Lessons learned from the work of Anti-corruption institutions in Romania and Ukraine

Having rather different systems of anti-corruption institutions, Romania and Ukraine introduce reforms at different pace. However, each institution was facing similar challenges prior to their creation. For this reason, one may assume that Ukraine is going to encounter challenges similar to those Romania is facing at the moment.

Policy brief is devoted to anti-corruption mechanisms in the field of criminal justice – the activities of the bodies conducting a pre-trial investigation of corruption crimes in Romania (the National Anti-Corruption Directorate – the DNA) and Ukraine ( and the SAPO). Of course, specialized law enforcement agencies do not cover all anti-corruption policies of both states, but they are rather representative in depiction of how countries have progressed with their respective anti-corruption reforms.

This brief aims at analyzing the experience of the DNA’s work in Romania and the subsequent pressure on it by political elites and at formulating proposals for the protection of anti-corruption institutions in Ukraine.