Romanian Constitutional Court Halts Proposed Criminal Code Reform

Klaus Iohannis pictured in 2015 at the European People’s Party (EPP) Summit. Wikimedia Commons.

Romania’s Constitutional Court announced on October 25 that the 31 changes to the country’s Criminal Code proposed by the ruling Social Democrats are unconstitutional, reports Reuters.

These proposed changes include new definitions of “abuse of office” and “influence peddling,” as well as laws regarding murder and lying under oath, reports Romania Insider. The law will be returned to Parliament, and the unconstitutional portions are to be amended in response to the Court’s recommendations.

Earlier in the month, the Constitutional Court’s nine judges also unanimously rejected 64 amendments to the Criminal Code, which were heavily criticized by the European Commission, as well as Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, writes France24.

The amendments to the Criminal Code are part of a series of changes made by the Social Democrats since they came into power two years ago, Reuters reports. These changes have been perceived as threats to the rule of law and have increased concerns over the decay of democratic values in some of the European Union’s eastern member states.

Romania is one of the most graft-ridden countries within the EU, and while Romanian prosecutors have made progress in combating corruption, the current government has been accusing them of  overstepping their power, reports Euractiv. The government has repeatedly attempted to weaken anti-corruption legislation but had to stop after this triggered the biggest wave of protests since 1989.

The European Commission (EC) has expressed concern over the possible unconstitutional changes to Romania’s Criminal Code, according to Euractiv. Frans Timmermans, the commission’s vice president, asked Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila for clarification on the legal amendments in a letter sent in early October, reports France24.

“The commission is closely analyzing the conformity of these legislative amendments with EU law, in particular as regards Romania’s obligations to protect the financial interests of the EU and to comply with the EU criminal law,” wrote Timmermans.

Romania is set to take over the EU Council presidency in January 2019, and EC President Jean-Claude Juncker warned the country to respect democratic values before assuming the presidency or risk undermining its bid to join the passport-free Schengen Zone, according to Euractiv.

“I hope in Romania there is a consensus for the fight against corruption, otherwise the European Commission will have trouble with its recommendations [for joining the passport-free Schengen Zone] and getting them adopted unanimously,” Juncker said.

Earlier this year, twelve Western countries, led by the U.S., issued a joint statement warning that the controversial legal changes could “impede cooperation [with Romania] in international law enforcement,” and asked Romania to “avoid changes that would weaken the rule of law or Romania’s ability to fight crime or corruption,” according to the Romanian embassy’s website.

“Romania has shown considerable progress in combating corruption and building effective rule of law,” the statement says, and it urges the country to “continue on this path” and to “safeguard the independence of judges and prosecutors.”