Thursday 26th January 2023

Opinion in Case C-817/21 Inspecţia Judiciară

(Principles of Community law)

The Inspecţia Judiciară (Judicial Inspection, Romania) is the judicial body responsible for the conduct of disciplinary investigations and the commencement of disciplinary proceedings against judges and prosecutors in Romania. Under the rules governing the Judicial Inspection, the Chief Inspector appoints the Deputy Chief Inspector at his or her sole discretion; the term of office of the Deputy Chief Inspector depends upon and coincides with that of the Chief Inspector; and all Judicial Inspectors are subordinate to the Chief Inspector upon whom the progress of their careers depends.

R.I. made several complaints against judges and prosecutors engaged in criminal proceedings against her to the Judicial Inspection. The Judicial Inspection dismissed her complaints. The Chief Inspector confirmed the decisions of the Judicial Inspection. The applicant proceeded to challenge those decisions before the courts of Romania.

In the context of those proceedings the Curtea de Apel Bucureşti (Court of Appeal, Bucharest, Romania) seeks to ascertain whether a body, such as the Judicial Inspection, must offer the same guarantees of independence and impartiality as are required of courts under EU law. In particular, it asks whether, in the light of the rules described above, EU law precludes national legislation or regulations that make the Deputy Chief Inspector of the Judicial Inspection responsible for overseeing the investigation of complaints made against the Chief Inspector of the Judicial Inspection and any disciplinary investigations and proceedings that might arise therefrom.

Background Documents C-817/21