Romanian Banking Association asks President Iohannis to challenge the law on debt discharge to CCR

The Romanian Banking Association (ARB) has sent to President Klaus Iohannis a letter requiring him to notify the Constitutional Court on the law on debt discharge (debt to equity swap), the document being sent also to the Standing Bureau of the Chamber of Deputies for information.

In the letter, the banks representatives have requested the President, according to his prerogatives, to notify the Constitutional Court, adding that the basis of this approach is made up of numerous arguments, “meaning that the law, as adopted, affect the constitutional rights of all credit institutions and ARB members.”

“In the banking community’s view the law is unconstitutional from multiple perspectives related to the incompatibility of law with the Constitution, violations of the principle of non-retroactivity, the principle of predictability and accessibility of the legal norm (the principle of economic freedom and the principle of safeguarding property), and the law’s antinomies to civil rights and the common law procedure,” reads the ARB letter.

The banking community adds that by changing the status of the property from collateral to means of payment with discharging effect, it must be checked if the principle of legal safety is not violated, an aspect repeatedly sanctioned by the Court of Justice of the European Community.