PRESS RELEASE, 5 July 2022

At the hearing on 5 July 2022, the Constitutional Court, in the context of a a posteriori constitutional review, ruled as follows:

1. Unanimously,

Upheld the exception of unconstitutionality and found unconstitutional the term “in urban areas” under Article 2 (27) of Law No 61/199l penalising infringements of certain rules on social cohabitation, law and order;

In essence, the Court held that Article 2 (27) of Law No 61/1991 regulates an administrative offence for the purpose of ensuring respect for private life in the sphere of relations between individuals, but that the penalising rule protects the rights of persons living in urban areas. As a result, the Court held that there is inequality between urban and rural residents in terms of guaranteeing the order in the housing area, which is an element of the right to privacy. The differential legal treatment regulated is not based on an objective criterion, since the result of the unlawful act — the public disorder — is the same for all inhabitants, whether they live in rural or urban areas.

2. By a majority vote,

Upheld the exception of unconstitutionality and found unconstitutional the expression “within 5 days from the date of publication of the administrative act” in Article 15 (4) of Law No 136/2020 on the introduction of measures in the field of public health in situations of epidemiological and biological risk.

In essence, the Court held that the expression subject to constitutional review unduly restricts judicial review of regulatory administrative acts, with reference to decisions of the National Committee for Emergency Situations, concerning the introduction, amendment or termination of the measures contained in Law No 136/2020.

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Decisions are final and generally binding.

The arguments substantiating 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.

External Relations, Press and Protocol Department of the Constitutional Court