The European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Luxembourg has warned Romania not to undermine progress on the rule of law and the fight against corruption.
The latest judicial reforms could at least give the impression that they led to political pressure on the Romanian judges, said the Luxembourg judges in a total of six judgments announced on Tuesday.
In addition, Romania must respect the primacy of EU law (Az: C-83/19, etc.).
Before joining the EU in 2007, Romania had passed various laws to adapt its judiciary to European requirements.
Between 2017 and 2019, these judicial laws were changed by statutes and emergency ordinances.
With a view to the fight against corruption, the EU Commission followed this in part with a critical eye.
Should judges be liable in the event of error?
Several Romanian courts now wanted to know from the ECJ whether these changes are compatible with EU law.
Specifically, it concerns the provisional appointment of the head of the judicial inspection, the creation of a disciplinary department of the public prosecutor's office for criminal offenses within the judiciary and the liability of judges in case of miscarriage of justice.
The Grand Chamber of the ECJ now referred to the measures agreed in connection with Romania's accession to the EU in order to ensure the rule of law and the fight against corruption in Romania.
The requirements of the EU Commission based on this must be observed in a binding manner.
Romania should also not do anything that could jeopardize the steps agreed upon accession.
One of these principles is to protect judges “from outside interference or pressure,” declared the ECJ.
The liability of judges for errors of justice must therefore be limited to clearly described exceptions.
There should be no impression of political control
In addition, the impression should not only arise that the newly created disciplinary department at the public prosecutor's office could be used as an instrument of political control. This impression could arise, however, if the management of this department was filled even temporarily “while circumventing the ordinary appointment procedure provided for in national law”. In itself, however, the creation of such a department is permissible.
The Luxembourg judges clearly criticized Romanian regulations that question the primacy of EU law over national law. In particular, the Romanian courts must be able to ignore national regulations if they violate EU law. This also applies to the Romanian constitution, emphasized the ECJ. In accordance with these criteria, the Romanian courts should now finally examine the judicial reforms.