The transfer of ICR from Presidency to Senate "constitutional"

The Constitutional Court (CC) ruled with the vote of majority that the transfer over the Romanian Cultural Institute (ICR) from the Presidency to the Senate is constitutional.

After the Court announced its decision yesterday, Horia-Roman Patapievici declared to Mediafax that the entire top management team of the Institute will resign , "after solving some management-related issues, as the Institute will see its budget severely reduced".

The government adopted on June 13 an Emergency Ordinance which transferred ICR from the authority of the president to that of the Senate.

The decision was published in the Official Gazette on 14 June.

Until then, the President of ICR was appointed by the President of Romania.

With the Ordinance, the president shall be appointed by a vote of the members of the Senate.

The procedure for the nomination of the President of ICR dates back to 2003, the PSD Government, led by Adrian Năstase.

Government argued that it wants to provide transparency of the way in which funds allocated to the Institute are spent.

However, critics of this decision blame "a slippage of democracy" and "an action against the rule of law".

The president of ICR , Horia-Roman Patapievici, criticized the Government's Ordinance and has said he fears that "the fate of the ICR is marked".

"No one has made any interference as far as the appointment of personnel, but also in terms of programs conducted or promoted cultural formulas.

Translated by Denisse-Meda Bucura
MTTLC, Bucharest University