President Nicușor Dan Appoints New Heads of Romania's Major Prosecutor's Offices

Romanian President Nicușor Dan signed decrees appointing new heads of the country's three major prosecutor's offices on Wednesday, with the appointments published in the Official Gazette on Thursday, April 9, 2026, despite negative advisory opinions from the Superior Council of Magistracy. Cristina Chiriac, former head of DNA Iași, was appointed Prosecutor General of Romania for a three-year mandate beginning April 15. Ioan-Viorel Cerbu was named chief prosecutor of the National Anticorruption Directorate, and Codrin Horațiu Miron was appointed chief prosecutor of the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism, both also starting April 15 with three-year mandates. Dan accepted seven of eight proposals submitted by Justice Minister Radu Marinescu of the Social Democratic Party, doing so in less than 24 hours after receiving them, according to Stirile ProTV.

Appointments draw fire from across the political spectrum The decisions triggered immediate criticism from parties that had backed Dan's presidential campaign, with both the Save Romania Union and the National Liberal Party publicly condemning the process. Alexandru Muraru, vice president of the National Liberal Party and head of PNL Iași, described the move as a decision of grave consequence for the justice system. „These appointments bring no real progress for the justice system. Instead of reforms, we see rather the continuation of behind-the-scenes practices.” — Alexandru Muraru via RFI Muraru accused Justice Minister Radu Marinescu of being a "compromised" figure "accused of intellectual theft," arguing that the minister's involvement tainted the credibility of the entire selection process. Muraru also stated that the appointments carried a clear political stamp, saying Dan "cannot deny the fact that the label on these appointments is the one related to the PSD." He explicitly separated Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan from the controversy, stating that Bolojan "did not participate in this barter" and "was not involved in this negotiation process in any form." Muraru further criticized Dan for failing to exercise his constitutional right to reject the proposals, calling the decision a signal of passivity that undermines the broader project of justice reform in Romania.

USR founder validates proposals his own party opposed The criticism carried particular political weight because Dan is the founder of the Save Romania Union, the party whose members were among the sharpest voices against the appointments. Stelian Ion, a USR deputy and former justice minister, wrote on Facebook that Justice Minister Marinescu had chosen to "ignore not only reality, but also institutional common sense" after the CSM's Prosecutors' Section issued negative opinions on several candidates. „It is a direct defiance of the balance mechanisms in justice and of the signals coming from society. The ball is now in President Nicușor Dan's court.” — Stelian Ion via Deutsche Welle Ion had written those words hours before Dan held a press conference at Cotroceni Palace and proceeded to validate the criticized proposals. The USR party itself stated in a press release that it disagreed with Dan's assertion that the appointments did not carry a PSD imprint, arguing that "a process presents as much trust as the people who lead it." Deutsche Welle reported that Dan appeared visibly uncomfortable during the press conference, which lasted over an hour, and that his explanations "often seemed like an attempt at self-persuasion." The outlet also noted that Dan used part of the press conference to criticize journalists and opinion leaders who had challenged him, arguing that he would answer to voters in four years — a remark Deutsche Welle described as reflecting a misunderstanding of how open democratic societies function.

Chiriac's record at DNA Iași scrutinized amid presidential praise Dan defended the appointment of Cristina Chiriac as Prosecutor General by citing her track record at DNA Iași, describing her unit as the best-performing territorial DNA structure in the country based on conversations with prosecutors. He pointed to a series of high-profile cases pursued under her leadership, including the prosecution of the mayor of Iași, the president of the Iași County Council, the president of the Vaslui County Council, customs officers, border police, a university rector, a dean, a deputy, and a hospital director. „For four years and 8-9 people, it is quite good.” — Nicușor Dan via Libertatea However, Libertatea's analysis of DNA Iași activity reports found that 2025 was, in numerical terms, a poor year for the unit: seven prosecutors produced only three indictments and eight plea bargain agreements. The outlet noted that this amounted to roughly half an indictment per prosecutor over the course of the year. By comparison, the same unit sent 22 people to trial via six indictments in 2022 and drafted 16 plea bargain agreements that year. Marius Ionuț Voineag was separately appointed deputy prosecutor general, with his mandate set to begin on June 30, 2026, the date on which that position becomes vacant.

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Romania's justice system has been a focal point of political tension for over a decade, particularly around the independence and leadership of anti-corruption bodies. The DNA was established in 2002 and has prosecuted hundreds of senior officials, ministers, and parliamentarians, making the appointment of its chief prosecutor a matter of intense public and political scrutiny. The CSM serves as the constitutional guardian of judicial independence, and its advisory opinions on prosecutor appointments, while not legally binding on the president, carry significant institutional weight. Romania's accession to the European Union in 2007 was accompanied by a Cooperation and Verification Mechanism that monitored judicial reform progress for years, reflecting Brussels' concerns about rule of law standards in the country.