The Superior Council of Prosecutors (CSP) has demonstrated courage by assuming the public perception of a botched contest, declared Ion Munteanu, the acting Prosecutor General, after the CSP recently canceled the process for selecting the future Prosecutor General. Munteanu also welcomed the intention of the Anti-Corruption Chief Prosecutor to start an inquiry into the matter.
Munteanu, who was among the finalists of the contest, appeared to have been disadvantaged by a juror. This prompted the CSP to cancel the contest altogether.
“For the prosecution system, this situation where the Prosecutor General’s office is executed by caretakers indefinitely is destructive. Essentially, prosecutors need to understand who their boss is and they need to be sure that he or she has their backs”, Ion Munteanu told a JurnalTV show.
“Formally, the rules of the contest weren’t violated in any way. The regulation says that candidates are scored on a scale of 1 to 10, with the mention, however, that grading comments must be provided as well. There was a reason why I asked for the evaluation sheets to be published. There were six criteria that needed to be graded, and the grade for each criterion had to contain comments. My request was rejected, though. I was only told the grades awarded by each individual CSP member, which allowed me to see something was off. But I believe that the CSP demonstrated courage and integrity by assuming this public perception of a flawed contest and scrapping it as a result. For such an important contest, it is unacceptable to have suspicions that it could have been rigged”, said Munteanu.
After the contest was canceled, Anticorruption Chief Prosecutor Veronica Dragalin said she would look into the matter. The probe will have to determine whether the undervaluation was deliberate or by mistake.
“I hope this investigation will give a very clear answer to the public whether or not this competition was manipulated, or maybe it was a mistake. Such investigations are the exclusive prerogative of the Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office. I see no problem in Ms. Dragalin initiating this investigation. The purpose of this investigation is to find out the truth”, said Ion Munteanu.
On February 28, the Superior Council of Prosecutors decided to terminate the competition for selecting the future Prosecutor General and start anew. This was decided after CSP member Olesea Vîrlan appeared to have “mistakenly” underrated a finalist.
