OFFICIAL STATEMENT

Following the information that has emerged in the public sphere regarding criminal investigations targeting certain judges, including a judge of the Central Court of Appeal with a report containing a proposal to pass, the Judicial Vetting Commission provides the following clarifications.

During the evaluation process, the Commission requested information about the evaluated individuals from various institutions, including the General Prosecutor’s Office, the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, the Prosecutor’s Office for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption, the National Anti-Corruption Center, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In its requests, the Commission inquired whether the evaluated individuals had ever held the status of suspect, accused, defendant, convicted person, or witness. Regarding the judges of the Central Court of Appeal with reports recommending their promotion in the evaluation process, the institutions did not inform the Commission that these individuals held any procedural status as suspects, accused, defendants, or convicted persons.

The Commission does not have access to information on ongoing or planned criminal investigations and is not informed when such proceedings are initiated against the evaluated individuals. Additionally, the Commission does not carry out field investigations and lacks the authority to determine whether criminal offenses have been committed.

The evaluation strictly pertains to the period regulated by law and concludes once the report is approved. In the evaluation of the judges of the Central Court of Appeal, the financial integrity assessment covers the period from 2012 to 2023, while the ethical assessment also includes the year 2024.

In a broader context, the Commission notes that the initiation of criminal proceedings against certain judges does not necessarily constitute grounds for failing the evaluation. The Commission adheres to the principle of the presumption of innocence, which holds that an individual is deemed innocent until a final conviction is issued by a court of law.

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