The civil liability of magistrates. International standards.
New legislative tendencies

Cristi Danileţ, judge

Assist. Univ. Loreley Mirea, judge

1. Liability of the judge

Any human act that violates a mandatory norm spells a responsibility in front of the society.[1] Liability occupies a central place in each branch of law. "Any subject of law must be responsible for his acts, assuming the commitments he makes or the fact that he is not taking into consideration some legal liabilities."[2]

In a democratic society, even judges have to be responsible for willful infringement, or due to serious negligence of the rules of law. The legal frame of the liability of the judge already exists, but the legal mechanisms of implementation are missing. Like it is missing the will of the competent authorities springing from the realization of the fact that accepting a total exoneration of liability of the magistrates in front of their own unpardonable errors produces even more serious effects in the judicial system than the existence of a civil liability which deals with the eventual contingence of the magistrate’s independence.

2. The regulation of the judge’s civil liability

2.1. At international level, in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights it is provided in Article 14 paragraph 6: "When a person has by a final decision been convicted of a criminal offence and when subsequently his conviction has been reversed or he has been pardoned on the ground that a new or newly discovered fact shows conclusively that there has been a miscarriage of justice, the person who has suffered punishment as a result of such conviction shall be compensated according to law, unless it is proved that the non-disclosure of the unknown fact in time is wholly or partly attributable to him.”[3] It is regulated this way on a global level, the obligation to establish the right to repair damages of judicial errors in criminal matters.

This regulation is assumed with the same content in Article 3 of Protocol no. 7 by the Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which regulates "The right to compensation in case of miscarriage of justice".[4]

2.2. At national level, the Romanian Constitution regulates in art. 52, "Right of a person aggrieved by a public authority”, foreseeing in paragraph (3) that"The State shall bear patrimony liability for any prejudice caused as a result of judicial errors. The State liability shall be assessed according to the law and shall not eliminate the liability of the magistrates having exercised their mandate in ill will or grave negligence ".

The constitutional text is assumed exactly in the article 96 paragraph (1) and (2) of Law no. 303/2004 on the status of judges and prosecutors. In addition, paragraph (3) and (4) covers cases in which the injured party is entitled to compensations for damages caused by judicial errors committed by judges and prosecutors, the text of the law distinguishing between the judicial errors produced in criminal cases and cases of judicial errors produced in other than the criminal processes:

a. To repair damages caused by errors committed in judicial criminal processes,law no. 303/2004 is referring to the cases indicated in the Code of Criminal Procedure. Article 504 from theCode of Criminal Procedureregulates situations, which offers the right to repair damages: "(1) The person with definitive conviction has the right to be compensated by the state for the suffered damage if after the re-judgment of the case a court has acquit this person definitely. (2) Has the right to be compensated for the damage the person who, during criminal proceedings, was deprived of liberty or whose liberty has been restricted unlawfully".

b. To repair damages caused by errors committed in judicial processes other than criminal, the text foresees two conditions: the existence of a final decision establishing the criminal or disciplinary liabilityof the judge or prosecutor for an act committed during the trial process, and this act was likely to cause a miscarriage of justice.

3. Claims of the State against a judge

3.1. To protect magistrates against wrongful actions, article 96 of Law no. 303/2004 provided a certain mechanism to trigger the civil liability of these: "(6) To repair the damage, the injured party may introduce a claim only against the state, represented by the Ministry of Public Finance. (7) After the damage was covered by the state through an irrevocable decision given respecting the foresights of paragraph (6), the state may step in with an action for damages against the judge or prosecutor who, in bad faith or committing a serious negligence, had committed the judicial error causing injury.”But, for judicial errors committed in criminal trials, and in the situation in which the State of Romania was condemned by an international court, it is obligatory a claim action against the one who, in bad faith or committing serious negligence, caused the situation generating damage as it is foreseen in article 507 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.[5]

This way the patrimonial action against the judge or prosecutor assumes the following steps:

- the stage of the civil or criminal process where the judicial error was committed;

- the stage of the civil process against the State of Romania having the object to repair the injury caused by the error;

- the stage of the civil process having the object the reclaim action of the State against the judge or prosecutor, who is guilty of committing the error.

3.2. To carry over the civil liability of the judge or prosecutor, the legal texts from above assess that he must have acted with bad faith or committing a serious negligence. The establishment of the level of the guiltiness seems to be regulated in a different way, according to the type of the process in which the judicial error was committed.

Thus, for judicial errors committed in other processes than criminal, article 96 paragraph (4) of the Law 303/2004 provides that before opening a process by the victim of the judicial error, it must be established, through a definitive decision, the penal or disciplinary liability, as appropriate, of the judge or prosecutor for a crime committed during the trial process and if it was likely to cause a miscarriage of justice.[6]

Such regulations do exist neither in the Constitution nor in law, for judicial errors committed in criminal cases. This would lead to the conclusion that guilt of the magistrate would be established even during process opened by the state against the magistrate for the recovery of damages paid to the victim of the error. However, this is not admissible, because the two concepts - "bad faith" and "serious negligence" – are related to a crime (abuse of service, negligence in service, unfair punishment) or to a disciplinary discrepancy. Moreover, article 99 latter h of the Law no. 3303/2004 foresees this to be a disciplinary misconduct: "exercising his function, including infringements of the rules of procedure, in bad faith or with serious negligence, if the deed does not constitute a criminal infraction."

On the other hand, investigations to assess whether the judge or the prosecutor acted in bad faith or with serious negligence must be made within certain time constraints. Thus, according to Article 46 paragraph (8) of Law no. 317/2004 on the Superior Council of Magistracy, disciplinary action should be exercised not later than 1 year after the crime was committed. And Article 96 paragraph (8) of Law no. 303/2004 on the status of judges and prosecutors provides that the limitation period in all cases must be no more than one year. The respecting of this term would be impossible if the investigations would be made only after triggering the regression procedure.

Therefore, before the regression stage of the action of the State against a judge or prosecutor there should be a decision establishing the liability of magistrates, either disciplinary (pronounced by the disciplinary body, which is the Superior Council of Magistrates) or criminal (pronounced by a criminal court).

3.3. The only difference between the two types of processes in which there were committed errors, remains the legal recourse of action against the magistrate in order to recover the damages paid to victims of judicial errors caused by bad faith or serious negligence: required in criminal matters, optionally in non-criminal matters.

4. Expected legislative changes

4.1. The distinction between the two types of processes, and therefore between the two types of civil liability of magistrates does not seem to be justified. This is why the last version of the draft law to amend Law no. 303/2004 and the Code of Criminal Procedure, in debate, in order to be accepted, the Legal Commission of the Superior Council of Magistrates introduced a new article, Article 962, as follows“(1) After the damage was covered by the state according to the conditions foreseen by the Code of Criminal Procedure or based on an irrevocable decision respecting the provisions of article 961 paragraph (3), the state can step in claims against the judge or prosecutor who, in bad faith or with serious negligence, committed a judicial error causing injury. (2) After injury coverage, the state can step in claims against the judge or prosecutor who, in bad faith or with serious negligence, the committed a judicial error causing injury, established by a definitive decision condemning the Romanian State, pronounced by an international court.", proposing in the same time the abrogation of the foresights of article 507 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

4.2. Also there was a need to define key terms in the civil liability matters. Thus article 96 would provide: (3) There isbad faith when the judge or prosecutor violates, in a conscious way, the rules of law or procedure, following or accepting the possibility of the prejudice of a person. (4) There is serious negligence when the judge or prosecutor is consciously not taking into consideration, in serious and unforgivable way, the rules of material or procedural law.

4.3. In the same time, there must be regulated a new institution designed to protect the magistrate, namely, providing professional guilt: "Art 962 (4) in the claim action based on serious negligence, the state is obliged to call into the court also the institution by which the judge or prosecutor is insured for civil liability. The obligation to pay compensation can be established only by the institution in charge of insurance and only in the limit of the insured amount. (5) For risks arising from work, judges and prosecutors close civil liability insurance for judicial errors committed with serious negligence, in the conditions established by governmental decision”.

This way it is introduced the obligation to call in to the court also the institution where the judge is insured for civil liability, but this will respond only in the limit of the amount insured, and only when the deed is committed with serious negligence, so that in the matter of bad faith we cannot speak about an insured risk. Of course, the liability of the insurance institutionassumes the closing in advance by judges or prosecutors of contracts of insurance for civil liability for judicial errors committed with serious negligence of the conditions set by the executive. Besides the possibility of the judiciary to ensure the occupational hazard is currently governed by the provisions of article 78 paragraph (4) of Law no. 303/2004 modified, but in fact they are not implemented yet.

4.4. As for the term in which the injured party may be moving against the State through the Ministry of Public Finance for the repair of the damage, it is proposed to be 18 months from the date of the irrevocable decision establishing the judicial error and, for the claim action in the period remains 1 year from the final decision condemning the magistrate.

5. The compatibility between the civil liability and the independence of the magistrates

It is questioned to what extent the existence of some regulations in the matter of the liability of magistrates for judicial errors affect the principle of the independence of judges. This is because the independence is a legal act of carrying out justice impartially, but the possibility of a civil liability of the judge in a certain moment can be a pressure factor on him, that might negatively influence his solutions, resulting from his desire not to become responsible for any errors.

5.1. Solutions to this question are outlined by the international standards on the independence of justice.

Thus, with regard to civil and criminal liability of magistrates, article 10 of the Universal Charterof the Judge provides: "Civil action, in countries where this is permissible, and criminal action, including arrest, against a judge must only be allowed undercircumstances ensuring that his or her independence cannot be
influenced "[7].

This is also the opinion of the Consultative Council of European Judges: "A judge should not have to operate under the threat of a financial penalty, still less imprisonment, the presence of which may, however sub-consciously, affect his judgment. As a general principle, judges personally should enjoy absolute freedom from liability in respect of claims made directly against them relating to their exercise in good faith of their functions. Judicial errors, whether in respect of jurisdiction or procedure, in ascertaining or applying the law or in evaluating evidence, should be dealt with by an appeal; other judicial failings which cannot be rectified in this way (including e.g. excessive delay) should, at most, lead to a claim by the dissatisfied litigant against the State. That the state may, in some circumstances, be liable under the European Convention of Human Rights, to compensate a litigant, is a different matter, with which this opinion is not directly concerned".[8]

Judges should have absolute freedom to defend themselves in the actions directed against them. Thus, the European Charter on the Status of Judges in paragraph 5.1 and 5.3 provides that "The dereliction by a judge of one of the duties expressly defined by the statute, mayonly give rise to a sanction upon the decision, following the proposal, the recommendation, orwith the agreement of a tribunal or authority composed at least as to one half of elected judges,within the framework of proceedings of a character involving the full hearing of the parties, inwhich the judge proceeded against must be entitled to representation. The scale of sanctionswhich may be imposed is set out in the statute, and their imposition is subject to the principle ofproportionality. The decision of an executive authority, of a tribunal, or of an authoritypronouncing a sanction, as envisaged herein, is open to an appeal to a higher judicial authority”. On the other hand, "Each individual must have the possibility of submitting without specific formality acomplaint relating to the miscarriage of justice in a given case to an independent body. Thisbody has the power, if a careful and close examination makes a dereliction on the part of ajudge indisputably appear, such as envisaged at paragraph 5.1 hereof, to refer the matter to thedisciplinary authority, or at the very least to recommend such referral to an authority normallycompetent in accordance with the statute, to make such a reference".[9]

In a somewhat different concept, the UNO principle no. 16 grants civil immunity for judges: "Without prejudice to any disciplinary procedure or to any right of appeal or to compensation from the State, in accordance with national law, judges should enjoy personal immunity from civil suits for monetary damages for improper acts or omissions in the exercise of their judicial functions".[10] It is therefore not excluded the liability of the state for judicial errors. Similarly, section 32 of the Beijing Declaration states that: "Without prejudice to any disciplinary procedure or to any right of appeal or to compensation from the State in accordance with national law, judges should enjoy personal immunity from civil suits for monetary damages for improper acts or omissions in the exercise of their judicial functions".[11]

In the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the European Communities, the decision pronounced in case Köbler vs. Austria has held that "the eventual direct responsibility of the judge in front of the injured party comes into conflict with the principle of independence of judges”[12].

5.2. It is relevant, in the same time, the form of regulation of this institution in the national legislations.[13]

In Hungary the direct responsibility belongs to the court where the judge works. The judge responds in front of the court when he commits intentional or with serious negligence an act in contradiction with his duties of office and it is causing damage to his employer. When the act was committed intentionally, the judge is responsible for the entire amount, and in major cases of negligence, the judge may be obliged to pay an amount equal to his salary of less than 3 months. Also in Poland a judge has liability according to the Labor Code. The injured person has a direct action only against the court and not against the judge. The liability of the judge is governed by rules laid down by the Labor Code for employee liability for damage caused to the employer. When the damage was caused unintentionally by the judge, he is obliged to the payment of his 3 months salary, and when the damage was caused by an intentional act, it was considered that the best solution would be hiring the responsibility of thejudge in front of his employer.

In Czech Republic, Croatia and Slovakia are no provisions in law, which enshrine the right to compensation of the person injured by an illegal court, right which can be exercised through a direct action against the State which, in turn, acquires the right to recourse action against a judge who acted in some form of guilt.

Croatia's legislation contains a precondition that the person injured by a miscarriage of justice must fulfill before ha can sue the state. The injured person must make an application in which he submits his payment claims and he must address it to the prosecution, near the court and ask to resolve the case. If the injured party reaches an agreement with the Prosecutor, it is enforceable against the state. The prior procedure is considered fulfilled if they do not reach an agreement or if the Prosecutor does not respond to the request within 3 months.

In the French judicial system it is regulated the patrimonial responsibility of judges who have committed illegal acts in the judicial function, which is judged by the Court of Cassation.

In the Italian judicial system it is also regulated the patrimonial responsibility of the judge in case of injury created intentionally or through serious negligence conduct, decision or order of a judge, or resulting from a disclaimer of right. The liability of the judge is considered similar to the liability of any other public official in the article 28 of the Italian Constitution.