Romanian Ombudsman Renate Weber has notified the Constitutional Court on Wednesday over the emergency ordinance on the Administrative Code, adopted by the Government two months ago.
Renate Weber has been voted as Ombudsman, upon ALDE’s proposal in June this year. ALDE has quit the ruling coalition with PSD early this week.
The Ombudsman considers that the amendment of the Administrative Code through emergency ordinance is not justified, claiming three reasons.
First of all, the Ombudsman argues that the GEO 57/2019 is against the Constitution, as it doesn’t comply with the Constitution’s requirements on the legislative delegation.
Secondly, the GEO runs against the constitutional provisions of the article 69 on the representative mandate, of the article 109 on the accountability of the Government members and of the article 111 on the parliamentary control over the Government’s activity. Ombudsman found out that the GEO is trying to reverse the constitutional reports between Parliament and Government.
Thirdly, the GEO amending the Administrative Code breaks article 115 in the Constitution, as it affects the activity of the state fundamental institutions, precisely the Government.
Moreover, the Ombudsman notes that the incompatibility condition has been removed from the general requirements to take office in the Government, “which leads to negative consequences by weakening the statute of the Government members and of the Executive as a whole“.
The Parliament passed the Administrative Code passed last year, but it was declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court. Instead of resuming the parliamentary procedures, the PSD–ALDE ruling coalition adopted by GEO.
The Administrative Code includes controversial provisions, among them: special pensions for the local elected; the approval of the projects concerning patrimony administration by absolute majority (against two thirds hitherto – our note); the shifting of responsibility from mayors to public servants. Sources say one of the goals is to make legal the companies set up by Bucharest mayor Gabriela Firea, as she cannot get two thirds of the counselors’ votes. Also, the Code provides that the Government may have criminally convicted members, but rehabilitated.