Romania’s government insists anti-corruption head Kovesi must go

Romania’s government insists anti-corruption head Kovesi must go
By bne IntelliNews April 24, 2018

Romania’s government has appealed to the Constitutional Court after President Klaus Iohannis refused to endorse the government’s request to dismiss anti-corruption head Laura Codruta Kovesi. 

The dismissal request, initiated by Justice Minister Tudorel Toader in February after irregularities were spotted by media in the activity of the anti-corruption prosecutors, prompted public concerns in regard to Romania’s anti-corruption stance. The ruling coalition’s leader, Liviu Dragnea, is currently on trial in a corruption case, and many other politicians in the two-party coalition are being investigated as well.

Prime Minister Viorica Dancila has signed the notification sent to the Constitutional Court, Toader announced on April 23. This came after Iohannis said on April 16 he was rejecting a request from the justice minister to dismiss Kovesi from her position as head of the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA).

Toader did not explain the formulation of the notification sent to the Constitutional Court, but he has constantly argued that the presidency has a rather symbolic role in the process of dismissing head prosecutors. In contrast, Iohannis argues that the presidency is entitled by the constitution to decide on the minister’s request. 

The dispute is, therefore, not directly about the activity of the DNA but about the roles of the two institutions. Notably, Iohannis has not evaluated the DNA’s activity but Toader’s report, and found it insufficient for dismissing Kovesi.

Toader initiated procedures to dismiss the DNA head on the grounds of what he said were poor managerial performances and exceeding her duties.

The attempt to push out Kovesi, whose work has been commended by the European Commission and other organisations, sparked street protests. In February, Romania’s magistrates body, the CSM, also issued a negative review of Toader’s request to dismiss the head of the DNA.

However, allegations that the DNA’s regional office in Ploiesti fabricated evidence in a high-profile corruption case concerning fugitive businessman Sebastian Ghita tarnished Kovesi’s reputation recently. At the same time, the protocols signed by Kovesi (at that time head prosecutor) with the intelligence services (SRI) in 2009 reportedly put at risk many trials after the Constitutional Court said the agreements were irregular.

After the government’s request was submitted, the Constitutional Court reportedly invited the government to defend its position by May 3.

The answer to the dispute is not straightforward: the Constitutional Court ruled in February that the presidency’s role in appointing head prosecutors is indeed purely symbolic, and it is the ministry of justice who plays the decisive role. Inter alia, this means that if Toader manages to have Kovesi dismissed, he would be entitled to appoint a candidate since he has already overruled the objections of the CSM in so many cases (including the attempt to dismiss Kovesi) with no opposition from the Constitutional Court.

Since he might be given the power to appoint a new anticorruption head (a remote scenario, though) it is worth having a clear image of who Toader is. He has served as minister of justice in two of the three cabinets formed since the ruling alliance won the general elections at the end of 2016. He is backed by the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (Alde) led by Calin Popescu Tariceanu — probably the most vocal voice against the DNA.

But Toader is not a politician (he is not a member of Alde) and he developed a credible professional career: he served as dean of Iasi University, as member of the Constitutional Court and was appointed to top positions by governments of various orientations. 

He might want to replace Kovesi with the purpose of improving the work of the DNA (which has come under criticism in some cases), but the political pressure from the ruling coalition to appoint an obedient candidate would be enormous. Beside pressures in parliament for milder anti-corruption regulations, this would be a major step back despite all the criticism of the efficiency and means of the DNA’s work so far. Toader has managed to avoid such pressures so far, for example the ruling coalition had to promote the amendments to the justice laws as bills initiated in parliament, as opposed to government ordinances as many officials wished.

 

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