Means, Procedures That Strengthen The Fight Against Corruption Or Weaken It

• Author: Sandra Gradinaru
• Pages: 79-88

MEANS, PROCEDURES THAT STRENGTHEN THE FIGHT AGAINST

CORRUPTION OR WEAKEN IT

Lecturer Sandra GRĂDINARU1

Abstract

The present paper proposes an analysis of the phenomenon of corruption within the public administration,

viewed from the perspective of the anti-corruption fight as it can be perceived from the activity of the criminal

investigation bodies and the jurisprudence of the courts. In Romania's attempt to meet European anti-corruption

standards, standards established under the Cooperation and Verifica tion Mechanism (MCV), the Romanian legislation

has undergone numerou s transformations. However, the experience of recent years high lights the fact that the

adaptation of the legislation is not efficient in the cond itions in which there are no effective p reventive and repressive

means against this scourge. Although there have been many progresses in the anti-corruption fight, recognized at

European level, administrative reform in Romania is still stagnating. Due to this aspect, corruption was a lso considered

a threat to national security, motivated by the vulnerability of the Romanian State, d amaging the economy and creating

imbalances in society. In this context, in the attempt to combat the phenomenon through updated legal and technical

means, the Prosecutor's Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice signed two cooperation p rotocols

with the Romanian Intelligence Service in 2009 and 2016. Apparently, th is cooperation was fruitful, being finalized with

a series of criminal cases that involved or involves impo rtant political people. Due to the clandestine nature of these

protocols and due to the lack of any form of control over the cooperation between the criminal investiga tion bodies and

the secret services, a proper framework for abuses was created, which implicitly led to the violation of the rights of the

Romanian citizens on a large scale. The present study aims to high light the main effects of the cooperation between the

National Anticorruption Directorate and the Romanian Intelligence Service, both from the perspective of the recent

jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court and from the perspective of the judicial practice of the national courts. The

academic and practical interest of this paper lies in the fact that its addressability is not limited, being addressed to law

practitioners (judges, prosecutors, lawyers, etc.) as well to justice seekers who have recently faced the phenomenon of

corruption.

Keywords: anti-corruption, civil servant, public administration, protocol.

JEL Classification: K14, K40

1. Corruption as a social phenomenon

In the process of adapting the global social system to competitive market conditions, risk

factors have multiplied, and corruption has become a structured, specialized and professional

phenomenon which, through informal networks of organizations and individuals, can influence

decision-makers in the sphere of politics, administration or justice and, implicitly, national security.

The presence of corruption has become a constant issue today due to press campaigns,

multiple communication opportunities that have transformed it into a topic of greatest interest to the

public, enhancing the efforts of the international community to find more effective fighting

solutions.

The Romanian struggle against this scourge represents at the moment the main objective of

the internal policy, which is also reflected in the legislative framework, thus a series of normative

acts being adopted to encourage the development of a safer social environment.

In the broad sense, corruption is the abuse of public powers in order to obtain for oneself or

for others undue benefits2.

The various surveys carried out in recent years show that the perception of corruption in

Romania remains high. According to the 2014 edition of Corruption Perceptions Index published by

Transparency International3, with a score of 43 points (0 corresponding to the highest level of

1 Sandra Grădinaru - „Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of iasi, Romania, sandra.gradinaru@yahoo.com.

2 A. Petre, V. Trif, Constatarea infractiunilor de coruptie, Ed. C.H. Beck, Bucharest, 2016, p. 1.

3 Corruption P erceptions Index 2014: Results, the document is available online at: http://www.transparency.org/cpi2014/results,

consulted on 1.05.2019.