PSD's Iordache: We won't consider all recomandations from Venice Commission, CCR's decisions have priority

The chairman of the Select Parliamentary Committee for the Justice laws' package, PSD (Social Democratic Party, major at rule, ed. n.) deputy Florin Iordache, declared on Monday for RFI that the recommendations from the Venice Commission will not be entirely considered and said he is disappointed that this European forum "prejudged, without waiting for CCR (Constitutional Court of Romania, ed. n.) decision." 

According to Iordache, "the Venice Commission basically has two opinions: one opinion on the Justice laws and one opinion on the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code." 

"We are waiting in the following days for the two reports to be published, because in the report on the laws of Justice there were made some amendments, after discussions, and in the other we are to wait the CCR's decisions with priority. (...) I was disappointed, because they prejudged and we only asked for one thing: let us wait for the CCR's decisions too, we can not only listen to one point, yours, let us see what the Court has to say, and between the two, because for us the CCR's decisions are of priority, we will choose the best solution. It was seen in the first report as well, the one for the Justice laws, that there were many mistakes, which were then recognized and amendments were made," he added. 

Asked if all the recommendations from the Venice Commission will be taken over, Florin Iordache replied: "No, of course not. I said it there too, for example, that a recommendation the Venice Commission insisted on was the one with the special section and I said that this recommendation cannot, under any circumstance, be taken over, especially now since it has been proven that over half of the Romanian magistrates had case files, this section proves its usefulness." 

Iordache said that the Romanian authorities did not request the assistance of the Venice Commission. According to Iordache, the CCR's decisions are priority. 

"For us, the CCR's decisions are priority. That is what I said there and this is what I'm saying to you, because, in the end, among the CCR's objectives are that of putting in accordance the Romanian legislation with the European legislation and with the treaties which Romania is a party to," the PSD deputy added. 

Iordache also says that the Parliament is the only authority in Romania that can amend a law. 

"I have not seen until now a communication or a desire to communicate from the president. All I saw were criticism from the president. It's not normal to criticize your own country, in Brussels, of all places," Florin Iordache said.