During its sitting of 24 October 2023, the Constitutional Court conducted the a priori constitutional review and, by a majority vote, dismissed, as groundless, the objection of unconstitutionality filed by 56 Deputies (42 Deputies belonging to the Save Romania Union Parliamentary Group and 14 non-affiliated Deputies) and found that the Law regulating the status of assistant judges was constitutional in relation to the pleas lodged.
In essence, the Court held that the role of assistant judges was to assist judges in fulfilling their duties and not to replace them. Thus, regardless of the tasks assigned, assistant judges work under the guidance of judges, being supervised by them, who retain full responsibility for the decisions delivered. Therefore, the Court found that the impugned law fully complied with the constitutional requirements arising from the provisions of Article 1 (3) to (5), Article 21, Article 124 and Article 126 of the Basic Law, in relation also to the provisions of Article 6 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.
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The decision is final and generally binding.
The arguments retained as grounds for the solution delivered by the Constitutional Court shall be presented in the decision, to be published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I.
External Relations, Press and Protocol Department of the Constitutional Court of Romania