader, Liviu Dragnea.

The announcement made by justice minister Tudorel Toader about the DNA head’s dismissal already stirred protests in Bucharest, where over 1,000 people gathered in Victoriei Square on the evening of February 22. Hundreds also took to the streets in Cluj-Napoca, Timisoara, Sibiu, Constanta, Brasov or Iasi.

At the same time, an online petition in support of the chief prosecutor of the DNA was started online. Almost 8,000 people had signed the petition by mid-day February 23.

Reacting to the justice minister’s announcement, Laura Codruta Kovesi said she will “follow the legal procedure and be present, whenever needed, to answer, point by point, to all statements presented by the justice minister.”

The European Commission (EC) said it was watching the developments in the case “with caution and concern.” “The independence of the judiciary in Romania and its ability to fight corruption effectively are fundamental elements for a strong Romania within the EU,” the EC said.</s>Romania’s Presidential Administration reacted to the justice minister’s request on revoking the chief prosecutor of the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) saying that its specialists will analyze the minister’s report.

“Due to the lack of clarity in presenting the report on DNA’s management and considering that the evaluation of DNA’s activity and management by Romania’s President differs from the one presented by the justice minister, a thorough analysis of this document is needed, which will be made by the specialized department within the Presidential Administration,” reads the Presidency’s statement.

President Klaus Iohannis has repeatedly said he was satisfied with DNA’s activity and its management and maintains this point of view, according to the same statement.

“Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis will use all of his constitutional prerogatives to ensure the functioning of an independent justice and the rule of law consolidation,” the Presidency’s statement concluded.

Romania’s general prosecutor Augustin Lazar also expressed his support for DNA chief Laura Codruta Kovesi after the justice minister’s announcement saying that there is no legal reason for revoking her.

Romania’s justice minister asks for the dismissal of the chief anticorruption prosecutor

Chief antigraft prosecutor dismisses media scandal: This attack is aimed at subduing the Romanian state</s>The European Commission (EC) also reacted to the Romanian justice minister’s request to revoke the chief prosecutor of the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA), saying that it is interested to see how things will evolve in this case.

“The Commission is watching with caution and concern the latest developments. The independence of the judiciary in Romania and its ability to fight corruption effectively are fundamental elements for a strong Romania within the EU, as the EC president and first vice-president reminded in their joint statement last month. The Commission will follow the developments in the proceedings initiated against the DNA chief,” the EC said in a press release sent to local Digi24.

The Commission also said that, in all the previous reports made under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM), the fact that “DNA has maintained its evolution despite intense pressure has been seen as a sign of resistance.”

The justice minister Tudorel Toader announced on Thursday evening, February 22, his decision to start the procedure to revoke the DNA chief prosecutor Laura Codruta Kovesi. He presented the reasons for this decision in an 80-minute press conference. All the conclusions are included in a 36-page report, which the minister said it would be published on the Justice Ministry’s website. However, the ministry’s website couldn’t be accessed after the minister’s conference, and was still down when this news was published.

The Presidential Administration reacted to the justice minister’s decision later the same evening, saying the president’s evaluation of the DNA’s management differs from that presented by the justice minister, and that it would analyze the justice minister’s report.

On Friday, when he was in Brussels for an informal meeting of the European Council, president Klaus Iohannis told journalists that the report presented by the justice minister lacked clarity and rationality. Also, he once again said that he sees no reasons to dismiss the DNA head. However, he also added that the report didn’t arrive at the Presidential Administration, and that he would present a more detailed opinion after reviewing the document.

Laudra Codruta Kovesi also reacted on Friday morning to the justice minister’s statements, saying she will “follow the legal procedure and be present, whenever needed, to answer, point by point, to all statements presented by the justice minister.”</s>Romania's justice minister has called for the country's chief anti-corruption prosecutor to be removed from her post, citing what he said were serious concerns about the way she conducted her job.

Justice Minister Tudorel Toader claimed Thursday that National Anti-Corruption Directorate Chief Prosecutor Laura Codruta Kovesi had "deformed reality" about Romania and its rule of law in interviews with the foreign media.

He also said she displayed an "excessively authoritarian attitude" by personally supervising prosecutors investigating a contentious decree that would have decriminalized official misconduct. The measure sparked weeks of massive anti-graft protests.

The minster also claimed Kovesi strove to convict senior officials "at any price."</s>BUCHAREST, Romania — Romania's justice minister called on Thursday for the country's chief anti-corruption prosecutor to be removed from her post, citing what he said were serious concerns about the way she did her job.

Justice Minister Tudorel Toader claimed that National Anti-Corruption Directorate Chief Prosecutor Laura Codruta Kovesi had "deformed reality" about Romania and its rule of law in interviews with the foreign media.

He also said she displayed an "excessively authoritarian attitude" by personally supervising prosecutors investigating a contentious decree that would have decriminalized official misconduct. The measure sparked weeks of massive anti-graft protests. After his remarks, hundreds gathered in a central square in Bucharest to protest against the justice minister and there were smaller protests against him in other cities.

President Klaus Iohannis immediately rejected Toader's report, saying it "lacked clarity" and contradicted the presidency's own conclusions. Iohannis has the final say on firing any senior prosecutor.

Romania's General Prosecutor Augustin Lazar expressed his support for Kovesi, saying there were no legal grounds to dismiss her.

In his criticism, the minister also claimed Kovesi strove to convict senior officials "at any price" and had failed to take action about alleged abuses by prosecutors.

Critics, however, said Toader's proposal was meant to satisfy the demands of the left-wing ruling coalition, which has been very critical of Kovesi and the anti-corruption fight.

"The justice minister once again abandoned his responsibility as minister in order to serve political interests," said Romania Platform 100, a non-governmental group headed by former Premier Dacian Ciolos.

In a statement, Iohannis reiterated his support for Kovesi and the anti-corruption prosecutors' agency.

The agency said in its last report in February 2017 that three ministers, 17 lawmakers, 16 magistrates and other officials were among high-level graft cases investigated in 2016.</s>BUCHAREST, Romania — Romania’s justice minister on Thursday called for the country’s chief anti-corruption prosecutor to be removed from her post, citing what he said were serious concerns about the way she conducted her job.

Justice Minister Tudorel Toader claimed that National Anti-Corruption Directorate Chief Prosecutor Laura Codruta Kovesi had “deformed reality” about Romania and its rule of law in interviews with the foreign media.

He also said she displayed an “excessively authoritarian attitude” by personally supervising prosecutors investigating a contentious decree that would have decriminalized official misconduct. The measure sparked weeks of massive anti-graft protests.

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis immediately rejected Toader’s report saying it “lacked clarity” and contradicted the presidency’s own conclusions. Iohannis has the final say on whether to fire any senior prosecutor.

In his criticism, the minster also claimed Kovesi strove to convict senior officials “at any price,” and had failed to take action when reports emerged about prosecutors allegedly committing abuses.

Critics, however, said Toader’s proposal was politically motivated to satisfy the demands of the left-wing ruling coalition which has been very critical of Kovesi and the anti-corruption fight.

“The justice minister once again abandoned his responsibility as minister in order to serve political interests,” said Romania Platform 100, a non-governmental group headed by former Premier Dacian Ciolos.

In a statement, Iohannis reiterated his support for Kovesi and the anti-corruption prosecutors’ agency.

The agency said in its last report in February 2017 that three ministers, 17 lawmakers, 16 magistrates and other officials were among high-level cases targeted in 2016.
Romanian Justice Minister Tudorel Toader announces that he would trigger the dismissal procedures of the Chief Prosecutor of the National Anticorruption Directorate, Laura Codruța Kövesi. The announcement sparks protests.