The tribunal soon became a current phrase that captured the fears of all those who had to put up with the nightmare of justice-making: ?I?ll put up with whatever might befall me, but not with a trial before the Tribunal?, ?I hope I?ll never live the day when I get dragged into the Tribunal? and so many others. Like I said, things can?t seem to have changed a tremendous lot, but I think one distinctive feature of the 1980?s, regardless of what minor civil law case you might have had to settle, you were forced to share the corridor with shaven-skulled criminals, wearing striped clothes, chain and ball attached to the ankle, closely watched by armed guards. The atmosphere thus created was so strong, that remembering it now, I can?t help wondering whether it wasn?t a sick trick of the then powers that be, meant as a constant reminder that you really had to behave and that someone was watching. (125)

The police?s strategy for putting down street protests was to make arrests, but again they were very particular about that. First the protester had to be forced to the ground, covered in mud and clothes all torn to bits so the fellow looked like a disgusting nobody and the people would actually be happy he was arrested. That was what the communists did to buildings as well; they made them look like pure rubbish.  A typical instance in case is the very building of the Tribunal. Once Ceausescu had decided that that was the site of the future Arts Museum, History museum or whatever other major investment in the Regime?s image, the initial building was simply forsaken to rampant dilapidation, so there would be good reasons to bulldoze it and build a new majestic one in place. So ruin ate more and more at the Tribunal, the revolution came unexpectedly, and nothing has since been done. What you can see now is a sorry sight. Let?s not forget that when the Police Headquarters had burnt down, it was revamped like new in less than one year, while money was scarce for Justice. And when the burglar saw the Tribunal was a shambles, he couldn?t help not having any respect for justice; when he saw the police though, his hand started trembling. (I. P., 37)