Judgment_paragraph 213 · Asociaţia 'Forumul Judecătorilor din România' and Others v Inspecţia Judiciară and Others (C-83/19, C-127/19, C-195/19, C-291/19, C-355/19, C-397/19)

213Where a Member State lays down specific rules governing criminal proceedings against judges and prosecutors, such as the rules relating to the establishment of a special section of the Public Prosecutors’ Office with exclusive competence to conduct investigations into offences committed by judges and prosecutors, those rules must – in accordance with the requirement of independence, and in order to dispel any reasonable doubt in the minds of individuals such as that referred to in the preceding paragraph – be justified by objective and verifiable requirements relating to the sound administration of justice and must, like the rules on the disciplinary liability of judges and prosecutors, provide the necessary guarantees ensuring that those criminal proceedings cannot be used as a system of political control over the activity of those judges and prosecutors and fully safeguard the rights enshrined in Articles 47 and 48 of the Charter.