The project regarding the sanctioning of CCR members, criticized by a judge of the Court: “Only then would it be controlled, its independence is destroyed”
The nine judges who form the Constitutional Court Photo: Inquam Photos / Octav Ganea
CCR judge Dacian Dragoș claims that the PNL project on sanctioning Court judges who boycott plenary sessions would destroy the institution's independence as it would put its members “at the mercy” of those who appointed them.
In a broadcast on Antena 3, Dacian Dragoș was invited to comment on the project initiated by deputy Raluca Turcan and senator Daniel Fenechiu, both from the PNL, which imposes sanctions on CCR judges who are absent from Court sessions, sanctions that can go as far as dismissal from office.
“The court can do its job”
“It seems to me that the law should not be amended because in the regulation there is disciplinary liability of judges. Different things can be done to the existing laws. If they could be revoked, they would be at the mercy of those who appointed them. Only then would the Court be controlled. The independence of the Court is being destroyed…”, said Dacian Dragoș
Asked why, since October, the CCR has not been able to solve the issue of special pensions for magistrates, Dacian Dragoș answered: “It is a more difficult law to analyze from many perspectives. It is still under analysis. And I have seen my colleagues act in good faith. Of course, there are different opinions. Society is also reflected in the CCR, but I am convinced that this impasse will be overcome soon. The Court is functional and can do its job. Some laws are easier to past, others more difficult. There are exceptions of unconstitutionality dating back to 2021.”
Dragoș stated that “soon” there will be a decision regarding the special pensions of the magistrates. At the same time, he excluded the possibility of a political order that influenced the positioning of some judges of the Court.
Asked who is to blame for the fact that Romania will lose 230 million euros from the PNRR because the law was not promulgated, Dacian Dragoș said: “We are all to blame, Romania is to blame… From the political decision-makers… Of course, the institutions too. We cannot blame only the CCR. The pensions side has been discussed for a long time. The reforms have stagnated and it is difficult to discern who is to blame.”
What the project initiated by PNL provides
The main measures contained in the project submitted by the two liberal parliamentarians refer to:
- the express establishment of the obligation of CCR judges to participate in the sessions of the Plenary – the boycott can no longer be an option;
- the financial sanctioning of judges who are absent without reason from the sessions of the Plenary of the Court with 10% of the gross allowance for each absence, only medical situations, fortuitous cases or force majeure being allowed;
- the revocation by the Parliament or the President of Romania (depending on who appointed them) of judges in situations of incompatibility, who are absent without reason for at least three consecutive times from the work of the Plenary or if they are unable to exercise the function of judge for more than 90 days.
“None of the proposed measures affect the independence of the judges of the Constitutional Court in the exercise of their mandate, nor their immovability for the duration of their mandate,” said Turcan.
How two parliamentarians want to stop the boycott of CCR judges. Conditions for sanctioning and revoking them
Successive delays on the law on the pensions of magistrates
On December 10, the first hearing in this case took place, and the constitutional judges postponed making a decision. Later, at the meeting on December 28, four judges, all proposed by the PSD – Gheorghe Stan, Bogdan Licu, Mihai Busuioc and Cristian Deliorga – left the meeting, so no decision could be made.
On December 29, when the session was resumed, the four judges who had left the courtroom the day before did not show up at all. Later, the four CCR judges sent a joint statement in which they claim that their absence from today's meeting “did not mean a blockage of the Court's activity, but a decision related to compliance with the rules of operation and the legal framework that governs the activity” of the CCR.
The Constitutional Court of Romania postponed again, on January 16, for the fourth time, the ruling in the case of objections to the unconstitutionality of the Law on the service pensions of magistrates, setting a new deadline for February 11.
The judges took this decision as a result of the request to interrupt the deliberations to study the issues that form the object of the case and the accounting expertise submitted by the High Court of Cassation and Justice.
