The Kafkian reform of Justice

People's trust in the Romanian Justice system is about to reach lower than ever in history. It is no surprise, since the activity of the third power in state has never been more lamentable. The system has never behaved more aberrantly or incoherently. It has now reached a standstill because it is split due to the battle this system should be indifferent and impartial to. Never before has the reform of Justice promised during the campaign by the "Truth and Justice" Alliance seemed such a gloomy joke.
I admit I trusted Monica Macovei honestly. I trusted her good intentions. A long time I thought she was a victim of the mafia connections and of a diseased system's resistance. But it is the outcome that unveils a reform. And Justice is nowadays more dysfunctional than ever. Gone are the days when Rodica Stanoiu would complain that the case against the Traian Basescu hadn't been produced from the drawer on time ! The habits mentioned in the stenograms of the Social-Democrats' meetings enraged public opinion in 2004. But compared to what is going on now, they seem touching naivetes.
The ordinary war between Traian Basescu and Calin Popescu-Tariceanu has split magistrates in sides. Criminal cases have got to be a prevailing weapon for political battles. The great inquiries seem to be progressing only in front of TV cameras and they alter before being completed. The fight against corruption has lost any credibility, turning into a sort of Machiavellian game meant only to defile the adversary's reputation. Even if those asked to report against enemies are indeed guilty of coming severe crimes, no one is still confident that to learn the truth investigators' priority. Cases are no longer analyzed in terms of unbiased and indubitable evidence, but in terms of backstage interests.
Elementary procedure rules are serenely broken, out of stupidity or premeditation. It doesn't matter, nothing happens to anyone, anyway. God forbid someone should try to sanction a prosecutor or a judge ! He would denounce 'revenge' at once and he would remember that he was in charge of a 'hot' case once. To incompetent magistrates, such politically fueled pell mell is true manna.
The system has been growing more and more complicated and attributions have become more and more ambiguous. The harmonization of Romanian Justice with European practices looks like a blue joke. In which developed country is the head of state supposed to consent to the opening of criminal investigations against a former of present official ? What about the independence of Justice ? I thought the law was the same for everybody. But the Constitutional Court thinks it is not. The Constitutional Court threw one more ball for President Basescu to catch. The Court did the same during the referendum last April by changing the rules during the game and allowing for the validation of results, although more than 50% of Romanians didn't go voting. It was a valuable gift to the Democrat Party, who became more relaxed when starting campaigning.
Traian Basescu is now lamenting that it is the government who changes rules during games and modifies the components of the commission meant to advise the President before he decides which official may be under investigations and which may not. The government's action is in keeping with common sense, but it is not at all enough. It actually fails to reach the core of the problem: It is not the business of a politician, even if the most important one in state, to decide on the opening of a criminal inquiry. No constitutional law expert will ever persuade me into thinking the opposite. And no politician, anyway.

Miruna Munteanu
Ziua tuesday 9 october 2007 http://www.ziua.net/english