Ion Dron, the president of the Center for Monitoring Public Authorities NGO and a practicing lawyer, says that the amendments proposed to the Prosecution Service Law are against the Constitution and that they will undermine the independence of prosecutors. Dron told a press conference on Monday that the current government hasn't set its priorities right about the prosecution service.
The jurist called the amendments “form over substance”. “Not only the amendments will not be able to dismantle the old system, they will also consolidate political control over the prosecution service by people replacing (former PDM leader Vlad) Plahotniuc”. So, thinks Dron, the amendments indicate that the current government doesn’t really want change. “They just want to replace the person who can take over the system created by Vlad Plahotniuc and control it further, by putting in the Superior Council of Prosecutors a majority of political appointees.”
This is a reference to the proposed amendment that enlarges the Superior Council of Prosecutors from 12 to 19 members. Ten will be drafted from civil society, and Ion Dron believes this is the part that will be exploited by politicians. “This bill is just against the spirit and logic of the Constitution.”
In his opinion there is no guarantee that the SCP members coming from civil society will be any better than the previous ones. “Instead of strengthening institutional independence of prosecutors and remove them from the influence of politics, we do the exact opposite and put political influence right at the top of SCP.”
The proposed amendments, in Dron’s opinion, also don’t guarantee immunity to a prosecutor who will wish to investigate a politician. “It will be just like under Plahotniuc’s rule. Prosecutors will have to follow political orders.”
Another amendment that Ion Dron finds concerning is the process of selecting a Prosecutor General, a prerogative taken away from SCP and given to a special commission. “Replacing SCP with a civilian organization is unacceptable from a constitutional point of view.”
Finally, Ion Dron believes that the proposed amendment related to the appointment of caretakers will allow an interim Prosecutor General to cover things up before an actual PG is appointed.
