Constitutional Court: Law on conversion of loans in Swiss francs, unconstitutional

The Constitutional Court (CCR) decided on Tuesday that the conversion of loans in Swiss francs at historical rates is unconstitutional, according to the Court’s chairman Valer Dorneanu.

It was considered that the solution adopted by the Chamber of Deputies on the conversion rate at the date when the contract was concluded is wrong and does not respect the European Convention, Dorneanu said, adding that the principle of bicameralism has been violated, as the document adopted by the Senate was amended by the Chamber of Deputies in almost all articles, hotnews.ro informs.

The older legislation is to be thus applied, said the CCR chairman.

The Constitutional Court postponed several times a decision on the conversion of loans in Swiss francs.

The draft law on the conversion of loans in Swiss francs was adopted by the Chamber of Deputies on October 18, 2016. According to the law, the loans in Swiss francs were to be converted in RON at the time of concluding the contract.

The law was challenged to the Constitutional Court by the former executive led by Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos, saying that he did this for clarification, not because he was against it.

BNR’s Isarescu: The decision is correct

The Constitutional Court’s decision is correct, central bank Governor Mugur Isarescu said on Tuesday.

“It is a fair decision. It needs to be implemented and the solution for the people with loans in Swiss francs lies in the Civil Code, in the unforeseeable chapter. Solutions may be in bilateral negotiations as BNR suggested in the past years, in order to share the burden,” Mugur Isarescu said.