The Legal Affairs Committee held a closed-door session, outside the regular agenda and in a different room, to discuss a bill on phone call surveillance. The Attorney General, the Deputy Attorney General, and the Minister of Justice and Public Order were summoned to attend.
The bill, approved by the Cabinet two weeks ago, expands the offences for which the Attorney General may request a judge to lift telecommunications secrecy.
The most contentious provision grants the Attorney General a new power: under exceptional circumstances, he would be able to directly authorise CIS or the Chief of Police to tap phone calls strictly for national security reasons — without judicial approval.
This unprecedented bypassing of the courts has triggered strong pushback from lawmakers. Convincing them is expected to be extremely difficult. Nevertheless, the government and the Justice Minister are pushing for a swift vote before the current parliament is dissolved, viewing the bill as a powerful weapon against organised crime.
