Independența justiției – un deziderat încă neatins
Judicial independence – an objective yet to be achieved

Summary/Abstract: The independence of the judiciary is a topic of major interest both to specialists and to public opinion. Formally, judicial bodies should be protected by the principle-based rule that prohibits interference by one of the powers of the state in the atributions of the others. The substantive provision under review [article144 (1) of the Law 303/2022 regarding the statute of the public prosecutors and judges] decided the opposite – namely, it granted the Minister of Justice the right to select prosecutors to be appointed by the President of Romania to the highest positions within the prosecution services. Since no similar right was claimed by the Law 303/2022 with regard to judges, the appearance was created that the judiciary as a whole had not been affected. And because the area of interference concerns criminal law, I found it necessary to highlight the role of the prosecutor in initiating criminal proceedings, which the judge brings to a close. Likewise, the careers of magistrates fall within the remit of the Superior Council of Magistracy (CSM), so it was not necessary for appointments to the highest leadership positions to be taken over by the Minister of Justice. Interference in the judiciary is constantly criticized, yet nothing changes because it is done „legally,” as long as the constitutional provision that supports it remains in force. To overcome this impasse, I suggested a possibility that could serve as a solution in a short time and without the need to revise the Constitution.

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