Romania decriminalizes political corruption





When can corrupt politicians feel more at ease than when the rules are bent in their favor?

The reform of the Romanian Penal Code to decriminalize the practice of political corruption has been criticized by the Embassies of Germany and the United States, which thus bind to the discomfort that this measure has generated among the judiciary and anti-corruption organs in the country.

The amendments, approved by Congress on Tuesday with 240 votes in favor, 57 against and 4 abstentions, guarantees that neither the president , congressmen and senators are no longer considered public employees, so it can not act against them in cases of conflict of interest or corruption. This is the most blatant example of legalized corruption in a country that historically has embraced some of the most outrageous behaviors in Europe.

“The amendments to the Criminal Code introduced yesterday in the House of Representatives represent a step back for Romania “, said today in a statement the U.S. Embassy in Bucharest.

The embassy reported that these changes have been approved “without debate and without giving any options to the judicial authorities and members of civil society to speak out about it.”

Germany also said that it was “following with attention and concern the passage of the new legislation.”

The anti-corruption prosecutor had warned that this reform will prevent that the trial and punishment of politicians who are proven to be involved in corruption cases that include “bribery and abuse of power committed during the exercise of their functions.”

In addition, the institution said the reform, adopted without parliamentary debate by the majority of the Executive center-left , “entered into contradiction with international anti-corruption conventions ratified by Romania.”

President Traian Basescu himself described these amendments as “dramatic” and added that it “destroyed ten years of work of anti-corruption institutions.”

The president, who has yet to ratify the amendment, -or not, according to his statement against the legislation itself- said it would return the text of the law to Parliament so it can be studied again.

Another organization dedicated to the fight against abuse of power, the National Integrity Agency ( ANI ) has alleged that what Congress has done is create a state of “superimmunity” for the corrupt class, which immediately blocks and stops current investigations against 25 senators and deputies.

Is there a reason to think that legislators in Romania passed this law for any other reason than letting themselves off the hook?

At present there are 28 other MPs who have already been convicted or are on trial for corruption. Despite the fact corruption runs deep within Romania, someone had the great idea to simply decriminalize political corruption.

Meanwhile, the Judicial Council said that it has not been informed nor consulted on the amendments and considered unacceptable that elected officials “are virtually exempting themselves from criminal liability” for violations attributable to them.

The reform will, for example, allow MPs to have relatives work for them while in public office, a practice that has led to multiple charges in the past, or that mayors allocate public contracts to relatives.

The ANI has reported that since 2008 a total of 191 mayors and 79 MPs have breached legislation integrity.

The reform of the Penal Code also benefits lawyers or other professionals, who may not be investigated or punished for corruption.

The amendment was adopted after an attempt by MPs to adopt a bill to grant amnesty to those sentenced to not more than six years in prison, which would have benefited several imprisoned corrupt politicians.

Since early this year the Parliament amended its internal status to hinder the prosecution of MPs, to stop the ability of authorities to arrest them or to search the home of a legislator.

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