EU court rejects Romania rulings that halted thousands of fraud cases

FILE PHOTO: European Union flags flutter outside the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, June 5, 2020. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo

BUCHAREST (Reuters) - The European Union Court of Justice ruled on Monday that the Romanian judiciary should disregard decisions by the top national court which had led to thousands of corruption cases being closed since last year.

A ruling by Romania's Constitutional Court in 2018 eliminated exceptions to a statute of limitations for various crimes, including fraud. After the government failed to replace the previous rules with new legislation for four years, the court ruled last year that cases could be closed retroactively.