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Political Declaration adopted on Wednesday by the Parliament
The Presidential Administration believes that the Declaration adopted by the Legislative could be considered a form of pressure.
"The fundamental law dedicated an essential principle for the behavior of all authorities and all citizens, namely that "nobody is above the law." This means that, on the one hand, the public authorities, the ones nationally represented included - Parliament and President of Romania - are held to observe the current legal framework. On the other hand, this means that no public authority can limit the prerogatives of the others. To the extent that "the opinions of the Romanian President, of the CSM and the representatives of the Public Ministry" are considered "unconstitutional and unacceptable," the political Declaration adopted today by the Parliament could be considered a form of pressure. Thus, the notification of the Constitutional Court by the President of Romania or the CSM could become debatable, and the investigation and judging of the corruption deeds would transform into contestable actions. But, the Constitutional Court should seriously reflect every time it would have to solve a cause the Parliament would be also involved, since the latter assesses the constitutionality of the actions and decisions of other public institutions," says the source.
According to the release, president Klaus Iohannis noted the political Declaration adopted by the Parliament and will continue to exercise his constitutional attributions.
Parliament is firmly committed to serve exclusively the nation it represents; the structured and legal opinion of the Romanian society is legitimately and exclusively expressed by Parliament, reads a drafty declaration up for debate and vote at a joint parliamentary session on Wednesday.
Sponsor of the declaration was Senate Chairman Calin Popescu-Tariceanu. The MP groups had about three weeks to come up with opinions on the document.
"At the beginning of the first session of this new Legislature, the Romanian Parliament is firmly committed to rigorously adhere to the article 69 of the Constitution and serve exclusively the nation it represents, while refusing to make its mandate the subject of imperative requests, irrespective of where they may originate. Parliament respects the right to free expression, but at the same time it understands that it is the only constitutional representative of the entire society. Whether opportune or inopportune, justified or abusive, the opinions of Romania's President, the Supreme Council of Magistrates (CSM) and the Public Prosecution Service are particular and partial opinions. The structured and legal opinion of the entire Romanian society is legitimately and exclusively expressed by Parliament," the declaration says.
The document also hails the rulings of the Constitutional Court of Romania (CCR) that explain Parliament delegating to the Government, under a special habilitation law, the power to issue ordinances and the fact that the Executive "is under no constitutional or legal obligation to ask the CSM for an opinion on the matters own which it has ruled, while CSM is not legally habilitated to issue such an opinions."
"It is Parliament's appreciation that such clarifications would have not been necessary under normal circumstances. The text of the Constitution is quite explicit per se. What made the ruling of the court opportune and necessary was the absence of manifest good faith in the interpretation of the fundamental law by institutional representatives of the judiciary, as well as the abuse of law committed by Romania's President, who unjustifiably notified the court only to block a democratic political process. (...) In the future, Parliament will no longer accept being demoted to being a spectator to political decisions being made along non-transparent criteria by persons who have not won by vote the right to make decisions and by state agencies in their turn led by persons appointed to carry out tasks without a political nature, judiciary in nature or related to national security," reads the document.
"Such actions to discredit Parliament are devoid of rational motivation, and it should be firmly said that all the judiciary instruments used in the fight against corruption come from Parliament, as they are fundamentally the expression of its political wish to install the rule of law unconditionally and to strengthen the institutions for the rule of law."
"Imperfections in the legislative framework for the fight against corruption, repeatedly signalled out by the Constitutional Court, are precisely the outcome of urgency, rarely justified, imposed on the lawmaking process, as some laws pass by Government taking responsibility for them. Law quality increases any time Parliament is left to make decisions without being subjected to external pressure," reads the declaration.
At the same time, Parliament "reasserts its political supremacy over all the other public institutions, and it is determined to exercise its three fundamental powers accorded it under the Constitution: representation, lawmaking as well as electing and overseeing the Government."
"Parliament, as the expression of national sovereignty, represents the Romanian society overall with all its components. It equally represents those who have voted irrespective of political options, as well as those who have not shown up to vote. Parliament's essential part is to provide a representation form, through its debates, to the most serious and deepest concerns of the society. Public knowledge is indispensable in any democracy, and the duty of any parliament is to increase quality and sphere of though animating collective debates," the declaration says.
It also mentions the fact that "the direct vote of the President has generated a false impression that the elected one is the first representative of the nation, some absolute president of all Romanians, more legitimate and representative than Parliament itself."
"Once elected, the President, through the effect of the Constitution, becomes external to the society, occupying the position of a mediator between society and public powers. Romania's President represents the Romanian state [the Article 80(1)], with the three state powers - legislative, executive and judiciary - being separated as well as distinct from the society of citizens, the fundamental of the state, without becoming one with it [the Article 4(1)]. Parliament is the body securing the constitutional link between President and the society, as the procedure underlines when requiring the President to take an oath of office before the joint Parliament and then forward to the chairs of the two chambers of parliament the oath under signature. Parliament thus mirrors the wish of the society, while the President expresses the institutional architecture of the state and explains it when necessary."
According to the document, Parliament is the only lawmaking authority of the country, as mentioned in the Article 61(1) of the Constitution, and "nobody and nothing can claim the right to usurp the legislative authority of Parliament that is unique and indivisible."
Parliament's declaration also says that after a confidence vote cast by Parliament in the Government, the Government and all the public administration bodies will be subjected to Parliament's oversight, and the Legislature is the only political authority that may call the Government to account for its entire activity.
On the other hand, "Romania's Parliament deems unconstitutional and unacceptable the judgements passed by Romania's President, the CSM or officials of the Public Prosecution Service on Government's decisions and actions, because "they illegally and abusively disregard Parliament's exclusive right to call the Government to account in various forms provided for in laws and Parliament's regulations."