Elected officials who employed their relatives at the Parliamentary Offices before August 2013 are also in conflict of interest, the Constitutional Court of Romania (CCR) ruled on Tuesday.
CCR accepted the notification submitted by some deputies on the law provisions for interpreting the decriminalizing article on conflict of interest.
The law was declared unconstitutional in full, so that it cannot be changed, so it failed to pass altogether and cannot be sent to promulgation.
„We accepted the objection of unconstitutionality of the law amending the status of deputies and senators, by majority vote, the law was declared unconstitutional in its entirety,” the CCR judge Daniel Morar said on Tuesday.
The decision was taken by majority vote after the pronouncement on this case was postponed three times.
„With a majority vote, the Court upheld the objection of unconstitutionality formulated and found that the law for interpreting Article 38 para. (11) of Law no.96 / 2006 on the Statute of deputies and senators is unconstitutional in its entirety.
The decision is final and binding and shall be communicated to the President of Romania, the Presidents of both chambers of Parliament and the Prime Minister, ” announces a CCR release.
The law providing that elected officials who hired relatives at the parliamentary offices before August 21, 2013 cannot be accused of conflict of interest was attacked at CCR by 98 deputies from PSD, UDMR, minorities, plus a representative of the Liberal Party.
The object of dispute
The notification concerned the provisions of the Law for the interpretation of Article 38 para. (11) of Law no.96 / 2006 on the Statute of deputies and senators.
The law passed on June 22, 2016, in the plenum of the two chambers, with 306 votes „for” and one abstention.
The initiators of this project (members of parliament from PSD and UDMR) considered that the prohibition on hiring relatives at the parliamentary offices should be considered only from the moment when it has been introduced in the Statute of senators and deputies, i.e. from August 21, 2013.
The National Agency for Integrity (ANI) criticized the initiative, explaining that it was already a clear ban imposed by the provisions of art. 70 and 71 of Law no. 161/2003 and art. 301 of the Criminal Code – provisions governing the conflict of interest in administrative and criminal matters.
The law for decriminalization of these conflicts of interest has been introduced in the parliament after ANI found in October 2015 that 32 current or former MPs, including Kelemen Atilla, Madalin Voicu, Ion Stan, Mihăiţă Calimente, Bogdan Ciucă, Iulian Iancu and Ion Mocioalcă were in conflict of interest because they employed their relatives at the parliamentary offices.
