I. On 13 January 2021, the Constitutional Court, within the pre-promulgation review, issued the following decisions of admission:
A). By unanimous vote,
1. Upheld the objection of unconstitutionality and found that the provisions of Article I points 8 and 9 of the Law approving the Government Emergency Ordinance No 135/2020 regarding the state budget rectification for 2020, the amendment of certain regulatory acts and the establishment of some budgetary measures are constitutional;
By a majority vote,
2. Dismissed, as unfounded, the objection of unconstitutionality and found that the provisions of Article I points 1-6 of the Law approving the Government Emergency Ordinance No 135/2020 regarding the state budget rectification for 2020, the amendment of certain regulatory acts and the establishment of some budgetary measures are constitutional in relation to the criticisms made.
As grounds for the admission decision the Court held, in essence, the following:
– Article I point 8 of the criticized law repeals Article 42 of the Government Emergency Ordinance No 135/2020 [which stipulates a value of the pension point of 1442 lei], which does not mean that Article 86 (2) b) of Law No 127/2019 enters into force again, in its initial form [which stipulated a value of the pension point of 1775 lei]. Therefore, due to the faulty legislative technique in use, a legislative vacuum would have been created as regards the value of the pension point. The pure and simple repeal of Article 42 of the Government Emergency Ordinance No 135/2020, without indicating the value of the pension point through the appropriate amendment of Article 86 (2) b) of Law No 127/2019, would have caused a legal uncertainty regarding the normative existence of the value of the pension point, which is contrary to Article 1 (5), in its component on legal certainty, in relation to Article 47 (2) of the Constitution. Therefore, the defect of unconstitutionality found by the Court concerns exclusively the Law approving the GEO No 135/2020, and not the ordinance. Within the review procedure, the Parliament has the power to disprove/confirm, in clear and unequivocal terms, the value of the pension point established by Article 42 of the Government Emergency Ordinance No 135/2020.
– Article I point 9 of the criticized law repeals Article 43 of the Government Emergency Ordinance No 135/2020 [which postpones the increase of salary rights of teachers for 1st September 2021], which does not mean that Article 38 (4) ind. 1) of the Framework-Law No 153/2017 enters into force again, in its form given by the Government Emergency Ordinance No 114/2018 [which had established the increase of salary rights of teachers for 1st September 2020]. Therefore, due to the faulty legislative technique in use, an uncertainty would have been created as regards the sequencing of the increase of salary rights of teachers. The pure and simple repeal of Article 43 of the Government Emergency Ordinance No 135/2020, without indicating sequencing of the increase of salary rights of teachers through the appropriate amendment of Article 38 (4) ind. 1) of the Framework-Law No 153/2017, in its component on legal certainty, in relation to Article 41 of the Constitution. Therefore, the defect of unconstitutionality found by the Court concerns exclusively the Law approving the GEO No 135/2020, and not the ordinance. Within the review procedure, the Parliament has the power to disprove/confirm, in clear and unequivocal terms, the sequencing of the increase of salary rights of teachers established by Article 43 of the Government Emergency Ordinance No 135/2020.
B) By unanimous vote,
Upheld the referral of unconstitutionality formulated by the President of Romania and found unconstitutional in its entirety, the Law approving the Government Emergency Ordinance No 79/2020 amending and completing the Law of national education No 1/2011, as it violates the principle of bicameralism.
II. Furthermore, the Constitutional Court unanimously dismissed, as unfounded, the objection of unconstitutionality and found that the Law approving the Government Emergency Ordinance No 136/2020 regarding the state social security budget rectification for 2020 is constitutional in relation to the criticisms made.
The criticized law regulates only technical measures, and not the increase or reduction of the pension point, which is not the subject of this referral, but of the referral mentioned at point I-A) of this press release. Moreover, according to the settled case-law of the Court, the assessment of the sufficient or insufficient nature of budgetary resources is a matter solely of political opportunity and not of constitutionality, and therefore it exceeds the competence of the Constitutional Court.
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Decisions are final and generally binding.
The arguments set out in the grounds for the decisions of the Constitutional Court will be set out in the decisions, which will be published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I.
III. At the same hearing, the Court postponed adjudication on following referrals of unconstitutionality:
– for 28th January 2021:
- the objection of unconstitutionality of the provisions of Law approving the Government Emergency Ordinance No 77/2011 on the establishment of a contribution to the financing of health expenditure, objection formulated by the Government of Romania;
- the objection of unconstitutionality of the provisions of Law amending and completing the Law on Chambers of Commerce in Romania No 335/2007, objection formulated by 51 deputies belonging to the Parliamentary Group of the Union “Salvati Romania”, the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania, and also unaffiliated deputies;
– for 10th February 2021: – the objections of unconstitutionality of the Law on certain measures of tax regime applicable to lands, buildings built on them and to certain authorized economic activities, objection formulated by the Government of Romania and the President of Romania;
– for 17th February 2021 – the objection of unconstitutionality of Law approving the Government Emergency Ordinance No 168/2020 for completing the Government Emergency Ordinance No 70/2020 on the regulation of certain measures, starting from 15 May 2020, in the context of the epidemiological situation determined by the spread of coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, for the extension of some deadlines, for amending and completing Law Np 227/2015 on the Fiscal Code, the Law of national education No 1/2011, as well as other regulatory acts and amending and completing the Government Emergency Ordinance No 37/2020 on granting certain facilities for the credits given by credit and financial non-bank institutions to certain categories of debtors, objection formulated by the Government of Romania.
External Relations, Press and Protocol Department of the Constitutional Court