PNL’s Orban: We received the Venice Commission’s answer on the Laws on Justice. It shows that Toader lied again

The National Liberal Party (PNL) received the Venice Commission’s answer to the informal letter on the Laws on Justice. It shows that Tudorel Toader lied by saying that the European officials will issue an opinion on the two ordinances, since the Commission wasn’t notified, the party’s Chairman Ludovic Orban announced on Sunday. “After GEOs 90 and 92 were issued, we sent a letter to the Venice Commission, in which we briefly presented the content of the two ordinances and we informed the Venice Commission that the Justice Minister lied to the public opinion from Romania by saying that the two ordinances were issued after consulting the Venice Commission and with its approval. We received an answer from Thomas Markert, the Secretary of the Venice Commission, showing that Tudorel Toader lied to the public opinion once again, by saying that the Venice Commission will issue an opinion on the ordinance 90-92, and will analyze these two ordinances. Thomas Markert’s answer tells us that Venice Commission cannot examine the content of the two ordinances since they weren’t translated before the plenary session and there’s no formal request to issue an opinion on these ordinances, submitted by the Romanian authorities. Tudorel Toader lied again by saying that the Venice Commission will issue an opinion, and the Venice Commission clearly says in writing that it wasn’t notified”, Ludovic Orban stated on Sunday at Brasov. The PNL Chairman announced that his party will submit a draft law on Monday for transposing the Venice Commission’s recommendations regarding the Laws on Justice. “After the governmental majority refused to notify the Venice Commission, PNL and the Romanian President succeeded, by calling for the European diplomacy’s help, to notify the Venice Commission on the three Laws on Justice, as well as on the Criminal Code and Criminal Procedure Code. The Venice Commission’s report and opinions were devastating. On Monday, PNL will submit a draft law ensuring the transposition of these recommendations on the Laws on Justice, and we requested the same thing regarding the Criminal Code and Criminal Procedure Code”, Orban added. Liberals sent an information letter to the Venice Commission, claiming that Justice Minister Tudorel Toader used his quality of a member of the Venice Commission to justify the adoption of the controversial draft laws. “As the initiator of the steps that led to the notification of the Venice Commission by the APCE Monitoring Commission at the level of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, on the amendments to the Romanian Laws on Justice, we, the National Liberal Party, appreciate we have the moral right to inform you on the following issues regarding the evolution of the legislative changes in our country, performed through a Government’s Emergency Ordinance (92/2018), initiated b the Justice Minister Tudorel Toader. First of all, we bring to your attention the fact that Tudorel Toader, the current Justice Minister – both him and the representatives of the governmental majority -, has repeatedly used his position of a member of the Venice Commission to publicly legitimate legislative solutions which are at least controversial”, reads the letter sent to the Venice Commission. One of the draft laws listed in the document addressed to the European officials is the Emergency Ordinance 92/2018 amending and complementing certain normative acts related in the judiciary field. “In the case of GEO 92/2018, Justice Minister Tudorel Toader justified the adoption of the emergency ordinance by the fact that he had previous discussions with the representatives of the Venice Commission. In this regard, Justice Minister intimated that there is a form agreed on the amendments to be implemented by Emergency Ordinance in the case of the Laws on Justice, thus taking advantage of the prestige of the Venice Commission to accredit at the level of the Romanian public opinion the fact that the amendments to be brought will not affect the judiciary, but they will implement recommendations of the Venice Commission from the preliminary report published on July 13, 2018”, the information letter reads. The letter was signed by the PNL Chairman Ludovic Orban and “has an information nature for the distinguished members of the Venice Commission before communicating the final report on the amendments brought to the Romanian Laws on Justice”. The document sent by PNL is addressed to the President of the European Commission for Democracy through Law, Giani Buquicchie, and to the Secretary General of the Venice Commission, Thomas Markert.