Unicameral Parliament ’with a maximum of 300 members’

President Traian Băsescu, sent the draft revision of the Constitution.to the Legislative Council. The main proposal is to reduce the number of MPs to 300, as established by referendum.

The draft revision of the Constitution submitted by the President to the Legislative Council stipulates that the Parliament is composed of a single chamber, and the number of members not may exceed 300 people.

According to paragraph 2 of Article 61 concerning the role and structure of the Parliament, posted on the website of the Presidency, ‘the Parliament is composed of a single chamber’.

According to paragraph 2 of Article 37, the candidates must have reached the age of 23 years by election day in order to be elected in the Romanian Parliament or local Government bodies and at least 35 years to be elected President of Romania.

The draft stipulates that the organization and functioning of the Parliament shall be regulated by their own Parliament, adopted by a majority vote of its members.

The Parliament’s financial resources are provided in its own budget, approved by the Parliament and is an integral part of the state budget.

The references in the current Constitution to senators, deputies, the Chamber of Deputies or the Senate have been replaced with phrases such as ‘members of the Parliament’ and ’Parliament’.

Another stipulation in the bill on constitutional revision, which has been released by the presidential administration is that the unicameral Parliament will debate and vote in plenary a bill in two successive readings, at least 30 days apart.

‘The legislative proposals and draft laws will be debated and voted in plenary in two successive readings, at least 30 days away. In the first reading, debates and vote on articles will be made.

‘In the second reading, debates and vote on articles will be followed by the final vote on the entire law. The Parliament may approve, by majority vote of members present, to reduce the 30-day and adopt a draft law or legislative proposals in an emergency procedure, according to a new paragraph, inserted in article 76 of the Constitution, on laws and decisions adoption.

President Traian Băsescu said in a press conference that he believes that this project will reach the Parliament before the members of the Parliament recess and intends to ask to take part in the Parliament debate in the third decade of June.

Criminal liability of ministers, by organic law

The presidency draft revision of the current Constitution also contains the provision according to which only the Parliament and the President may require the prosecution of members of the Government, the criminal liability of ministers will be determined by organic law.

‘Only the Chamber of Deputies, the Senate and the President of Romania have the right to bring a prosecution against members of the Government for acts committed in the exercise of their office.

‘The prosecution against a member of the Government shall entail the suspension from office. The jurisdiction belongs to the High Court of Cassation and Justice, according to paragraph 2 of Article 90, which was repealed.

The draft stipulates that ‘the criminal liability of the ’members of the Government for acts committed in the course of their duties shall be established by organic law. ‘

Compliance with the ’sovereignty of the people’

President Traian Băsescu considers that revision of the Constitution is a matter of compliance with sovereignty of the people, exercised with the referendum of 22 November 2009.

Băsescu gave assurances that future amendments to the Constitution will not target his mandate, but underlined that in a future negotiation he could reach an understanding with political parties on matters of functioning.

Moreover, according to President Traian Băsescu, one of the changes in the Constitution is targeting the relationship between the President and the Parliament.

‘The main reason for revising the Constitution is related to the outcome of the referendum. I recall that Article 2 of the Constitution states that people exercise their sovereignty directly through referendum, or indirectly by those elected.’

The main changes

* The draft amendment to the Constitution provides, among other things, the shift to a unicameral Parliament and reducing the number of members of the Parliament to 300.
* The draft law introduces amendments and Parliamentary procedure for suspension of the Romanian President, the Constitutional Court’s opinion by changing character.
* If the opinion shows that the President has infringed the Constitution, the procedure is halted. Another provision of the project concerns the procedure for dissolution of the Parliament.
* It can be dissolved if it rejects at least two requests for investiture of a Government within 45 days and not 60 days as at present.
* It also eliminates the requirement for legislative approval given for the detention, arrest and search of a member of the Parliament and a minister who is member of the Parliament.
* Another provision of the project claims that the budget deficit can not be more than 3 percent of GDP and public debt may not exceed 6 percent of GDP.

Translated by Denisse-Meda Bucura

MA Student, MTTLC, Bucharest University