The government on Friday passed a draft law enforcing a series of measures aimed at accelerating court trials and plans to call for an extraordinary session of Parliament next month to have the measures enforced as soon as possible.

“The project will bring multiple benefits to the legal system and people in the system,” Prime Minister Emil Boc said, quoted by Agerpres news agency. He added that the future law will make trials significantly shorter and reduce the system’s expenses.

As Justice Minister Catalin Predoiu explained for the news agency, the new law, also known as the ‘small justice reform’ law, simplifies the manner in which a court panel is appointed, but also subpoena procedures or trial transfer requirements.

Besides these changes, the law also focuses on mediation, suggesting that judges should act as advisers and try to convince parties involved in a legal suit to reach a consensus and give up court action. This measure will also be applied to divorce actions, giving a couple the possibilities to have their marriage annulled by mutual agreement, even if they have underage children. The project also provides lower prison terms and smaller punishments for people who admit their guilt.

Moreover, some trials, of an urgent nature, will be held during several consecutive days, the draft law provides.

“The project was called, colloquially, the ‘small reform’ draft law. It’s an important reform, it’s not small at all but it’s small in comparison with the reform that will be brought about when legal codes are implemented,” Minister Predoiu explained.

He added that these provisions actually anticipate the moment when the new civil and criminal procedure codes will come in effect.

The country’s Superior Council of Magistracy (CSM) approved the draft, but with several objections. Criticism was voiced by part of the opposition and a magistrates’ association, which said the draft law was not under public debate before being passed, a charge denied by Predoiu.

He insisted that in February, all legal system organisations were invited to attend talks on the draft law, but some associations refused to attend. “Moreover, there will be a debate in Parliament and I’m sure those interested will be able to file amendments,” he said.

ANI law situation still uncertain

Minister Predoiu also spoke about the controversial situation of wealth watchdog National Integrity Agency (ANI), whose duties and powers were considerably restricted, first by the Constitutional Court and then by Parliament. The move was slammed by President Traian Basescu, several foreign envoys and by the European Commission in its justice reform progress report last week.

The government now has to find a way to bring the ANI law in line with EC requirements and have the law passed as soon as possible, but Predoiu said he would not like the cabinet to take responsibility over the project in Parliament. He added that it was very possible to have a new ANI law altogether, underlining that he suggested the creation of an Integrity Code as a starting point.

Predoiu also explained that the Integrity Agency law is a difficult one and that it’s tough to come up with provisions that would satisfy both the EC and the Constitutional Court. A solution that would satisfy both sides would be to introduce over-taxation of unjustified goods, he said in comments to Realitatea TV on Saturday.

EC spokesman Mark Gray: We have doubts about Romania’s political will

The two justice reform progress reports released last week are correct and as regards Bulgaria, “we saw more political will in achieving progress compared to last year, so we welcomed this development,” EC spokesman Mark Gray said in a radio show organised by Deutsche Welle and HotNews.ro.Gray insisted that even if a lot of things need to be done, Bulgaria is on the right track. But the situation is not the same with Romania, which has lost its political commitment and the legal system is no longer interested in cooperating and taking responsibility, he said. Gray added that recent changes that questioned ANI powers are a serious problem and “we have doubts about the situation in Romania.”