Judges who cut Adrian Nichifor's sentence face disciplinary sanctions

The Superior Council of Magistracy (CSM) has initiated disciplinary proceedings against three appellate judges who cut by 12 years the imprisonment term of the controversial businessman Adrian Nichifor, Info-Prim Neo reports. Justice Minister Oleg Efrim, who is also a CSM member, told reporters that the judges have acted with “negligence” and in breach of duty when passing the decision. CSM inspector Valeriu Catan stated at the CSM meeting that the judges violated the Code of Ethics and “failed to find relevant reasons for the just adjudication of the case”. Attending the meeting, the three judges – Tudor Micu, Gheorghe Iovu and Vasile Gurin – denied any violation and disagreed with the disciplinary action, saying their decision had been based on evidence. The action comes in response to a notification by the lawyer for the family of the man killed by Adrian Nichifor, a crime for which the businessman was initially sentenced to 17 years in prison. The sentence was reduced to 5 years by an appellate court. The decision was later reversed by the Supreme Court of Justice, which order the re-examination of the case by a different appellate body of judges.