Romania | Justice minister quits over anti-graft law protests 

Romanian Justice Minister Florin Iordache announces his resignation

Romania’s justice minister resigned yesterday following mass protests over a law that would soften the corruption fight in the country.

Florin Iordache defended his tenure, saying all his initiatives were “legal and constitutional,” but had failed to placate “public opinion.”

Romania’s two-month-old government withdrew the contentious decree this week, crafted by Iordache, to legalize some forms of official misconduct this week after hundreds of thousands protested in cities around Romania.

Protesters said that the measure would dilute the anti-corruption fight.

The ordinance would have decriminalized abuse in office by officials if the amount involved was less than about USD48,500. The government plans to introduce another version of the law in Parliament, where it has a majority.

In another related development, the Constitutional Court said it wouldn’t rule on whether the ordinance was constitutional as requested by the ombudsman, saying the decree had been withdrawn from legislation.

Court chairman Valer Dorneanu said that “we did not find elements [of the decree] which had already been applied, and would have produced judicial effects.”

The government survived a vote of no confidence Wednesday in parliament, where it has a solid majority. AP