Romania president Traian Basescu: National policies are not enough, by themselves, to fight crime globally

The World Summit of Attorney Generals and Chief Prosecutors started on Tuesday in Bucharest, discussions being opened by the Romanian Prosecutor General, Laura Codruta Kovesi. The third edition of the summit focuses on the institution of the Prosecutor General and its role in the contemporary penal Justice system. Romanian President Traian Basescu also held a speech on the global challenges the Justice faces.

Basescu’s main statements, in brief:

– My observations come from a political sphere towards the chief prosecutor and the prosecutor general;

– As you already established from the first edition of this summit, the cooperation between public ministries is essential for both the information exchange in good time and for the other penal procedures. In the context of globalization, the information exchange and the state cooperation is essential in fighting crime;

– At this moment, there is an obvious concern of the states inn front of the crime – fighting it or reducing it, therefore I appreciate the fact that you gathered in order to identify the best cooperation tools;

– Getting to know this phenomenon, under its various aspects – size, spread, forming, positioning, evolution – has an outmost importance for any state of law. But limiting and preventing is a theme that requires just as much attention as the study of the crime phenomenon. An important role in this belongs to the prosecutor, as protector of the social values;

– The mission of the prosecutor is essential, since it represents the min authority responsible for applying the law, so that both individual rights and the public interest are best served;

– Perpetual perfection of the professional formation is a not only a right, it is also an obligation;

– Discovering crime may be more difficult because of the lack of access to technology of those involved and the lack of specialized personnel. The globalization allows a fast transfer of funds and persons.

– The global threats push us towards adopting a common stand, regardless of the various law systems adopted by each country individually. An international movement against crime appears as necessary;

– National policies are not enough by themselves to face the global challenges. New approaches are required, including the cooperation and consultation between prosecutors in different countries.