There is a risk that the decision to suspend the resignations of judges of the Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ) by the Commission for Exceptional Situations (CES) will not be implemented, considers the head of the Legal Resources Center Ilie Chirtoacă. According to the jurist, even if theoretically, the state institutions must function during the state of emergency, in practice it is almost impossible to make the SCJ judges work after they tendered their resignations, IPN reports.
The member of the Superior Council of Magistracy from among civil society Ion Guzun said that even if the composition of the Council is incomplete, it is now functional and will take all the necessary decisions to unlock the justice sector reform.
“The SCM has 12 members six of whom are judges and six are non-judges. By its decision to name three members of the SCM, Parliament ensured the functionality of this Council. It can adopt decisions if the meeting is attended by 2/3 of the current members. All our actions are legal. The extent to which the actions are legitimate and representative is another question. Until the judge members are selected, the SCM will not discuss issues related to the career, appointment, promotion and permanent transfer of judges,” Ion Guzun stated in the program “In Depth” on ProTV channel.
For his part, the head of the Legal Resources Center said the CES’s decision to suspend the resignations tendered by the SCJ judges is almost inapplicable. “Atypical measures are taken under the state of emergency. This means an institution cannot be nonfunctional. In practical terms, if you ask me how this provision can be applied, I can say I have very big doubts about its possible implementation. When the CES’s decision was taken, I wondered how it can be justified. I analyzed the report on the extension of the state of emergency. This says that the attempts to delay the reform of the SCM and the SCJ are fueled also from outside. This thing is serious, but should be argued by the authorities or this solution is not justified. The decisions related to the national security should not be hypothetical,” stated Ilie Chirtoacă.
In its last meeting, the Commission for Exceptional Situations decided to adopt a temporary extraordinary measure - to suspend SCJ judges’ resignations for a period of 30 days – so as to ensure the functionality of this court.
