Huge turnaround in the "Telepatia" case. After 11 years, the High Court of Cassation and Justice (ÎCCJ) admitted on Thursday the complaints of those involved in the case and issued a final ruling confirming the abuses of Judge Camelia Bogdan, a highly controversial magistrate who has been excluded from the judiciary. The decision confirms the abuse, but Camelia Bogdan will not be held criminally liable for abuse of power because the statute of limitations has expired: "The High Court finds that in the case of the respondent Camelia Bogdan, judge of the case, the constituent elements of the offense of abuse of office provided for in Article 297(1) of the Criminal Code are met, the offense being typical in all its elements, the violations affecting the rights of all parties in the case."
The High Court admits these complaints in the case of those who paid with their freedom, but also with huge damages of over €60 million. The decision confirms that there were people who were paid illegally by those involved in this case.
On the one hand, a series of facts were prescribed, and on the other hand, the civil component had to be resolved by a civil court. There is talk of abuse of office, bad faith, and the fact that Judge Camelia Bogdan was aware of the abuses committed. Furthermore, it is stated that several legal provisions were violated when the decision was handed down, and that procedures were not followed.
"It retroactively applied European norms, transforming special confiscation into a disguised extended confiscation. (...) The Romanian Constitution stipulates that criminal law applies only to the future, with the exception of more favorable criminal law. Similarly, Article 7 of the European Convention on Human Rights stipulates that no punishment or criminal measure may be applied except on the basis of a clear and predictable law existing at the time of the offense," according to the ICCJ ruling.
Although judges enjoy a certain degree of immunity, the High Court clearly states that "no magistrate is above the law."
It is a final decision, confirming what Antena 3 CNN has been saying for years: procedures were not followed and people were unjustifiably sentenced to long prison terms. And now, Romania's highest court has confirmed this.
"In this case, retroactive application was made to the detriment of the parties, through an abuse of interpretation. Thus, these European instruments were invoked to justify an extensive confiscation, although the facts predated their adoption and transposition into Romanian law.
Such an interpretation turned a criminal trial into a testing ground for new legislation, using instruments that had not been transposed to justify a severe measure. In doing so, not only were individual rights violated, but also the general principle of legal certainty," the ruling notes.
The ICCJ also notes that Judge Camelia Bogdan was incompatible because she had a contract with the Ministry of Agriculture.
"Furthermore, Judge Camelia Bogdan was incompatible: she had a paid contract with the Ministry of Agriculture—a party to the case—and subsequently filed a motion to intervene in a civil case involving the same parties. These circumstances reveal an abusive attitude, contrary to the law, impartiality, and the rules of the rule of law, whereby the right to a fair trial was seriously compromised," the ruling states.
Although abuses were found, the statute of limitations has expired, so there will be no criminal liability. The abuses were confirmed in the 2014 ruling by Camelia Bogdan, who sentenced several people to heavy prison terms.
We are talking about an extremely important confirmation, which comes not only from the High Court, but also through a final ruling, which ends a long series of abuses committed in this case.
The decision clearly refers to how Camelia Bogdan would be guilty of abuse of power as a specially elected magistrate and pressured to deliver that sentence. It is the end of an epic saga of abuse, in which each stage—from the prosecutors' investigation to the expert evaluators and the convictions—represented a long series of violations of the law and abuses of authority.
11 years and 2 lives lost. In addition to Dr. Mencinicopschi, we are also talking about magistrate Mustață, who is said to have been pushed to his death to make way for Camelia Bogdan—the judge brought in specifically to convict Dan Voiculescu and destroy the lives of the others in the Voiculescu group," said journalist Adrian Ursu on Thursday on Antena 3 CNN.
"With regard to the petitioner V.D., regarding the offense for which he was held jointly liable together with the other defendants for the payment of damages – namely, the use by a person holding a leadership position in a political party (...) for the purpose of obtaining for himself or for another money, goods, or other undue benefits (...) – the criminal proceedings were terminated pursuant to the provisions of Article 16 paragraph 1 letter f in relation to Article 17 paragraph 2 and Article 396 paragraph 6 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, noting that the statute of limitations had expired. (...) Nevertheless, in this case, the civil action brought by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development was upheld, and all the defendants were held jointly liable to pay the RON equivalent of 60,482,615 euros. (...) Therefore, the settlement of the civil action in relation to the defendant at that time, Voiculescu Dan, was clearly unlawful, contrary to the provisions of criminal procedure, in cases where criminal proceedings are terminated due to the statute of limitations. The civil action should have been adjudicated by a civil court, according to the applicable rules in that matter, and obviously by a different panel of judges.
The civil action brought by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development was upheld, and all defendants were ordered to pay jointly and severally the equivalent in lei of €60,482,615 at the NBR exchange rate on the date of payment to the civil party, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Therefore, the resolution of the civil action against the defendant at that time, Voiculescu Dan, was clearly unlawful, contrary to the provisions of criminal procedure which stipulated that civil actions in criminal proceedings should be left unresolved in the event of the criminal proceedings being terminated due to the statute of limitations. The civil action should have been settled by a civil court, in accordance with the rules applicable to that matter and, obviously, by a different panel of judges," the ICCJ highlights.
"All violations of criminal law and criminal procedure law, compounded by violations of the rules of the magistrate's profession, demonstrate beyond doubt that this is not a case of unintentional error, but of abuse, the series of illegal judicial conduct highlighting the existence of a criminal resolution by the respondent to violate the legal rules in order to confiscate a significant number of high-value assets, beyond the limits of the existing law, from third parties, the petitioners in this case. This resulted in the infringement of the rights and interests of the parties and/or third parties, petitioners in this case," adds the decision.
"People were convicted, and unfortunately some paid for this conviction with their lives. Families and lives were destroyed, businesses were endangered, including Antena 3, which was the target of hostile actions by state institutions, and all of this is now confirmed to have been done on orders. The recording in which Traian Băsescu, President of Romania, confesses how the operation was orchestrated exceeds the magnitude of Watergate.
If such revelations had been made by the president of another country, explaining how magistrates were selected and how the operation was planned to obtain the maximum sentence beyond the limits of abuse, the entire political and judicial system would likely have collapsed.
Although he will not face criminal charges because the acts of abuse are prescribed, the way is still open for civil actions for damages, as much as can be repaired from the immense harm and wickedness committed over all these years. A discourse of hatred against certain people, professions, and institutions was also fueled—an evil that had serious consequences.
We do not know whether, after 11–12 years, an absolutely necessary and mandatory rehabilitation process can still heal the wounds and erase what that campaign of destruction and division meant.
This is a major change. This decision comes at a time when the Romanian justice system is undergoing internal troubles. However, it is a sign of institutional maturity to have the courage to analyze something that your own colleagues have done. For a long time, the judiciary has operated in a closed system, and even investigations by the Judicial Inspection or the Superior Council of Magistracy avoided targeting magistrates.
The final ruling against one of the key figures in judicial abuse, Camelia Bogdan, who has since been removed from the judiciary, may mark the beginning of real accountability and a rebuilding of the image of the judicial system," Adrian Ursu emphasized.