Seven judiciary officials say all three state powers should pledge to implement CVM recommendations

Seven members of the Supreme Council of Magistracy (CSM) are saying it is imperative that all the three state powers take responsibility for the implementation of all the recommendations in the latest report on Romania's progress with judiciary reform and the fight against high-level corruption under the Co-operation and Verification Mechanism (CVM), given that the progress made over several years in the field of justice was erased by non-constructive actions of the legislative and executive powers, and also by some persons at the top of the judiciary. 

The seven members asked CSM chief Lia Savonea on Tuesday for a quick discussion and issuing a public opinion on the CVM progress report. 

On Wednesday, the seven members returned with a press statement after the CSM leadership announced that it will take an official position only after the council has looked into the report in a plenary sitting. 

According to them, the European Commission noted the further degradation of the CSM role as guarantor of judiciary independence, a process that started in the previous year and that has the most serious consequences on the smooth operation of the judiciary and on the public confidence that it should enjoy. 

The seven CSM members are judges Andrea Annamaria Chis, Mihai Andrei Balan and Mihai Bogdan Mateescu, as well as prosecutors Florin Deac, Tatiana Toader, Nicolae Andrei Solomon and Cristian Mihai Ban.