Anticorruption expert: Authorities sabotage activity of National Integrity Authority

29.02.2020 07:10
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2 minute(s)

The National Integrity Authority (NIA) works under an ambiguous legal framework and the integrity inspectors do not have sufficient instruments to appropriately fulfill their duties, said employees of the Agency and experts who follow the institution’s activity. Viorel Sochircă and Ion Nikolaev, of the NIA, said they made approaches to the Ministry of Justice for the existing obstacles to be eliminated from the legislation, but the process is delayed or is too slow, IPN reports.

In the talk show “Black Box” on TV8 channel, the representatives of the NIA said the institution works actively, but many of its findings are not addressed and this cannot thus present a public picture of the violations committed by public functionaries to society.

Even if there are cases when violations committed by high-ranking officials are examined, the National Integrity Authority cannot provide names as the findings of the integrity inspectors are challenged by the subjects in court and the National Center for Personal Data Protection bans the publication of names until the court passes judgment.

“After examining judges, the integrity inspector establishes that a judge didn’t present the property and interests statement. The inspector warned the judge that this should file the statement within 30 days. The law provides that if a person does not submit the statement within 30 days, this is fired. The judge ultimately didn’t file the statement and the integrity inspector notified the Superior Council of Magistracy, which sent the case to the Judicial Inspectorate,” exemplified Ion Nikolaev.

He noted that he cannot make the judge’s name public until the case is not solved by the court. Meanwhile, the judge continues work.

Anticorruption expert Mariana Kalughin said the authorities sabotage the activity of the National Integrity Authority. The Agency’s employees avoid doing something and do nothing concrete.

“Clarity should exist as regards the property of notorious names. We get lost in those bureaucratic elements and complain about imperfections of the law when one should just work. It’s time to have a serious discussion as the people wait,” stated Mariana Kalughin.