Romanian Bar Condemns Lawyer’s Conviction For Representing Fraudster ‘Prince’

Dozens of Romanian lawyers protested at Bucharest's High Court on Monday against the conviction of a lawyer for his "direct involvement in sealing contracts" and "transmitting notifications" on behalf of a self-styled Romanian prince convicted and sentenced last week over a fraudulent restitution of land.

Protesters say Robert Rosu merely fulfilled his duties as a lawyer, representing his client, a businessman who was acting in on behalf of Paul Philippe of Romania, who styles himself Prince Paul, and who is now at large, having fled a court verdict. They argue that the conviction sets a dangerous precedent that might interfere with the ability and willingness of other lawyers to conduct their work.

Rosu's five-year prison sentence was condemned also by the National Union of Romanian Bar Associations, UNBR. Its president told state TV that the verdict "creates fear in the exercise of the profession".

Together with three businessmen that were also found guilty in the case, Rosu was convicted of constituting a criminal group in support of a former king's illegitimate grandson's claim to two swathes of land situated north of Bucharest. He eventually obtained the land from the Romanian state.

Paul Philippe of Romania, aka Prince Paul, is the son of an illegitimate child of King Carol II of Romania. He claims to be the head of Romania's royal house, dethroned in 1947.

His father was the product of a brief marriage between Carol and Zizi Lambrino that the Romanian courts rapidly annulled in 1919.

He was jailed in absentia for three years and four months for the fraudulent claim. He is still wanted by the authorities, however, having fled to Portugal upon the issue of the verdict.

The prosecutors' version of the events,...