The Commission completed the re-evaluation of Judge Ion Bulhac and the evaluation of Supreme Court candidate Ion Bîtcă

The Judicial Vetting Commission has completed the re-evaluation of Judge Ion Bulhac of the Central Court of Appeal, thereby concluding all re-evaluation procedures concerning judges of that court. In its re-evaluation report, the Commission has, for the second time, proposed that Judge Bulhac fail the evaluation, finding that he does not meet the ethical integrity criterion.

The report was submitted today to the Superior Council of Magistracy (SCM) for consideration and the adoption of a final decision. A copy of the report was also communicated to the evaluated judge.

The re-evaluation was limited to the issues identified by the SCM in its decisions rejecting the Commission’s initial report, in accordance with the applicable legal framework.

At this stage, the Commission’s report does not produce immediate legal effects. The SCM will review the Commission’s findings and decide whether to accept or reject the report.

The results of the re-evaluation are available on the Commission’s website. The re-evaluation report will be published after the expiry of the statutory appeal period or, if an appeal is lodged, following the issuance of a final judgment by the Supreme Court of Justice.

On the same day, the Commission also submitted to the SCM its evaluation report concerning attorney Ion Bîtcă, a candidate for the position of judge of the Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ). Following the evaluation, the Commission concluded that the candidate failed the evaluation due to not meeting the financial integrity criterion.

In this case as well, the evaluation report will be published after the expiry of the statutory appeal period or, if an appeal is filed, after a final judgment is rendered by the SCJ.

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