The case of KÖVESI v. ROMANIA
The European Court of Human Rights rules: Kövesi's dismissal as head of the Romanian anti-corruption agency was illegal
The current head of the newly created European Public Prosecutor's Office, Laura Codruța Kövesi, comes from Romania. There, she served as Attorney General for six years and heades the Romanian Anti-Corruption Agency (DNA) from 2013, until she was released in July 2018 in a controversial case and after a decision by the Romanian Constitutional Court. Kövesi appealed to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in Strasbourg against this dismissal. On May 5, 2020, the ECtHR ruled that her release has run against the standards of the European “Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms” (ECHR). In this (particularly in Romania) highly anticipated decision, the Court found that the Romanian state's dismissal of Ms Kövesi had violated her rights to freedom of expression and fair trial as laid down in Article 10 and Article 6 ECHR.