Bucharest: Romania’s ombudsman went to Constitutional Court yesterday to challenge a government decree that decriminalises some graft offences, a move that has caused mass protests as it appears to mark a major retreat from anti-corruption reform.
The decree would decriminalise abuse-of-power offences in which the sums do not exceed 200,000 lei ($48,000), potentially scuttling an ongoing trial of the governing Social Democrat party chief and benefiting dozens of other public officials.
The government has rejected calls to rescind the decree, though cracks in cabinet unity emerged on Thursday with resignation of a minister and a call from a vice-president of the ruling party for the measure to be withdrawn.
Ombudsman Victor Ciorbea’s move echoed a plea from the Black Sea state’s general prosecutor and added to a challenge by CSM council of magistrates to the top court and by centre-right President Klaus Iohannis.
General Prosecutor Augustin Lazar said yesterday he welcomed the Constitutional Court challenge and his office had its own case before the Court of Appeals (CA).
Experts say the CA itself could suspend enforcement of the decree as it can rule on legality of such measures.
The government adopted the measure in an emergency procedure late on Tuesday, saying this was needed to align ex-Communist Romania with a EU legal directive to member states that aims “to consolidate some aspects of presumption of innocence and right to be present at trials”.
It has cited a need to ease overcrowding in Romanian prisons as further grounds for “proposed legislative measures”, as the government refers to the decree.
