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Whoever serves his country well has no need of ancestors. - Voltaire
Resources dealing with Romanian legal resources.
THE LEGISLATIVE POWER
Under the Constitution, Parliament is the supreme representative body of the Romanian people and the sole lawmaking authority in the country. It is made up of two bodies: the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, which work in separate and joint sessions according to the nature of the activities. The deputies and the senators are elected by universal, equal, direct, secret and freely expressed ballot. The organizations of citizens belonging to ethnic minorities that do not gather the necessary number of votes to be represented in Parliament are entitled, ex officio, to a seat of deputy.
By law, the number of deputies is 328, and of senators 143.
Parliament works in two yearly ordinary sessions (February-June
and September-December).
The Government has law initiative, just like the deputies, the senators and a minimum number of 250,000 people having the right to vote in at least one quarter of the country's counties.
The laws passed by Parliament are forwarded to the President of Romania for promulgation. The President may ask the Constitutional Court to verify their constitutionality. The decision of the Constitutional Court is mandatory for the President, but not for Parliament which, after having re-examined the bill, may retain it in its original form with a majority of two thirds of the number of members in each chamber.
The Legislative Council is a specialized consultative body of Parliament that keeps the official records of the Romanian laws.
THE PRESIDENT OF ROMANIA
Under the Constitution, the President of Romania represents the Romanian state and stands warrant to the national independence, the unity and territorial integrity of the homeland. He supervises the observance of the Constitution and the good functioning of the public authorities. The President acts as a mediator between the powers of the state, as well as between the state and society. The President of Romania is elected directly by the citizens, for maximum two four- year terms.As long as he exercises his mandate, the President of Romania cannot be a member of any political party and cannot occupy another public or private office.
The President of Romania nominates a candidate for the post of prime minister and appoints the Government on the basis of the confidence vote granted by Parliament. The President of Romania is the commander of the armed forces, and chairs the country's Supreme Defence Council.
THE GOVERNMENT
The Government assures the implementation of the country's domestic and foreign policy and runs the public administration. The members of the Government cannot hold other public offices of authority, with the exception of that of deputy or senator; neither can they have professional representation positions, receiving a salary, from a commercial organization.The Government shall adopt (under an empowering law) decisions and ordinances for the exercise of laws in the conditions established by Parliament. The Government is politically responsible for its entire activity only before Parliament.
LOCAL ADMINISTRATION
It is based on the principle of local autonomy and the decentralization of public services. The towns and communes are run by the local councils and the mayors elected by the citizens in the respective localities. The county council, also elected, coordinates the activity of the communal and town councils with a view to implementing the public services of county interest. The Government appoints a prefect for each county and for the Bucharest Municipality, as its local representative.
JUDICIAL POWER
The judges are independent and subject only to the law. Appointed by the President of Romania, they are immovable and cannot hold other posts except that of professors in higher education institutions.
Justice is carried out by the Supreme Court of Justice and the other judicial bodies. Each defendant is entitled to defence.
The Higher Council of the Magistrature, elected by Parliament for
four years, suggests to the President of Romania the appointment of
judges and prosecutors. It also fulfills the role of discipline adviser of
the judges.
THE POLITICAL PARTIES
The Constitution stipulates that political pluralism is a pre-requisite and guarantee of constitutional democracy in the Romanian society.A few excerpts from the Constitution of Romania
Art. 1 The defining traits of the Romanian state:
1. Romania is a sovereign, independent, unitary and indivisible
nation state.
2. The form of government is the republic.
Art. 6 The Right to Identity
1. The state acknowledges and guarantees to the persons that belong
to the ethnic minorities the right to preserve, develop and express
their ethnic, cultural, linguistic and religious identities.
2. The measures of protection taken by the state in order to
preserve, develop, and express the identity of the persons
belonging to the ethnic minorities should be in conformity with
the principles of equality and nondiscrimination in relation to the
other Romanian citizens.
Art. 12 National Symbols
1. The flag of Romania is a tricolour with vertical bands in
the following sequence, from the staff: blue, yellow, red.
2. The National Day of Romania is the first of December.
3. The national anthem of Romania is "Awaken Thee, Romanian".
Art.13 Official Language
In Romania, the official language is the Romanian language.
Art. 20 Rights
l. The constitutional provisions bearing on the citizens, rights and
freedoms shall be interpreted and applied in accordance with
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the pacts and the other
treaties Romania is a part to.
2. In case the pacts and treaties referring to the fundamental human
rights - to which Romania agreed upon - differ, the international
regulations take precedence.
Art. 32 The Right to Education
2. All levels of education are in Romanjan (...)
3. The right of the persons belonging to the ethnic minorities
to learn in their mother tongue and the fight to receive
instruction in their languages are guaranteed; the modalities for the
exercise of these rights are established by the law.
4. State education is free of charge under the law.
7. The State assures freedom of religious education, according to the
specific requirements of each denomination (...)
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Updated: 1997-06-19 Please write to us with your comments and suggestions.