The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) held that Romania violated the right to a fair trial (article 6) and the right to free expression (article 10) as specified by the European Convention of Human Rights when prematurely terminating the mandate of Laura Codruta Kovesi as chief prosecutor of the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) in 2018. 

With Kovesi at the helm, the DNA investigated numerous serving and former ministers and other high-level officials, and was credited with making a real difference in the fight against corruption in Romania. But this put Kovesi in direct conflict with the Social Democratic Party (PSD), in power at the time, and the government succeeded in removing her from her post. 

President Klaus Iohannis, in a public statement after the ECHR’s decision, blamed the Romanian Constitutional Court and urged it to modify the ruling in the case of Kovesi and “all the other decisions based on public statements, be them political”. Iohannis had to dismiss Kovesi after the court ruled that, in line with constitutional provisions, he must observe the decision of the Ministry of Justice in this regard.

Iohannis also slammed former minister of justice Tudorel Toader and said that he should be removed from his position of the country’s representative at the Venice Commission.

Former Constitutional Court member Augustin Zegrean (not a member of the panel involved in the case) said that the ECHR has not investigated the case initially judged by the Romanian Constitutional Court, but the fact that Kovesi was not given the right to appeal her dismissal (namely, the decree issued by Iohannis). Furthermore, the dismissal of Kovesi, initiated by Toader, was based on her criticisms of the then ruling Social Democrats’ attempts to amend the anti-corruption laws, according to the ECHR’s ruling.

Toader initiated the dismissal of the DNA chief on February 22, 2018, based on a report drafted by his ministry on the activity of the directorate.

Iohannis refused to dismiss Kovesi, but, eventually, the Constitutional Court headed by Valer Dorneanu ruled that there was a constitutional conflict between the government and presidency, thus compelling the latter to execute the decision taken by the government and dismiss Kovesi.

Kovesi complained to the ECHR that she had been denied access to a court to challenge the premature termination of her mandate as chief prosecutor of the DNA. She also complained that her mandate had been terminated as a result of the views and positions that she had expressed publicly in her professional capacity concerning legislative reforms affecting the judiciary.

Previously, Kovesi publicly commented about the Social Democrat government attempting to restrict the independence of the prosecutors by its legislation. The magistrates’ body, CSM, issued a negative consultative opinion on the decision to dismiss Kovesi, but Toader continued with the procedure.

In 2019, Kovesi was appointed the EU’s first chief prosecutor, heading the European Public Prosecutor’s Office that is responsible for investigating and prosecuting crimes against the financial interests of the union.