Constitutional Court of Romania (CCR) adjourned again, until April 27, the decision on the Law 90/2001 prohibiting convicted persons to hold positions in the Government.
The Court met on Tuesday for the third time, regarding the notification submitted by the Ombudsman on the Law no.90/2001, prohibiting convicted persons to hold positions in the Government. The notification was submitted by Victor Ciorbea early in January, one day after the Grindeanu Government filed the oath at the Cotroceni Palace.
“It was adjourned for April 4, since we couldn’t reach a solution. We need more study. Several solutions have been considered until now, but none of them didn’t achieve a decisional majority, and now we consider two solutions that can be taken into account for a conclusion. It is the most difficult solution we had to issue until now, because the issues are mostly political” stated the Court’s President, Valer Dorneanu.
Court’s President stated that “many” law issues have been discussed, both on timeliness and admissibility, so the problem is “sophisticated”. However, Dorneanu said that he is 90% positive that they will definitely have a solution on April 4.
“We don’t necessarily guide on the Media or political pressure, because it exists all the time, actually both of them exist. First, we want to be reconciled to our conscience, and to be convinced that our solution corresponds to the exact interpretation of the Constitution and to the meaning considered by the lawmaker, to the extent in which it complies with the constitutional principles”, Dorneanu stated.
Constitutional Court debated Ombudsman’s notification on March 7, adjourning the decision for March 21. On March 21, CCR announced a new adjournment.
“We don’t necessarily guide on the Media or political pressure, because it exists all the time, actually both of them exist. First, we want to be reconciled to our conscience, and to be convinced that our solution corresponds to the exact interpretation of the Constitution and to the meaning considered by the lawmaker, to the extent in which it complies with the constitutional principles”, Dorneanu stated.
On January 5, Victor Ciorbea stated for News.ro that he sent to the Constitutional Court the notification on the Law no.90/2001, which provides that only persons who weren’t convicted and who don’t fit to any of the incompatibility cases, can be members of the Government.
According to the Ombudsman, Constitutional Court was notified on the Article no.2 of the Law no.90/2001. This article provides: “Only persons who have only the Romanian nationality and the domicile in the country, who can exercise their electoral rights, who weren’t convicted and who do not fit in any of the incompatibility cases provided by Art.4, para.(1), can be members of the Government”.
Later, Ombudsman stated in a press release that “provisions of the Art.2 of the Law no.90/2001 breach the principle of balance of powers, they do not comply with the constitutional requirements of predictability and proportionality of the law, and they do not allow the recognition of the right of difference for holding a position involving the exercise of the state authority on an equal basis and without unreasonable restrictions”.
Ombudsman has directly notified the Constitutional Court on the constitutional challenge of the Art.2 of the Law no.90/2001 on the organization and functioning of the Romanian Government and of the ministries, amended and supplemented, appreciating that they contradict the provisions of the Art.1, para.(4) and (5), Art.16, para.(1) and (3), Art.20 and Art.53 of the Constitution, as well as of the Art.14 of the Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, Art.1 of the Protocol no.12 to the Convention, Art.2 item 1 and Art.21 item 2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Art.2 item 1 and Art.25 of the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights.
