Ionușas Council committee recommends adopting bill restoring prosecutorial oversight

Committee recommendation on restoring powers

The Law Enforcement Committee of the Ionușas Council voted in support and recommended that parliament adopt government bill No. 16026. According to the Centre for Political and Legal Reforms, the adoption of this document will effectively restore elements of general prosecutorial oversight, which had previously been abolished.

Expansion of powers outside criminal cases

The initiative was proposed under the pretext of implementing a decision of the Constitutional Court. The bill provides for expanding the grounds for prosecutor intervention in areas that are not criminal cases. Specifically, prosecutors are proposed to be granted the right to demand documents and information from legal entities without opening criminal proceedings and without obtaining court authorisation. A period of five days is provided for complying with such prosecutorial requests.

Warnings regarding risks and history of the initiative

Potential threats are also identified by the Research Service of the Council itself. On 15 October, experts warned that nine proposed grounds for intervention, including vague formulations regarding “fundamental national interests”, contradict the principle of exclusivity of prosecutorial representation and allow for arbitrary intervention.

It is worth noting that this is the government’s second attempt to implement similar changes. The previous bill No. 15253 was submitted in May, but it was withdrawn following a change in the composition of the Cabinet of Ministers.