The Constitutional Court declared unconstitutional a number of provisions of the law on the prosecution service, concerning the procedures for designating the acting prosecutor general, pre-selection of candidates for prosecutor general and dismissal of the prosecutor general. The Court was asked to pronounce by a group of MPs who filed a relevant application last September, IPN reports.
The MPs asked to check the constitutionality of provisions of the law on the prosecution service, Parliament decision of June 30 on the fielding of the candidate for acting prosecutor general and the President’s decree of July 31 to appoint Dumitru Robu as acting prosecutor general.
As to the nomination of the acting prosecutor general, the Court held that the Superior Council of Prosecutors is given a short period of time to propose a candidate for acting prosecutor general, but this proposal can be rejected by the Head of State and the Council’s role later becomes secondary as the second nomination is made by Parliament.
If the candidate proposed by the Council is rejected by the President, the Council’s constitutional role is diminished considerably as the legislature, which is a purely political body, undertakes to propose a candidate for acting prosecutor general and the Superior Council of Prosecutors becomes a supervisory body. The Court held that the offering of a short period of time and the redistribution of powers in the nomination of the candidate can affect the Council’s role that is guaranteed by the Constitution.
In a press briefing, Constitutional Court president Domnica Manole said the decision does not affect the procedures for naming the incumbent prosecutor general whose mandate is not affected. “On the contrary, together with the passing of this judgment, the prosecution service becomes more protected in its independence and impartiality to eventual influences from the executive. Not a commission of the executive will nominate candidates for the post of prosecutor general and not a commission of the executive will dismiss the prosecutor general,” stated Domnica Manole.
