Romanian magistrate choice criticized over secret police links

(BUCHAREST) - The union of Romanian judges on Tuesday criticized the election at the head of the Supreme Magistrates' Council of a judge accused of links with the former communist secret police.

"The image of Romanian justice is now represented by a person whose past is marked by collaboration with the Securitate," the Union said in a press release.

With the election of Florica Bejinariu, the country's justice "has suffered the most severe blow since 1989," the year when the communist regime collapsed, it added.

Bejinariu, 48, was elected on Monday at the head of the CSM, which acts as an arbiter for magistrates, despite her shady past.

The judge had previously admitted she had links with the Securitate in the 1980s, when she was working as legal counsel in a factory, but said her reports were "harmless".

A body studying the archives of the Securitate also confirmed her collaboration with the former secret police.

But a court has since cleared the judge of all charges.

The judges' union called on the CSM members to resign, stressing the need for a "dignified and clean judiciary system".

Several nongovernmental organizations also said Bejinariu "should not have run for this post, given her past".

This controversial election coincided with the start of a visit to Bucharest by European Union experts who are to draw up a report on the reform of the judiciary.

Romania has been under tight surveillance from Brussels since it joined the European Union in January 2007 and lack of progress in the fight against corruption could entail sanctions.