Romanian magistrates have come under fire from journalists and civic groups after they compiled a ‘black list’ of people and groups they accused of making “an unprecedented attack on the justice system.”
Dozens of NGOs, professional associations, civic groups, journalists, activists, and ordinary people signed a protest against an official document drawn up by the country’s top magistrates’ board on June 9.
ActiveWatch, which headed the protest said the magistrates stand was “incompatible with democracy and the rule of law.“
The rebuked magistrates of trying to censor and intimidate and said it was “surprising the ease with which erroneous information, which would have been easily verifiable, is spread publicly by an institution that should be an example of decisions based on facts and truthful data”.
ActiveWatch said in the press release:
Seventy-five journalistic platforms and civic organizations today published an open letter in which they condemn the abuse of authority of the Section for Judges of the SCM and the attempts to censor and intimidate the press and civil society.
On June 10, 2026, the Section for Judges of the Superior Council of Magistracy (SCM) published a “decision” that presents the work of journalists and civil society as an “unprecedented attack” on justice.
“It is an unacceptable public stigma and incompatible with the rule of law.”
The groups accused magistrates of a “smear campaign” against the groups named by magistrates: Recorder, G4Media, PressHub, Free Europe, Declic Community, Corruption Kills, Funky Citizens and ExpertForum.
The document explicitly targets all those who criticize the justice system.
The signatories said they supported the independence of the judiciary and rejected an argument that “confuses legitimate criticism with the undermining of justice. “
Magistrates are there “to defend the independence of justice which cannot be used (to silence) opinions, journalistic investigations, civic positions and posts on social networks into a general narrative of collective blame.
The methodology on which this “decision” was based is very brief and lists abstract criteria for analysis. Although it claims to take into account the “balance imposed by Article 10 of the ECHR” [Eds note: freedom of expression], the text of the document only randomly presents a few articles and posts from social media, and then concludes that there is a “denigration campaign”, without analyzing whether or not the information presented falls within the limits of freedom of expression. Therefore, the alleged “x-ray” is, rather, an accusatory compilation.
In an attempt to demonstrate that there is a coordinated campaign with hidden goals, the SCM uses easily debunkable statistics, which suggest that 90% of the posts and articles of some NGOs are “against the justice system”.
It is surprising how easily erroneous information, which would have been easily verifiable, is spread publicly by an institution that should be an example of decisions based on facts and truthful data.
The signatories of the letter are:
Centrul pentru Jurnalism Independent
ActiveWatch
ApTI – Asociația pentru Tehnologie și Internet
CeRe: Centrul de Resurse pentru participare publică
Centrul pentru Inovare Publică
Asociația pentru Cooperare și Dezvoltare Durabilă
Casa Jurnalistului
Inquam Photos
Asociația Alianța “A Patra Putere”
ExpertForum
Centrul FILIA
Redacția Snoop
Ethical Media Alliance
Hotnews
Paginademedia.ro
Edupedu.ro
Grupul de Inițiativă Civică „În Stradă”
Centrul de Investigații Media
Drepturi și Strâmbe
Starea Nației
PressOne
FONSS- Federația Organizațiilor Neguvernamentale pentru Servicii Sociale (47 ONG)
Centrul Român de Politici Europene
Redacția captura.ro
Centrul de Resurse Juridice
Mișcarea pentru Dezvoltarea Moldovei
Scena9
Redacția Transtelex
Inițiativa România
Corupția Ucide
România Curată/ Verde Curat
Reset Iași
Centrul pentru Democrație și Bună Guvernare/Politică la Minut
RISE Project
Fundatia Friends for Friends
Asociația Bud’s Flowers
Monitorul de Botoşani
Grupul de Inițiativă Civică „În Stradă”
Fundația pentru Dezvoltarea Societății Civile
Átlátszó Erdély (Transilvania Transparentă)
Asociația dexonline
Grupul de Inițiativă Solidarity Hub Timișoara
Centrul Step by Step pentru Educație și Dezvoltare Profesională
Asociația pentru Libertate și Egalitate de Gen – A.L.E.G.
Redacția Context.ro
Forum Apulum
Redacția Buletin de București
Asociația Mediawise Society
Miliția Spirituală
Asociația Respiro Human Rights Research Center
Info Sud-Est
Redacția saptamana.online
Asociația Parcul Natural București
Dela0.ro
Fundația Freedom House, România
Redacția Presshub
Asociația Rădăuțiul Civic
Asociația Accept
TransCore
Asociatia Identity.Education
ECPI – Centrul Euroregional pentru Inițiative Publice
Rise-Out IASI
Incluziune pe Bune
Monitorul de Cluj – monitorulcj.ro
Federația Organizațiilor Neguvernamentale pentru Copil
Fundatia Parada-Samusocial
Societatea de Educație Contraceptivǎ și Sexuală
Fundatia World Vision România
Asociația [H] Brașov
Asociația VULGAR
Asociația ARK Oradea
Asociația Dăruiește Viață
Misreport
G4Media
Recorder
