Romania’s Constitutional Court (CCR) on May 5 postponed for the fifth time a decision on the conflict between the Parliament and the High Court (ICCJ) on the three-judge panels judging corruption lawsuits, a conflict notified by the deputy president of the Chamber of Deputies Florin Iordache. The new deadline was set for July 3, according to Hotnews.ro.

In brief, Iordache claims all panels having judged corruption trials since 2003 were void since they were not “specialized panels” as required by law. The decision had a huge stake for Liviu Dragnea, who in the meantime was given a final three and a half years sentence in a fictitious employment lawsuit. CCR ruling in favor of Iordache could help Dragnea appeal against the final decision, but the impact would be broader on a multitude of cases and not particularly straightforward.

The lack of a specialized panel was invoked by Dragnea’s lawyers, who demanded the abolition of the sentence of first instance conviction and the re-hearing of the case by a specialized body for the prosecution of corruption cases.

editor@romania-insider.com

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