August 21, 2012
PRESS RELEASE
The Public Information and Press Relations Bureau within the Prosecutor’s Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice is authorized to bring to public knowledge the following:
Taking into account the Public Ministry’s priorities for 2012, namely to fulfill the conditions laid down in the Mechanism for Cooperation and Verification established by the European Commission, maintain firmness assessed by the number of indictments and that of defendants sent for trial (including those in pretrial arrest), increase the efficiency of the fight against corruption crimes, including small and medium corruption, tax evasion, money laundering and violent crimes, and recover crime damages, the statistics for the 1st semester of 2012 show that the Public Ministry’s volume of activity has increased.
The number of files docketed with the prosecutor’s offices of the Public Ministry was 1,360,757 pending cases in the first semester of 2012 (an increase by 6.9% compared with the similar period of 2011), of which 50,756 under investigation by prosecutors, and 1,310,001 pending solution by the criminal investigation bodies. 293,987 cases (an increase by 3.2% compared to the 1st semester of 2011) were solved during the reference period, of which 16,995 under investigation by prosecutors, and 276,992 pending solution by the criminal investigation bodies.
At the same time, the number of unsettled cases represents 7.7% of the total number of cases to be settled in the 1st semester of 2012. The number of cases restituted to court has increased by 8.6% compared to the previous reporting period.
Concerning the number of defendants sent for trial under pretrial arrest, there is an increase by 19.4% compared to the same period of 2011 (from 4,293 defendants to 5,125).
By crime categories, the most significant increase in the number of defendants sent for trial was in the matters of money laundering (by 164.3%), smuggling (by 60.4%), pimping and prostitution (by 35.7%), crimes against authority (by 34.4%), tax evasion (by 30.6%), offence against good morals (by 30.4%), trafficking in human beings (by 30%), and fraud (by 29.2%).
Also, an analysis of the statistics and the solutions adopted shows that in the 1st semester of 2012 the following trends were registered regarding the type of crime for which the launching of a criminal prosecution was ordered:
For crimes against individuals, a number of 4,920 defendants were sent for trial, of which 446 for homicide (of which 27 minors), 40 for involuntary manslaughter, and 257 for serious bodily injury. Concerning the crimes provided by the special laws, the following has been found: 502 defendants were sent for trial for organized crime, and 338 defendants for trafficking in human beings.
The damage caused by the defendants sent for trial amounts to 2,854,602 lei and 1,004,589 euros.
The safeguards ordered by the public prosecutors to recover the damages caused by crimes against individuals, related to the number of defendants sent for trial on indictment during the same period of time, amount to 2,313,434 lei.
Tax evasion is also included when we talk about the need to recover the damage caused to the public budget, which represents a priority for the Public Ministry.
The safeguards ordered by prosecutor’s offices in the 1st semester of 2012 amount to 271,742,254 lei, of which 231,143,699 lei the safeguards ordered by the National Anticorruption Directorate, 8,414,774 lei the safeguards ordered by the Directorate for the Investigation of Organized Crime and Terrorism, and 2,313,434 lei the safeguards ordered by the Criminal Investigation and Criminalistics Section within the Prosecutor’s Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice.
For the commission of crimes provided by the special laws, a number of 438 defendants were sent for trial for smuggling, 807 for tax evasion, and 629 for crimes provided by the Forest Code.
As regards criminal cases, in the 1st semester of 2012 there was a decrease by 15.5% in the number of appeals filed by prosecutors compared to the same period of 2011 (from 6,406 to 5,415), as well as a decrease by 10.5% in the number of granted appeals (from 4,067 to 3,639). The admissibility rate is the same, namely 69%.
In civil and administrative litigation cases, the number of appeals filed has decreased by 42.4% (from 373 to 215) during the same period of time, and the number of granted appeals has decreased by 22.9% (from 371 to 286). The admissibility rate has increased from 67% to 82.9%.
As regards the settlement of complaints, requests, memoranda and notifications filed by citizens, a number of 58,285 complaints (an increase by 9.5% compared to the 53,231 in the 1st semester of 2011) were settled in the 1st semester of 2012, of which 20,136 were granted (an increase by 23.9% compared to 16,251 in the 1st semester of 2011).