The appointment of Mihai Busuioc to the CCR is nothing but the final smirk of PSD’s staged victory. With the coalition’s vote, a result of month-long miraculous negotiations, they sent there everything that could be more political and odious.
If in the cases of Deliorga and Stan there is the cover that they are, behold, judges, in Busuioc’s case, they didn’t even bother to maintain appearances.
The new CCR judge proposed by PSD was explained by lawyer Toni Neacșu.
If they no longer cared about the professional criterion invoked in previous appointments, the career of a magistrate, and returned to political appointments, PSD could have proposed someone like Robert Cazanciuc, for example, who was clearly interested. But never can a person with respect for their name, for their profession, be forced to do what a political lackey does easily, someone who has never had an independent career away from political sinecures.
Theoretically, with the judges they have proposed, namely Licu, Busuioc, Deliorga, Stan, PSD does not have a majority in the CCR. And the appointment from UDMR, Csaba Asztalos, is actually very good.
But a single vote separates the theoretical camps, and we still don't know what proposal Mr. Nicușor Dan will make, as the deadline for designation by the presidency has passed since June 13. According to art. 68 of Law 47/1992, the appointment must be made at least one month before the end of the predecessor judge's mandate, in this case, Livia Stanciu, which began on July 13, 2016.
Summing up, what has happened to Justice in a broader sense - after Nicușor Dan's victory and the prolonged negotiations overseen by the president who has made this domain and anti-corruption a true standard - is a failure.
1. PSD sent to the CCR, with the agreement and votes of the pro-European coalition, including USR, a sinister character. So, the hope that some reform will take place there, that some corrections and revivals will be adopted, can be considered extremely optimistic. And the risk that initiatives questioning PSD's interests will be annulled can be considered extremely realistic.
It will depend a lot on who will become the president of the CCR, and I have no doubt that the power game of PSD will be intense.
2. The Ministry of Justice remained with PSD, for the exponent of the Vasilescu - Manda wing. What does this mean? Opinions on any normative acts, legislative initiatives in the field of Justice, the connection with CSM, where the minister is a member, the proposal of chief prosecutors, disciplinary action against magistrates, hierarchical subordination of prosecutors.
Of course, theoretically, this subordination is administrative, it does not include handling cases. Theoretically.
As theoretically one can also count on a fall of the Government until the appointment of new prosecutors at the beginning of next year and on a redistribution of power. But I have great reservations that PSD will not do everything it can to maintain things in this state until that moment.
And if the Government falls, what makes us believe that PSD, then with stable leadership and key positions, such as the one at the CCR, will not directly demand the position of prime minister, i.e., early rotation. Mr. Dan's power to assert himself against PSD has proven to be null.
3. Lia Savonea will be the President of the ICCJ, by the exclusive decision of the CSM, but most importantly, it was a candidacy without a counter-candidate. This shows the extraordinary power that the new president has over the system and over the CSM, of which she will be a rightful part. A real show of strength.
Unlike what many believed and stated during the campaign, the president no longer has any say in the appointment of the ICCJ leadership, which has become the exclusive attribute of the CSM. And he is not, as he claimed, a part of the CSM.
But the president has not shown any sign so far that he is even interested in this appointment. The ways in which the president can make himself heard are unlimited, starting with posts on social media, which Mr. Dan has never shied away from.
4. The current head of the Judicial Inspection has been reconfirmed by the CSM for another 3 years, also without counter-candidates, and she is very far from the demands of the new president's electorate. The Judicial Inspection only investigates disciplinary offenses of magistrates, and its conclusions must first be confirmed by the CSM and then, in case of appeal, by the ICCJ. The Judicial Inspection has been and remains an instrument of harassment, but with little potential to be decisive, within the limits of its legal competencies.
During the campaign, I received a lot of insults for writing that Mr. Nicușor Dan's vision regarding Justice is deficient, even wrong in places. So far, he has not proven otherwise and, on the contrary, has shown a surprisingly disinterest, even disturbing for many of his supporters.
President Nicușor Dan stated that, after solving the deficit issue, Justice will become his main concern. The deficit was not his concern, but that of the prime minister, whom he delayed for almost a month to appoint, in a negotiation resulting in PSD's resounding victory.
Justice was largely his concern. It remains to be seen what he can still do, if he will act and with what result, after the cards have been dealt and - at least for a while - room for changes is scarce.