Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe asks Romanian authorities to "review criminal legislation as soon as possible" and "to support politically and financially the outstanding work of the National Anticorruption Directorate"

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (APCE) has adopted Resolution 2188/2017- „New threats to the rule of law in member countries of the Council of Europe”, according to Justiecurata.ro. Drafted by German Christian Democrat Bernd Fabritius as speaker, the resolution criticizes the situation in Romania, the Republic of Moldova, Bulgaria, Poland and Turkey. The resolution was adopted at the meeting of 11 October with 47 votes in favor, 7 against and 2 abstentions.

Thus,the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe asks the Romanian authorities to:

11.1. advocate an adequate public debate on the constitutional criteria for the lifting of parliamentary immunity and to adopt clear criteria in this matter, respecting the recommendations of the Venice Commission;

11.2. review criminal legislation as soon as possible by implementing Constitutional Court rulings that declared a significant number of articles in the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code as unconstitutional, focusing on combating corruption and abuse of authority by implementing the recommendations of the Venice Commission and GRECO;

11.3. ensure that the principle of the separation of powers is respected by the government and the judiciary in regards to the powers of parliament, avoiding, in particular, abusive law-making by means of emergency ordinances;

11.4. politically and financially support the outstanding work of the National Anticorruption Directorate, respecting the legal framework and the need for an effective fight against corruption and abuse of authority;

11.5. ensure the observance of the essential role and authority of the Constitutional Court and the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) by political parties. (…)

Moldovan authorities are called to:

8.1. continue the reforms of the Superior Council of Magistracy, the judiciary and the Prosecutor’s Office following the recommendations of the Council of Europe institutions;

8.2. considerably strengthen efforts to combat corruption and, in particular, ensure the full independence of the institutions with attributions in this field;

8.3. refrain from measures that would undermine the separation of powers.