Balgarianovinite.com 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. Romanian Magistrates Speak of Pressure, Then Court Leadership Pushes Back in Tense Press Conference 2025 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2025-12-11 16:23:00 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law
