The Constitutional Court of Romania (CCR) ruled on Tuesday that former officers of the Romanian intelligence services can hold positions in the judiciary. This ban remains valid only in the case of former workers of the communist Securitate.
Thus, the CCR “admitted the exception of unconstitutionality and found that the phrase “who were part of the intelligence services” from the provisions of art. 48 paragraph (10) of Law no. 303/2004, as well as from the provisions of art. 108 paragraph (6), art. 142 paragraph (4), art. 144 paragraph (2) and art. 150 paragraph (4) of Law no. 303/2022 on the status of judges and prosecutors, is constitutional to the extent that it concerns the intelligence services prior to 1990″.
Practically, by the Court’s decision, intelligence officers who worked in the secret services after 1990 – SRI, SIE, SPP, etc. – will be able to occupy, from now on, positions in the judiciary.
The CCR also admitted, in the same context, “the exception of unconstitutionality and found that the reference in the provisions of art. 49 paragraph (11) of Law no. 303/2004 on the status of judges and prosecutors to art. 48 paragraph (10) of the same normative act is unconstitutional”.
The Constitutional Court made the decision “within the framework of the a posteriori constitutional review”, with unanimous votes.
“In essence, the Court found that the legal provisions examined are unpredictable and discriminatory.
Although the object of the exception of unconstitutionality is the provisions of art. 48 paragraph (10) and art. 49 paragraph (11) of Law no. 303/2004, pursuant to art. 142 paragraph (1) of the Constitution, the Constitutional Court ruled and eliminated from the active fund of the legislation also the new legal provisions of art. 108 paragraph (6), art. 142 paragraph (4), art. 144 paragraph (2) and art. 150 paragraph (4) of Law no. 303/2022 on the status of judges and prosecutors as unconstitutional, since they maintain the unconstitutional legislative solution.”