HIGH
LEVEL POLITICAL CONFERENCE FOR THE SIGNATURE OF THE UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION
AGAINST CORRUPTION
ALLOCUTION
OF
MRS. RODICA MIHAELA STANOIU
MINISTER
OF JUSTICE OF
Your Excellences,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am honored to be participant in this
prestigious conference, reuniting the High representatives of the member states
of the United Nations Organization. The document we are called to sign here
demonstrates the preoccupation of the international community for the
prevention and combating of corruption, for ensuring transparency both in the
public and private sectors.
As it spread all over the world,
corruption does not represent an incidental phenomenon. The number of persons
affected by corruption is far from being modest. On the contrary, it is a
phenomenon with profound social and economical implications
that does not observe any borders, be them geographical, cultural or social.
From this very reason arise the difficulty of controlling this phenomenon and,
at the same time, the necessity of international cooperation in the field.
To this particular necessity, of
cooperation of the entire international community, the United Nations
Convention against Corruption will attempt to give a complete answer.
Nevertheless, the Convention represents
a model for the unification of national legislations. And this is so, since we
are aware that the differences between the legal systems of states constitute
an obstacle in the fight against the trans-national dimension of corruption.
The Romanian experience of the last
decade, similar to the experience of other countries from the region, has
demonstrated that most of the anticorruption actions materialized as punitive
measures, destined rather to failure. Allow me to state - as a criminologist -
that one of the most serious challenges for the civilization of the third
millennium is the prevention of criminality, in general, and of corruption, in
particular.
This challenge is given an unequivocal
answer by the United Nations Convention against Corruption, through provisions
regarding the policies and the measures for preventing corruption.
All modesty left aside, allow me to
recall, further on,
In March 2001,
The main objective was the adoption of
a common Position of the countries from the region favorable to the creation of
a United Nations Convention against Corruption.
The 19 participant countries adopted a
Declaration which expresses their will to become part of international
juridical instruments and to create such a new instrument, capable to offer
global solutions to the corruption phenomenon.
The Romanian political support to the
negotiation process consisted also in the participation as a member of the organizing
committee of the Global Forum II and III for safeguarding integrity and
fighting against corruption. The final Declarations adopted reiterated the
importance, as well as the support for the creation of the United Nations
Convention against Corruption.
The signature of the United Nations
Convention against Corruption is offering us the opportunity to express our
will to ratify, without
delay, this
document and to monitor the enforcement of its provisions. In this context, I
would like to emphasize the importance of an effective enforcement of the
Convention, which supports the assurance of the independence of magistrates and
their protection against the pressure of different groups of interests. And
this is so, for the mere reason that an independent and impartial justice is
one of the most efficient guaranties for the protection of the citizen against
the abuse of power and against corruption.
The signature of the United Nations
Convention against Corruption is also an opportunity to express our
determination to enforce the rules of international cooperation. The
determination not to allow that the differences between the legal systems
facilitate the existence of a secure shelter for delinquents, to agree upon
common incriminations relative to corruption and to coordinate the procedures
regarding the corruption offences that surpass the frontiers.
This is an opportunity to reflect upon
the promotion of cultural integration of magistrates, through a permanent
exchange of information, through the common training of magistrates, in
national institutions, which are in permanent inter-relation.
This is an appropriate moment to
reflect upon the research in the field of criminology, called to identify the
vulnerable sectors and anticipate the tendencies of the corruption phenomenon.
And this should be done in order to prevent corruption from evolving towards
its worst forms, when persons or groups of persons could influence, through
acts of corruption, the legislative process, the governing process or the
decisions of the courts.
By signing the United Nations
Convention against Corruption,
On the other hand, in its preoccupation
to develop the legal and institutional framework in the field of preventing and
controlling corruption,
It is worth mentioning also the
creation, in 2002, of the National Anticorruption Prosecutor's Office, which
became operational on September I' st 2002. The principle
for the functioning of this institution is the creation of multidisciplinary teams
consisting of prosecutors, officers from the judicial police and specialists of
high qualification in economical, financial, banking, customs and informatics
field and others, for the purpose of conducting the criminal pursuits with
maximum efficiency. Following an important reform of the Criminal procedure
code, the Romanian legislation makes available special means of investigation
for these multidisciplinary teams.
The recent choice of the Romanian state
was very clear, also, regarding the insurance of transparency within the public
and private sectors. A clear border has been set between the legal and illegal
in the matter of the conflict of interests, the declarations of assets and
interests in the public sector became
mandatory and are made
public, the public procurement are conducted through electronic means.
Last but not least, the choice of the
Romanian state was very clear in formulating a global and multi-sector strategy
for preventing and controlling corruption. This was accomplished by the
National Program for Preventing Corruption and by the National Program for
Fighting against Corruption, which actually expresses the Government's will in
this matter. These documents, which reflect the national anticorruption
policy, are
articulated in field strategies for preventing and controlling the corruption
phenomenon, oriented
towards the most
vulnerable targets: politics, administration, justice and the business
environment.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Instead of conclusion, I would like to
express here, before you, my confidence in our chance of having a contribution
to the creation of a common space of legality and cooperation. Because it depends on us to carry out our common projects and
efforts.
Thank
you.