Ambassador Ramis on changes in Romania's Justice: Wordy laws, problematic provisions detected

French Ambassador in Bucharest Michele Ramis said Thursday that the amendments to Romania's criminal codes are "extremely wordy" and are still being studied, adding that provisions have been detected that raise questions as far as judicial cooperation is concerned.

"You may know that the European partners have reported that they are concerned about the amendments to the criminal codes that were adopted a few days ago," she said, noting that at the level of the European Union partners there are "worries" over the judicial co-operation between the EU and Romania.

"The European Union is an integrated judicial area. What happens in a country can have consequences in others," she said.

Regarding the changes in Romania's justice legislation, the diplomat pointed out that the process is ongoing.

"I have examined very carefully the spirit of obeying the prerogatives and powers of each of the institutions of the Romanian state. That is all I can tell you at this moment," she said.

At the same time, Ramis added that "the laws are extremely wordy."

"We are looking into them; I cannot say anything at this moment about details, but I have already seen some provisions that pose problems in terms of judicial co-operation (...). We need a little more time to study them," said Ramis. AGERPRES (RO - author: Oana Ghita, editor: Florin Marin; EN - author: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu, editor: Rodica State)