’August 10’ case| CSM rejects discussion of defense of judiciary’s independence related to suspicions of lack of investigation

 

"The Plenary Session of the Superior Council of Magistrates decided, by majority, to reject the request to supplement the plenary sitting's agenda, formulated by the Minister of Justice, regarding the defense of the independence of the judiciary in its entirety in the public perception regarding the lack of an effective investigation into the commonly called August 10 case, respectively of effective hearings before prosecutors and judges, pursuant to Article 35 letter a) related to Article 30 of Law No. 317/2004," read the minutes of the decision.

 

On Thursday, the Minister of Justice, Stelian Ion, requested the Superior Council of Magistrates to take a stand on defending the independence of the judiciary in connection with the suspicions in the public perception that an effective investigation in the "August 10" case was missing.

 

He added that the world is waiting for an answer from the judiciary.

 

The Judge Section of the Superior Council of Magistrates onon Wednesday condemned what it called language "slip-ups" in the public square after a decision by the Bucharest Tribunal to reject a request from the Directorate for the Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism ( DIICOT) to reopen an investigation of the former chiefs of the Gendarmerie in the August 10 public rally in Bucharest, calling such public statements "a real attack on the independence of judges.