Augustin Lazăr

Studies

In 1981 he graduated the Faculty of Law of "Babeş-Bolyai" University of Cluj-Napoca, and then, he attended studies and study visits in EU countries and in the U.S.A. In 2004 he obtained a PhD in Law degree from the same university, in the field of investigation of business related offences.

Professional activity

After graduation, he served as a lawyer of the Bar in Alba County (1981 - February 1982). From the 1 March 1982 until December 1997, he successively occupied the following positions: trainee prosecutor, prosecutor at Alba Iulia Prosecutor's Office and the Prosecutor's Office attached to Alba Iulia Tribunal. During the interval January 1998 and August 1998, he served as a Chief Prosecutor at the Prosecutor's Office attached to the Alba Iulia Court of Appeal. In September 1998, he was appointed Chief Prosecutor of the Anticorruption, Criminal Investigation and Criminalistics Section of the Prosecutor's Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice, and he kept this capacity until the 28th of February 2001. Between the 1st of March 2001 and the 31st of December 2012, Augustin Lazăr served as Deputy Prosecutor General of the Prosecutor's Office attached to the Alba Iulia Court of Appeal, and from the 1st of January 2013 until the 27th of April 2016, he was General Prosecutor of the same Prosecutor's Office.

The Case of "The Dacian Treasures"

For a 10 years' period, starting with 2004, Augustin Lazăr coordinated investigating teams, whose actions resulted in the destruction of multiple criminal networks and the repatriation of the national cultural heritage. Investigations led to the identification and prosecution of the guilty poachers, in a mega-judicial process, the repatriation of 13 Dacian gold bracelets certified by experts (of approximately 12,700 kg), as well as the recovery of coin thesaurus made of gold Kosons (of approximately 8,600 kg), Pseudo-Lysimach, Dacian royal shields and other artifacts from the archaeological sites belonging to the Romanian cultural heritage.

The repatriation of these treasures required extensive international judicial assistance. The extraordinary story of the Dacian bracelets discovered by poachers in the vicinity of Sarmizegetusa fortress, traded at auction houses and later on recovered by the Romanian authorities, made the headlines in the documentary “The Hunt for Transylvanian Gold”.

The case of the "Troesmis Table of Laws"

Augustin Lazăr conducted another case of high contribution to the protection of the national cultural heritage, resulting in the repatriation in 2015 of the tables of laws, stolen in 2002 from the Troesmis fortress site. The two bronze tabulae (weighing about 25 kilograms), written in Latin, represent the municipal law of a Roman city. They come from the site of the Roman municipality of Troesmis (Igliţa, Tulcea County, Romania) and were manufactured during the reign of emperor Marcus Aurelius (161-180 AD), representing the first and most important written document of the ancient history of Romania. Recovering the artifacts was the subject of the TVR 2 national TV station documentary entitled "Troesmis Tablets: From the Thieves' Back to the Museum".

Main books and studies published

• Anti-Fraud Investigation in the Business Environment, Lumina Lex Publishing House (ed., 2004, 2008);
• Corpus Juris Heritages, Lumina Lex Publishing House (ed. 2005, 2007, co-author);
• Investigation Manual in the Economic and Financial Environment, PÎCCJ, Bucharest, 2009 (co-author);
• Combating Crime against European Archaeological Heritage, Lumina Lex Publishing House, Bucharest, 2008, (co-author);
• Combating Crime Against European Cultural Heritage, Mega Publishing House, 2009 (co-author);
• Combating Traffic of Cultural Goods, Universul Juridic Publishing House, Bucharest, 2013 (co-author);
• Toward a Prosecutor for the European Union, Hard Publishing House, Oxford, 2013 (coauthor chapter);
• "Illicit Trafficking in Cultural Goods in South East Europe: Fiat Lux!", In the volume of Countering Illicit Traffic in Cultural Goods, The Global Challenge of Protecting the World Heritage, ICOM Paris, 2015;
• Defense of Environment and Forestry Fund by Criminal Law, Romanian Academy Publishing House and Universul Juridic Publishing House, Bucharest 2016 (coordinator);
• Public Ministry - History and Perspectives, Universul Juridic Publishing House, Bucharest 2017 (coordinator);
• Conflict of interests. Theory and Jurisprudence. Comparative Law Studies, Universul Juridic Publishing House, Bucharest (editions 2016, 2017).

Teaching activity

Since 1993, he is lecturer, associate professor, and since 2009, a professor of criminal sciences at "1st December 1918" University of Alba Iulia.

Affiliation to professional associations

Member of the Romanian Society of Criminology and Criminalistics; member of the Association of Prosecutors from Romania, member of the Association "Amici dell'Accademia di Romania in Rome".

Prizes, decorations, honors

• The National Order "Faithful Service" in the rank of Officer, Decree no. 528 / 1 December 2000 of the President of Romania;
• United States Department of Justice Appreciation, for the activity in the Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training Program, 2001;
• "Judicial merit" diploma awarded by Decree no. 23/28 June 2002 of the President of Romania;
• Certificate of Award, Who is Who World Society Corp., Encyclopedia of Personalities in Romania, December 6, 2011;
• Honorary Member of European Lawyers Union, Luxembourg, 2016.

Family life

Married with two children.