Eugen Nicolicea, PSD Deputy and deputy speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, claims that magistrates who have temporarily suspended their activity violate the law and are liable to imprisonment.
“The Romanian law leaves no room for interpretation regarding the provisions according to which the suspension of the activity of the prosecutor’s offices is an offense and is punished as such,” the Social Democrat says.
The PSD Deputy invokes several provisions of Law no. 62/2011 on social dialogue.
The first is that of art. 181: “strike means any form of collective and voluntary cessation of work in a unit.”
“Given that the temporary suspension of activity means terminating it for a limited period of time, the collective and voluntary suspension, even temporary, falls within the definition of strike,” Nicolicea argues.
He also invokes article 202 and article 218 of the same law. About the first one, he says “it clearly states that prosecutors and judges cannot strike. On the second one, the PSD Deputy claims that starting the strike is a crime and is punished by imprisonment from 1 month to 1 year or by fine.
“I do not know what is worse, the ignorance of the law by those who should know it and apply it or the knowingly violation it by those who should watch for observance of the law,” says the PSD Deputy, in a press release.
A similar warning was addressed to magistrates by DGASPC Teleorman and lawyer of Bombonica Prodan, Liviu Dragnea’s ex-wife, in the fictitious employment file at DGASPC Teleorman.
Judge Danilet: It’s not labour conflict, it is a conflict between state authorities
Judge Cristi Danilet, former CSM member, has replied on Facebook to explain the issues.
“Our step to suspend work is not strike. We have no wage demands or related to work, we have nothing against the employer, these are the characteristics of the strike. We demand a halt of the political activity which affects justice independence and the political decisions to repeal some laws. This is an obligation of the state by article 7 of the Magistrates’ Deontological Code,” Danilet explained on Sunday.
On Tuesday, Cristi Danilet added that “members of a political party do not have the right to threaten the magistrates, who does this opens the war between his institution and the judiciary, whereas such conflicts cannot take place between state institutions; no magistrate has announced strike, we are aware of our obligations and we are not interested in trade unionist activities; the strike takes place when disagreements arise against the employer in terms of labour and wages, not for political issues. The magistrates have no problems with the authority which pays the wages, but with the other state powers which issue normative acts against the judiciary in over to take control. Consequently, the magistrates’ demands refer to the Romanian Government and target the political activities (the repeal of a normative act). There is no labour conflict involving the magistrates, it is a conflict between state authorities,” Judge Danilet wrote.