Romanians have taken to the streets once again, demanding that the judiciary resume a real fight against corruption. The protests place Romania within a broader regional wave of civic unrest across Southeast and Central Europe, where corruption, institutional failure and the lack of accountability have pushed citizens back into public squares, even as the winter holidays approach.
Across the region, recent tragedies have acted as catalysts for deeper frustrations. In Serbia, the collapse of the roof at the Novi Sad train station more than a year ago, which killed and injured several people, sparked long-running protests against corruption and negligence. In Bulgaria, after mass protests, the government resigned. In North Macedonia, a deadly nightclub fire reignited anger over corruption and weak oversight. In Slovakia, controversial judicial decisions have also drawn people into the streets.
At the heart of all these movements lies a shared belief that corruption thrives through complicity between executive, legislative and judicial powers, while those responsible escape punishment.
Romania’s latest protests were triggered on December 9, when the investigative outlet Recorder published a documentary titled “Justice Captured.” The investigation detailed how major corruption cases have allegedly been systematically buried in recent years. High-profile defendants who received heavy prison sentences in the first instance were later acquitted on appeal, trials were delayed until statutes of limitations expired, and final convictions were reopened and annulled. The documentary also raised suspicions that the National Anti-Corruption Directorate (DNA) had blocked or failed to pursue sensitive investigations.
Public reaction was swift. On the evening of December 9, several hundred people gathered spontaneously to protest. Within days, the demonstrations grew to several thousand participants across the country. Protesters took to the streets in cities including Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Iași, Timișoara, Craiova, Sibiu, Brașov and Constanța. Their demands include the resignation of Lia Savonea, president of the High Court of Cassation and Justice, Justice Minister Radu Marinescu, and DNA chief prosecutor Marius Voineag.
Protesters are also calling for concrete legislative reforms, such as eliminating statutes of limitations for major corruption crimes and reducing political influence over judicial appointments.
President’s response
A notable development has been the emergence of dissent from within the judicial system itself. More than 1000 magistrates signed a public list warning of pressures and dysfunctions inside the judiciary. In response, President Nicușor Dan invited representatives of the group for discussions.
The president has also elevated corruption to a national security concern by including it in Romania’s new National Defense Strategy. In his December 1 National Day speech, he acknowledged public frustration, stating that Romanians are “right to feel that the state lacks the will to genuinely combat corruption”.
Experts echo these concerns. The Bucharest-based think tank Expert Forum has warned that urgent measures are needed to restore judicial independence and public trust. In a recent report, the organization argued that justice must be treated as a public service and that reforms should be carried out transparently, with input from civil society and critical magistrates, rather than behind closed doors.
According to the Expert Forum, the 2022 justice laws introduced non-transparent and non-competitive procedures for judicial careers, concentrating power in the hands of a small number of leaders. This concentration, the think tank argues, has weakened independence and eroded trust.
Critical judges have faced disciplinary sanctions, including cases that reached the European Court of Human Rights, where Romania recently lost a ruling involving the sanctioning of a judge over social media posts unrelated to judicial activity. Other magistrates who spoke publicly about systemic problems were removed from cases.
Among the urgent priorities proposed are returning the authority to investigate judicial corruption to the DNA, revising justice laws that enable power concentration, ensuring transparent promotion procedures based on objective criteria, reforming disciplinary mechanisms to prevent abuse, and clarifying the impact of early retirements that affect a large proportion of Supreme Court judges.
These national debates are unfolding as the European Union has reached a historic agreement on a new Anti-Corruption Directive, adopted on December 3. The directive will establish common EU definitions of corruption offenses, minimum standards for penalties and statutes of limitations, and stricter preventive obligations for member states.
For Romania’s protesters and experts alike, the message is clear: solutions exist, but without political will and an open, participatory reform process, corruption will continue to undermine justice and public trust.
