BUCHAREST: Romania´s lower house of parliament voted to partially decriminalise abuse of office on Wednesday, a change that could quash a preliminary prison sentence for the country´s most powerful politician and shield many other graft cases from prosecution. The measure has sped almost all the way through the legislative process in the face of protests from opposition politicians and anti-corruption activists who have accused the government of allowing widespread graft. But the bill appears unlikely to complete its passage onto the statute book because President Klaus Iohannis, who would have to sign it into law, has said he will instead challenge the legislation at the constitutional court. The changes proposed by the justice ministry have cleared debates in a parliamentary committee, the senate and the lower house in only three days, instead of a normal parliamentary procedure which usually lasts several weeks. Any such change to the criminal code would further strain ties with the European Union, which has kept Romania´s judiciary under special monitoring since its 2007 entry into the bloc. Prosecutors have said hundreds of abuse of office cases, currently making their way through the courts could be scrapped if the changes, approved in the lower house in a 167/97 vote, come into effect to severely weaken their ability to prosecute big fish officials.
07-05-2018, 04:47 AM
Romania lower house decriminalises abuse of office
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