site.btaRomanian Magistrates Speak of Pressure, Then Court Leadership Pushes Back in Tense Press Conference

The Bucharest Court of Appeal held an extraordinary press conference after an investigation by the news site Recorder, in which several former and current magistrates described pressure on the judiciary that has led to delays in major corruption cases.

The event drew massive media interest and opened with Judge Raluca Morosanu from the court’s Criminal Division. “I have 26 years of experience… I came today to support my colleague Laurentiu Besu. Everything he said in the documentary is true. We work under enormous pressure. The leadership terrorizes us with disciplinary actions,” she said, before leaving the room to loud applause from journalists.

The press conference was then led by Court President Liana Arsene, accompanied by colleagues. Tension quickly rose between her and reporters, with repeated interruptions and raised voices.

“We are witnessing a campaign to discredit the judiciary through mockery and manipulation, using people driven by personal motives. Who benefits from this orchestrated chaos?” Arsene said, adding that problems existed but required “institutional dialogue, respect and professionalism.” She called on authorities to investigate the allegations and publish the results.

Asked repeatedly about judges removed from corruption cases mid-process, Arsene offered the same answer: “Changes in judicial panels are made according to internal regulations.”

Her refusal to elaborate angered journalists. Tension escalated further when she was asked how many corruption cases the court had handled and how many involving politicians had reached final rulings. “We do not keep such statistics,” she replied.

“We are the busiest court, handling the most difficult cases… We have huge staff shortages and growing media pressure,” Arsene added. After roughly an hour, she abruptly ended the event despite many journalists still waiting to ask questions.

Meanwhile, the Superior Council of Magistracy issued a statement saying the Recorder investigation was part of an “intensifying campaign to destabilize the judiciary.” They argued that the claims contradicted recent positive assessments of Romania’s judicial system, citing the end of the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism for monitoring in the judiciary, rule-of-law reports, accession to Schengen, and steps toward joining the OECD.

Hours later, the Council’s prosecutors’ section announced it would examine the allegations made by several magistrates in the documentary.

The statement warned that the reported facts, “if true, could indicate that the judiciary has abdicated its legal and constitutional role”.

Against this backdrop, Dominic Fritz - leader of one of the four coalition parties, the Save Romania Union - called on the justice minister to dismiss the head of the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA). “The revolt sparked by the Recorder documentary must reach parliament and dismantle the system,” Fritz said.

Several hundred people protested in Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca on Wednesday evening following the investigation. More demonstrations are planned today and tomorrow in Bucharest’s Victoria Square under the slogan “Remove corruption from the judiciary.”

Recorder’s documentary Justice Captured, broadcast on public TV channel TVR 1 and posted on YouTube, reached 1.2 million views within 24 hours. In it, prosecutors and judges - some anonymously - describe internal pressures within the judicial system. Interviewees include former DNA chief prosecutor Crin Bologa, military prosecutor Liviu Lascu, Bucharest judge Laurentiu Besu, and others.