THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, CĂTĂLIN PREDOIU: "The Government did not consult me when taking responsibility for the Codes of Law"

C.D.

The Minister of Justice, Cătălin Predoiu, who participated in a hearing with the Senate"s Legal Commission yesterday, said he wasn"t consulted by his colleagues on the Government"s decision to take responsibility for the Criminal and Civil Code of Law, and said that his role in the Government is almost entirely restricted to technical matters.

Cătălin Predoiu explained: "I wasn"t consulted prior to the coalition making this decision. I am waiting to have a discussion with the Prime-Minister and before deciding where I stand on this matter. I can"t comment on the political mechanism behind this decision of the coalition. What is happening now depends on decisions of the coalition, that I am not part of, because of my position in the Government. When these matters were discussed, I mentioned the fact that the enactment of the Codes would increase our chances of a more favorable review on the current state of our justice system, even though it would not completely solve the issue of our oversight by the European Commission, but my opinion was exploited by some to gain political benefits and twisted in the most bizarre ways".

According to the Minister, the enactment of the new Codes of law will also affect the outcome of the European Commission"s review of Romania"s legal system: "The need for the new codes of law is undeniable, and apparently no one denied that they were needed. Unfortunately, the attitude towards these projects and the tendency to excessively politicize the issue have affected the credibility of the project with the public. The lack of political honesty and maturity of some of the people who approached the issue of the codes of law will definitely affect the Romania"s evaluation in the report of the European Commission".

According to NewsIn, the minister claimed that the review of the European Commission will be affected by technical and political considerations, in the context of the new elections for the European Parliament.

Cătălin Predoiu explained: "The resolution of the Bundestag, even though it is just a simple recommendation, could have stronger repercussions. And the hard line stance that the Commission said it would resort to is directly connected to the elections for the European Parliament. I dare say that this evaluation will be influenced by at least two factors, (technical and political), in the context of the elections for the new European Parliament and the appointment of the new Commission".

The aforementioned government official also discussed the possibility of the enactment of the safeguard clause, adding that "appropriate application of the regulations of the European Commission in Romania should prevent the enactment of the safeguard clause".