Ministress of Justice Monica Macovei had news conference yesterday on the "resistance of some parts in the judiciary and political system" against the three law projects. Ministress said it was heads of instances and courts that opposed the projects because positions would be obtained by examination. Opposition also came from prosecutors and judges who wanted to keep position, in spite of being older than the legal age of retiring applied on other categories. And according to Macovei, some politicians also opposed projects. The Ministress stated: " We are considering the statements of the PSD (the Social-Democrat Party) Mircea Geoana and of other PSD members. It is about the statements they have been making in today's new conference and concerning projects to modify the three laws on Justice. I am reminding you that former PSD rulers left us with a safeguard clause on the Justice chapter." Macovei stated the projects had been published on the Internet page 10 days before and that there had been consulting sessions with judges and prosecutors and with the Romanian Magistrates' Association, just as there was continuous informal consulting with the European Commission. The Ministress claimed: "Propounded changes are in no way meant to subordinate packages to the political force. They are meant to make rulers aware of their responsibility for the inefficient activity of institutions." The Ministress of Justice explained the projects had to include clear criteria to evaluate the activity of the High Court in PNA (the National Anti-corruption Prosecutor's Office). These criteria were to be set by legal means, as even at that time the two general attorneys (Botos and Amarie) could only be replaced by very complicated procedures, in case they were proved to be inefficient. Macovei also reminded that, according to the Constitution, the two Prosecutor's Offices were subordinate to the Ministry of Justice. She stated: "I will resign unless things work out." But she didn't really make it clear what this means, since she mentioned : " Right now I have got no means of control."

Adina ANGHELESCU Razvan SAVALIUC