[12] In 1997, Macovei was an Eisenhower Exchange Fellow, an honor awarded to "men and women of outstanding achievement in mid-career, who are expected to assume positions of influence and make a difference" in their home regions, countries, or globally.

[14] In 2002, along with other Romanian human rights activists, she publicly opposed the indictment of a former aide to previous President Emil Constantinescu after he accused then Prime Minister Nastase of corruption.

It was also a reference to the orange color used by the winning Justice and Truth Alliance, which comprised the PD and the National Liberal Party (PNL) led by Calin Popescu-Tăriceanu.

[27] Independent civil society organizations played an important role in securing the victory of the Justice and Truth Alliance, and Macovei's appointment was seen as acknowledgement of this contribution.

[34] Macovei was also credited with invigorating the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA), which had been set up several years before to investigate and prosecute large scale corruption cases and those involving Members of Parliament and other high level officials.

Macovei appointed a new head of the Directorate, prosecutor Dan Morar, under whose leadership the DNA issued an indictment against Chamber of Deputies president and former prime minister Adrian Năstase, the highest level official to face prosecution in a corruption case in the history of post-communist Romania.

[38] Macovei encountered similar resistance in efforts to create a new National Integrity Agency (ANI) to check the source of MPs and ministers' assets and investigate possible conflicts of interest.

Macovei said that the Senate's measure, if approved by the full Parliament, would greatly impede the government's ability to combat corruption as the Prosecutor General is a central figure in that effort.

[45] Macovei said the proposed reformed code, which included many other changes and had been posted on the Justice Ministry's website for public debate, was necessary for modernizing Romania's legal system and to comply with EU norms.

It would replace a draft penal code passed into law in 2004, but never enacted, under former Justice Minister and subsequent Conservative Party Senator Rodica Stănoiu.

[50] The motion accused Macovei of delaying justice reform (including application of the 2004 Penal Code), intervening in the judicial process, facilitating the release of several criminals, and attacking activities of the Parliament.

[56] The European Commission (EC) however, officially took a neutral position, with the EC spokesman stating "this vote is a domestic issue for Romania and cannot be commented upon.”[51] In addition, there was a demonstration against the Parliament in support of Macovei by a number of civil society organizations, including Freedom House, the Romanian Academic Society and APADOR-CH, with organizers stating that MPs passed the motion against Macovei because they were worried by her push for more transparency and stricter controls on conflicts of interest.

[57][58] Transparency International condemned the anti-Macovei motion, stating that the text voted by the Senate was "written in a superficial manner and motivated by political reasons, ignoring the principle of independence of judiciary.

"[60] International media described the vote of no-confidence as an attempt to derail reforms, including Macovei's efforts to create the National Integrity Agency, which would examine legislators' accounts.

[62] The on-line journal Southeast Europe Times noted that Macovei had several public disputes with judges on the Superior Council of Magistrates, most of whom are associated with the opposition Social Democratic Party that supported the motion.

Noted Romanian academic and former Foreign Minister Andrei Pleşu (who also briefly served as an advisor to President Băsescu) described Macovei, in her fight against corruption, as:a fragile samurai, a translucent fighter who does not win by violence and heaviness.

[69]Prime Minister Popescu-Tăriceanu dismissed Macovei on 2 April 2007, when he reshuffled his cabinet primarily to exclude the Democratic Party of President Traian Băsescu, with whom he remained engaged in a prolonged and heated public feud.

[59][71] International media characterized Macovei's ouster as a departure from the aggressive reform efforts Romania had enacted in the previous two years to enter the EU.

[72] Following her departure from government, from July 2007 until April 2009, Macovei served as Anti-Corruption Advisor to the Prime Minister of Macedonia, with support from the British Foreign Office.

[76] In 2011, she made 41 speeches on transparency and anti-corruption in the EU, and also condemned human rights violations and clashes all around the world (Pakistan, Tunisia, Belarus, Egypt, Thailand, Congo, Madagascar, Guantanamo).

In 2014, Macovei ran as an independent candidate in Romania's presidential elections, after resigning from the PDL, which was supporting party leader and Sibiu mayor Klaus Iohannis.

They also said such attacks stemmed from a broader and very public conflict between Prime Minister Popescu-Tăriceanu and President Traian Băsescu, which divided the ruling coalition and contributed to the break-up of the "Justice and Truth Alliance.

[88] One such incident involved a comment she made on national television that reporters had no right to criticize her and her ministry and that they should pay attention to their own "problems with Romanian justice."

Her comment appeared aimed at the director of the Romanian newspaper Ziua, Sorin Roşca Stănescu, who had been vocal in making allegations against Macovei and admitted having been a collaborator of the communist secret police, Securitate.

[11][91] In June 2005, Prime Minister Popescu-Tăriceanu sought Macovei's intervention in a corruption case against Rompetrol chairman and important PNL member, Dinu Patriciu.

Bejinaru had reportedly been found to have worked with the Securitate intelligence service during the communist period, a factor that would generally disqualify her from holding a position on the CSM.

[96] Macovei accused Secretary General of the Government Radu Stroe on 14 March 2007 of illegally changing the text of laws between the time they are passed by the Parliament and printed in the official monitor.

99 and 131) to allow monitoring in specific circumstances without warrant of phone calls, electronic mail, and bank accounts by the Department of Investigation of Organized Crime and Terrorism Offences (DIICOT).

[107] She resigned from the position in 1997 following a conflict with then General Prosecutor Nicolae Cochinescu, who was dismissed by President Constantinescu the same year for allegedly blocking politically sensitive investigations.

[108][109] Dan Voiculescu, media owner and leader of the Conservative Party (PC), presented in September 2006 what he claimed were several blank search warrants issued and signed by Monica Macovei in 1984 when she was a prosecutor.