Romania's Supreme Council of Magistrates (CSM) expressed its disagreement with a government project to change the laws governing the judiciary, according to CSM sources quoted by news agency Agerpres. The CSM position is not compulsory, but the Presidency later warned that it cannot be ignored by the Government and the Parliament.
The set of bills have attracted huge outcry within the judiciary and among the civil society as it is seen as an attempt to bring the judiciary under political control.
The Justice Ministry published the project on August 30. It includes a series of controversial proposals such as passing the Judiciary Inspection under the wing of the Justice Ministry, excluding the President from procedures of naming top prosecutors and the establishment of a special body to investigate magistrates.
