Tag: Romania

Tunisian president clamps down on independent judiciary

This past weekend, Tunisian President Kais Saied issued a decree dissolving the country’s High Judicial Council and replacing it with a handpicked “Temporary Supreme Judicial Council.” The move gives Saied the power to remove any judge for “failing to do his professional duties” — i.e., any reason Saied comes up with — and further prohibits the judiciary from going on strike in protest of the changes.

Middle East Eye explains:

Saied’s relations with the judiciary have been on edge since he consolidated power last summer.

In July 2021, Saied, who won the presidential election in 2019 as an independent candidate, suspended parliament, dismissed the prime minister and assumed vast executive powers. He has been ruling the country by decree for months, bypassing the powers granted to him in the constitution. His power grab measures were labelled as a coup by critics and opposition groups, a charge that Saied rejects.  

The CSM – a body meant to remain free from political interference – was one of the last institutions in the country to remain outside his control. The council was established in 2016, after independent members were elected to it; their role is to oversee the appointment of judges, promotions, and disciplinary proceedings.

But over the past few months they have come under increasing scrutiny from the president. 

On multiple occasions, Saied has accused the council of failing to resolve high-profile cases, including the political assassination of left-wing leaders in 2013.

Saied accused the council of appeasing political forces within the country, namely Islamist-leaning factions like Ennahda, the biggest party in the suspended parliament.

In December, the Tunisian Association of Judges raised the alarm, saying the president’s ongoing campaign against the judiciary was turning the public against them. At the same time, cases accusing judges of wrongdoing started to emerge. At least a dozen judges were placed under house arrest as a result. 

Among them is Bechir Akremi, former general prosecutor of the Tunis Court of First Instance, who was placed under house arrest days after Saied announced his power grab in July. 

Akremi was accused of deliberately concealing important files regarding the 2013 assassinations of Tunisian leftist leaders Chokri Belaid and Mohamed Brahmi. He was also accused of being heavily influenced by the Ennahda party. In January, Akremi’s case was dropped on appeal, over technicalities, much to the displeasure of Saied.

“Unfortunately, some judges in the courts have manipulated this case,” Saied said last week. “This is not the first trial where they have tried to hide the truth for years.”

Judge Akremi’s case has become emblematic of the clash of power between Saied and the judiciary. Opposition groups warned Saied was trying to use the high-profile cases of political assassination as a guise to expand his powers and crush opponents. 

The move in Tunisia is reminiscent of the recent attacks on judicial independence by authoritarian regimes in Poland and Romania. And the moves are drawing thousands to protest in favor of judicial independence. Many fear the decree will open the door to sacking judges for purely political reasons.

This does not look good. It will be worth watching carefully.

Romania erupts with protests supporting judicial independence

Massive street protests erupted in the Romanian capital of Bucharest this weekend, after the country’s ruling Social Democrat party announced an emergency decree that would strip prosecutors of much of their power, and remove oversight of a prosecuting unit that investigates the judiciary. The party has alleged that the reforms are necessary to prevent “abuses” by the judiciary. Critics say the move is designed to intimidate judges and compromise judicial independence and the rule of law.

The country’s magistrates denounced the decree and staged their own protest on Friday, and the European Union has expressed “great concern” as well.

This has all the feel of the sham “reforms” put forth by Poland’s ruling party beginning in 2017. When any government undermines the rule of law, chaos is sure to follow.

Romanian senate passes bill limiting judicial independence

Last week, Romania’s lower house passed legislation that would restrict the independence of its judiciary. Now the country’s senate has approved the same bill.  As Reuters notes,

The three bills jointly limit magistrates’ independence and set up a special unit to probe crimes committed by magistrates. This makes magistrates the only professional category with a prosecuting unit dedicated to investigating them.

The bill passed on the same day that the European Union decided to begin hearings against Poland for imposing restrictions on its judiciary.

Romanian parliament passes controversial judicial reforms

Romania’s lower house has passed controversial legislation that will overhaul its justice system — legislation that has been widely criticized as threatening judicial independence and facilitating corruption.

From the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project:

The [Romanian] legislation changes the manner in which magistrates are overseen and chief prosecutors are appointed—under the bill, the president has the right to vet prosecutors.

It also changes the source responsible for compensating for judicial errors from state funds to the judge responsible in sentencing. Experts claim this could possibly affect judges’ biases and tendencies in court rulings.

The lower house approved the bill with 179 out of 269 votes.

The European Commission and thousands of magistrates expressed concern over the legislation, saying it would allow political influence within the judicial system. Thousands of Romanians repeatedly protested against the proposed bill for its alleged power to hinder the fight against corruption. Demonstrations on Sunday drew over 10,000 people to take the streets of Bucharest, Cluj and other major cities.

“Justice, not corruption!” protesters chanted, according to ABC News.

The legislation is still pending in the upper house.

EU to Romania and Bulgaria: Not enough progress on judicial reform

This week, the European Commission issued its latest reports on the justice systems of two EU member states, Romania and Bulgaria. Both states have made slow progress in positively reforming their judicial systems, but  the Commission concluded that in both states, momentum for reform was lost in 2017.

Both countries have tried to put a positive spin on the report, noting they still have work to do. But they will be under renewed pressure to move closer to the Commission’s anti-corruption and transparency goals, especially in light of the significant threats to judicial independence that emerged in neighboring Poland earlier this year. The Commission’s mandate to monitor reform in both countries expires in 2019.

The full Commission reports can be found here.

 

Judicial independence under threat in Poland, Romania, Palestinian Authority

In Europe and the Middle East, several governments are taking authoritarian approaches to their judiciary, largely by creating frameworks under which judges can be removed or punished by other members of popularly elected branches.  A few updates after the jump. Continue reading “Judicial independence under threat in Poland, Romania, Palestinian Authority”