The President of the Constitutional Court of Romania, Mr Marian ENACHE, met with the President of the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission), Mrs Claire Bazy MALAURIE, on Tuesday 28 March 2023.
The meeting was also attended, on behalf of the Romanian authority of constitutional jurisdiction, by Mrs Laura–Iuliana SCÂNTEI, Mr Dimitrie–Bogdan LICU and Mr Gheorghe STAN, Judges, Mr BENKE Károly, First Assistant
Magistrate and Mrs Cristina TITIRIȘCĂ, Assistant Magistrate, and, on behalf of the Venice Commission, by Mr Domenico VALLARIO, legal adviser.
The meeting took place in a cordial atmosphere and followed the organisation of the solemn Assembly for the celebration of the Centenary of the Constitution of Unified Romania, to which the representatives of the Venice Commission were also invited.
The discussions focused on issues related to institutional cooperation between the Romanian Constitutional Court and the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission), and the meeting was regarded as particularly useful for both sides.
The President of the Constitutional Court of Romania, Mr Marian Enache, expressed his willingness to develop the collaboration between the two institutions, noting that it had been an excellent one over the years, reminding two former Presidents of the Venice Commission, Antonio Mario La Pergola and Gianni Buquicchio, whose expertise was beneficial in the process of the drafting of the 1991 Romanian Constitution. On this occasion, the liaison officers of the Romanian Constitutional Court in the Venice Commission, recently appointed by the Plenum, Judge Gheorghe Stan and Assistant Magistrate Cristina Titirișca, were also presented.
Mr Marian Enache stated that the Venice Commission’s opinions are cited in many of the decisions of the Constitutional Court of Romania, due to the force of their argumentation.
For her part, the President of the European Commission for Democracy through Law, Mrs Claire Bazy Malaurie, noted the progress made by Romania and the fact that the Romanian Constitutional Court had withheld pressure in the context of legislative changes in criminal and criminal procedural matters. Mrs Claire Bazy Malaurie expressed her gratitude to all countries, including Romania, who managed to defend the constitutional values of the rule of law during difficult times.
She also expressed her interest in the decisions of the Romanian Constitutional Court, asking whether they also contain recommendations to the authorities. The President of the Romanian Constitutional Court explained that decisions’ structure is composed of recitals and operative part, both of which are binding on all public authorities.
At the end of the meeting, the President of the European Commission for Democracy through Law was invited to sign in the Book of Honour of the Romanian Constitutional Court.
