How justice independence is annihilated in Romania. The Danileț case, an exemplary execution

The disciplinary section for judges of the Superior Council of Magistracy (SCM) voted on Wednesday, by 5 to 4, on the report of the Judicial Inspection which proposed the exclusion of Judge Cristi Dănileț from the judiciary on the grounds that he participated in the political activity of an NGO of which he was a member.

In other words, the SCM accused Dănileț of playing politics, which magistrates are forbidden to do by law.

Dănileț argued in his defense that political activity is clearly defined in the law and refers to parties or organizations taking part in elections and that, in addition, he abstained from voting when the NGO he belonged to issued the communication critical of the government.

The bad faith of the anti-reformist majority in the SCM is so obvious that it is not worth the trouble of too sophisticated a demonstration. Although more than half a year has passed since his first exclusion from the judiciary, Judge Dănileț claims that he has not received the reasoning of the decision even today to be able to challenge it at the High Court.

During all this time, Dănileț cannot work as a judge, receives no salary, and is suspended from the judiciary.

This is the second decision to exclude Judge Cristi Dănileț from the judiciary under ridiculous pretexts. We are dealing with a judge harassed by the Judicial Inspectorate just like during the Dragnea regime when troublesome magistrates were hunted down and intimidated with disciplinary actions opened on a roll.

Except that it’s not a simple feud between reformists and anti-reformists. We are witnessing an exemplary execution. A judge always placed on the side of reform, deeply involved in civics, is being removed from the system demonstratively to discourage independent and courageous voices in the judiciary as much as possible.

In addition to Dănileț, there are other judges and prosecutors from various NGOs targeted for disciplinary action. However, these actions have never targeted judges who are favored by politicians, such as Dana Gârbovan. She too can always be accused of being a politician, since she accepted in 2019, from her position as a magistrate, the PSD’s proposal to be Minister of Justice in the Dancila government.

Only that the Judicial Inspectorate has never had anything to do with magistrates who are favored by the big parties. They are not the problem, but the prosecutors and judges who vocally demand reforms and are truly independent. They are a danger to the system.

A system that has brought complete silence to the country. Politicians no longer matter, a good part of the press, especially TV news, is bought with big money by the big parties and silenced. How can justice remain free and independent? What politician in power wants reforms in the judiciary, powerful and out-of-control prosecutors? How can they let go of the truncheons that have proved so effective: the Special Section, the Judicial Inspectorate headed to this day by Netejoru, the SCM?

Here is a sign that fear and apathy have already taken hold in the system from top to bottom: no one has entered the competition for the head of the High Court except Corina Corbu, strongly supported by President Klaus Iohannis for quite clear reasons.

Why, no magistrate in Romania wants to become the head of the supreme court, the pinnacle of any judge’s career? Obviously, it is not about that. Single candidates appear in perfectly controlled systems when competition is meaningless since the winner is known in advance. Valid in the last NLP election, if you like.

Romania’s justice system and the rule of law are in a deplorable state, but they risk getting worse. See the State Department’s April report denouncing „widespread corruption” in Romania and „corrupt media funding mechanisms”.

European Commission, notes in its latest country report that „there are concerns about the independence of the judiciary”, „weaknesses in the rule of law” and „perceptions of corruption persist”.

The commission also points out that the Romanian judiciary is losing massive human resources and the number of new magistrates in the system does not compensate for the increasing number of magistrates retiring.

And the justice system is unfortunately losing an important human resource. More and more judges and prosecutors are choosing to leave the system after 25 years of service, i.e. at a time when they have gained a lot of experience, are efficient, and could function at maximum efficiency for years after reaching the retirement age.

We will see a little later, in a few weeks, what the European Commission’s report on the rule of law (justice and the press) will look like in detail. The European Commission should normally activate the mechanism for blocking European funds as a matter of urgency if it does not want billions of euros to disappear into the pockets of politicians and the clientele of the big parties in Romania, a country left without key institutions of balance and control.

Otherwise, if Romania is not pressured now by Brussels to make real reforms and respect the rules of the rule of law, don’t be surprised if later on, another Hungary wakes up in Eastern Europe. They should not be fooled by the doublespeak in Bucharest, which says in Brussels what Europeans want to hear but behaves like Victor Orban at home, at least with the press and the judiciary.

The Dănileț case should be a big wake-up call for young magistrates, but also for society. The deep silence, the terrible silence in which a magistrate is slaughtered should terrify us all. Of course, no one on television talks about justice or reforms, no one asks where the great investigations have disappeared and why the few magistrates who dare to say that things are going badly are being trampled underfoot.

Courage is needed now more than ever. What is needed now is for civil society to wake up from the propaganda mirages of power, to fight again, in the streets if necessary, for the independence of justice, for magistrates like Dănileț, for democracy in Romania, or, if you like, for a little dignity.

Silence is the tombstone under which democracy is slowly suffocating before our eyes so that two major parties can share their spoils in peace.

Translated from Romanian by Ovidiu H.