National Anticorruption Directorate

National Anticorruption Directorate
Direcția Națională Anticorupție (DNA)
{{{logocaption}}}
Agency overview
Formed2002 (as PNA)
Jurisdictional structure
National agency
(Operations jurisdiction)
Romania
Operations jurisdictionRomania
Legal jurisdictionAs per operations jurisdiction
Operational structure
HeadquartersBucharest
Agency executives
Website
www.pna.ro

The National Anticorruption Directorate (Romanian: Direcția Națională Anticorupție (DNA)), formerly National Anticorruption Prosecution Office (Romanian: Parchetul Național Anticorupție), is the Romanian agency tasked with preventing, investigating and prosecuting corruption-related offenses (such as bribery, graft, patronage and embezzlement) that caused a material damage to the Romanian state. The institution deals with the fight against high corruption offences, which have caused damage greater than €200,000 or if the object of the crime is property or sums of money amounting to over €10,000.

The DNA was established in 2002 by the Emergency Ordinance no. 43/2002 of the Romanian Government.[1] Initially the institution has been called the National Anticorruption Office (Parchetul Național Anticorupție), and between October 2005 – March 2006 was named the National Anticorruption Department, both operating as autonomous organizations attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice. The model of organization of the DNA has been inspired by similar structures in Spain, Norway and Belgium.[2] The DNA is headed by a Chief-Prosecutor and two deputies, nominated by the Minister of Justice and appointed by the President of Romania. The Chief-Prosecutor of the Directorate is subordinated to the General-Prosecutor of the Prosecutor's Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice.

Starting with 2013, the DNA successfully investigated thousands of corruption cases across the entire political spectrum.[3][4][5] According to a report of the European Union, the Romanian DNA had "established an impressive track record in terms of solving high and medium level corruption cases".[6] The DNA has also been an example in terms of its reporting, which shows a high degree of openness and willingness to analyse.[6] According to an INSCOP survey, the trust of Romanians in DNA is very high (59.8%), in comparison with other institutions such as the Parliament (12.6%) or the Government (22.6%).[7]

  1. ^ "ORDONANŢĂ DE URGENŢĂ nr.43 din 4 aprilie 2002 privind Parchetul Naţional Anticorupţie". www.cdep.ro. Archived from the original on 2017-02-05. Retrieved 2017-07-23.
  2. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-07-25. Retrieved 2017-07-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ^ "The DNA of Romania's anti-corruption success". Politico.eu. 18 April 2016. Archived from the original on 23 March 2017. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
  4. ^ "Bringing in the scalps: the woman leading Romania's war on corruption". The Guardian. 5 November 2015. Archived from the original on 11 April 2016. Retrieved 23 July 2017. A slew of politicians, mayors, judges and prosecutors have been targeted in an anti-corruption drive quite unlike any other in eastern Europe – or the world for that matter
  5. ^ Peter H. Frank, Roxana-Maria Gaina (27 November 2014). "Political corruption in Romania: the DNA database". Archived from the original on 17 May 2017. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
  6. ^ a b "Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council On Progress in Romania under the Co-operation and Verification Mechanism". Comisia Europeană. January 2017. p. 12. Archived from the original on 23 September 2017. Retrieved 23 July 2017. The National Anti-Corruption Directorate (DNA) and the High Court of Cassation and Justice (HCCJ) have established an impressive track record in terms of solving high and medium level corruption cases.
  7. ^ "Barometrul INSCOP – Adevărul despre România" (PDF). INSCOP. March 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 February 2017. Retrieved 23 July 2017.