Romanian president appoints chief prosecutors despite opposition

BUCHAREST, April 9 (Reuters) - Romania's centrist ‌President Nicusor Dan ​appointed ​seven chief prosecutors and deputies late on Wednesday despite opposition from civil society and the country's top judicial regulator, fuelling concerns about the ‌waning fight against corruption.

Transparency International has repeatedly ranked Romania as one of ⁠the European Union's most corrupt states.

Brussels kept Romania's justice system under special monitoring after it joined ‌the EU in 2007 but ‌the pace of anti-graft investigations slowed after this was lifted in 2023 and the judiciary has delivered some high-level acquittals that have raised concerns the fight against ​corruption has lost momentum.

Dan appointed Cristina Chiriac as prosecutor general, Viorel Cerbu as head of anti-corruption prosecuting unit DNA and Codrin Miron to lead anti-organized ⁠crime prosecuting unit DIICOT, as well as four deputies.

Prosecutor General Chiriac was the most contested appointment, with civic groups ​and investigative journalists saying she had hidden evidence of sexual abuse by a bishop – later convicted. She has denied the accusations.

"The expectation ​I now have from the prosecuting units ... is ‌to speed up activity to meet Romanians' expectations, because Romanians see corruption, both high-level and in their daily interaction with state ⁠authorities," Dan told reporters.

Under Romanian law, the president appoints chief judges and prosecutors based on proposals made by the justice minister which are then vetted by judicial regulator CSM, though its ⁠endorsement is not mandatory.

Justice Minister Radu Marinescu, a member of the leftist Social Democrats, the coalition ​government's largest party, stuck to his nominees despite their repeated failure to secure endorsement from the CSM.

"The appointments ... are a big mistake," former justice minister Stelian Ion said on his Facebook ‌page. "To so easily ignore CSM's ... negative opinion does not bode well."

Dan has defended his choices, saying he had formed his own ‌opinion after dozens of discussions with prosecutors.

"(The appointments) are the right choice for the time ⁠we live in," said Dan who ‌won his first five-year presidential ​term almost a year ago. "If for some reason I am wrong, I will be penalised in four years."

(Reporting by Luiza IlieEditing by ‌Keith Weir)

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