Crooked judges in corruption scandal

Published on 10 October 2011 at 10:56

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The Romanian justice system has been rocked by yet another scandal, announcesRomânia liberă in a report bearing the headline: “Rotten system. 11 supreme court judges charged with corruption.” On 7 October, the National Anti-corruption Directorate opened an investigation of 11 High Court of Justice and Cassation magistrates suspected of having received presents and other favours from Florin Chiriac, a Romanian business man living in France, who has been implicated in a number of cases currently before the courts, explains the Bucharest daily, which adds that three other judges are now the subject of a preliminary investigation.

“It is an area of corruption which has caused immense damage to the country in the form of biased verdicts that have already cost the [state] budget several billion euros,” notes the România liberă editorial, “and which is the subject of regular complaints from the EU and the United States.” As a result of corruption and a lack of professionalism in the judiciary, “businesses are choosing to open operations in other countries,” complains the newspaper, which adds that Romania "is a country where you cannot die innocent if you do not pay bribes to the judiciary."

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