Misplaced Pages

#791208

26-425: The constitution was amended once by a referendum on 18 October 2003. The new text took effect on 29 October 2003. The Constitution of 1991, as revised in 2003, contains 156 articles, divided into 8 titles: Regulamentul Organic , voted by the respective Assemblies of Moldavia and Wallachia under Imperial Russian occupation in 1831–1832, was the first organic law resembling a constitution ever awarded to

52-502: A "national, sovereign, independent, unitary and indivisible state". The form of government is a republic, headed by a president who serves a five-year term and who is eligible for a second term. The president represents the Romanian state in domestic and foreign relations, ensures obedience to the constitution and the proper functioning of state institutions, and is the guarantor of the state's independence, unity and integrity. Parliament

78-463: A forum for the exchange of diverse viewpoints on national matters. Its primary responsibilities, as outlined in the Constitution, revolve around legislating, overseeing the actions of the executive branch, and bolstering parliamentary diplomacy alongside traditional diplomatic endeavors. There is one president, and four each of vice presidents, quaestors, and secretaries. The current composition

104-685: A variety of major changes to the constitution, namely in Articles 1, 2, 5, 9, 11, 15, 16, 20, and 21. Additionally, it included rules that heavily influenced criminal proceedings and how long the courts could hold an individual in preventive custody. The constitutional revision from 2003 also guarantees that "A person’s freedom to develop his/her spirituality and to get access to the values of national and universal culture shall not be limited." Chamber of Deputies of Romania Government (186) Supported by (17) Opposition (129) The Chamber of Deputies ( Romanian : Camera Deputaților )

130-488: Is "the supreme representative organ of the Romanian people and the sole lawmaking authority"; it is bicameral ( Chamber of Deputies and Senate ) and elected for four years. After the prime minister is named by the president, Parliament validates the composition and programme of the Government and can dismiss it following a motion of censure. The constitution provides for fundamental civic rights and freedoms, and creates

156-691: Is listed below. Standing committees and current leadership are listed below. In Romania's 2004 legislative election , held on 28 November, no party won an outright majority. The Social Democratic Party (PSD) won the largest number of seats but is currently in opposition because the Justice and Truth Alliance (DA), the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR/RMDSZ), the Romanian Humanist Party (which later became

182-561: Is the lower house in Romania 's bicameral parliament . It has 330 total seats to which deputies are elected by direct popular vote using party-list proportional representation to serve four-year terms. Additionally, the organisation of each national ethnic minority is entitled to a seat in the Chamber (under the limitation that a national minority is to be represented by one organisation only). The ( Romanian : Biroul Permanent )

208-474: Is the body elected by the deputies that rules the Chamber. Its president is the President of the Chamber , who is elected for a whole legislature (usually four years). All the other members are elected at the beginning of each parliamentary session . The Chamber of Deputies in Romania is chosen through a democratic process, where all citizens have an equal opportunity to vote freely and privately. It serves as

234-664: The Danubian Principalities . It remained in place until 1858, when the Crimean War removed the two countries from Russian influence and confirmed the rule by several European powers first established by the Treaty of Paris ; the Paris Convention of 1858 remained the governing document following the election of Alexandru Ioan Cuza as Domnitor ( ruling prince ) over the united countries (1859), but

260-609: The Iron Guard . Antonescu broke his alliance with the Guard in 1941, and ruled by decree until his overthrow in 1944. The 1923 constitution was reinstated pending the adoption of a new constitution ( see Romania during World War II ). The monarchy was abolished in 1947. In March 1948, the first constitution of Communist Romania was adopted; it was heavily modeled on the Soviet constitution . Two other constitutions appeared during

286-523: The 2004 elections, several deputies from the PSD switched to other parties (including the governing Justice and Truth Alliance ) or became independents, with the total number of PSD seats being reduced from 113 to 105. The number of Justice and Truth Alliance (DA) deputies also increased from 112 to 118, making it the largest formation in parliament as of October 2006. This changed again in December 2006, leaving

SECTION 10

#1732772496792

312-471: The Communist era, in 1952 and 1965 (the former "building socialism", the latter announcing the "socialism has won" and notably making the change from a people's republic to a socialist republic ). Following the collapse of the Communist regime in 1989, much of the 1965 document was suspended, though portions remained in effect until the present document was adopted in 1991. The 1991 Constitution

338-676: The Conservative Party), and the National Minorities formed a governing coalition, giving it 177 seats in the Chamber of Deputies (47.9% of the total). The Conservative Party (PC) withdrew in December 2006, meaning that the government lost the majority in the Chamber of Deputies. In April 2007, then national liberal Prime Minister, Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu , dismissed the Democratic Party ministers from

364-529: The PSD with 107 seats and the Justice and Truth Alliance (DA) with 101. Since April 2007 the Justice and Truth Alliance (DA) has split leaving the two former members with 51 respectively 50 members. Deputies elected to the European Parliament in the 2007 election resigned, thus reducing the number of deputies to 314 as of 4 December 2007. A new election was held in 2008. The table below gives

390-599: The Revision of the Constitution was established. However, the reform project stalled as the Social Liberal Union dissolved in early 2014 and Băsescu ended his term later that year. Băsescu's successor, Klaus Iohannis , expressed support for a second revision of the Constitution, as did Prime Minister Victor Ponta , who stated that such a revision should be a political priority in 2015, as there are no elections scheduled in Romania that year. On 18 January 2015,

416-430: The constitutional obligation for conscription (which ended in 2006). The revised document was adopted by referendum on 18–19 October 2003; turnout was slightly above the 50%+1 threshold needed for it to be valid, with 55.7% of 17,842,103 eligible voters showing up. The opposition and NGOs alleged serious irregularities. 89.70% voted yes and 8.81%, no. It came into force ten days later. The issue of constitutional reform

442-721: The government and formed a minority government with the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania, marking the end of the Justice and Truth Alliance. During the 2004–2008 legislature, the president of the Chamber of Deputies was Bogdan Olteanu from the National Liberal Party (PNL), who was elected on 20 March 2006, after the Chamber's former president, Adrian Năstase , was forced by his own party (the Social Democratic Party , PSD) to step down amidst corruption allegations. After

468-504: The office of Romanian Ombudsman to ensure these are respected. The 1991 Constitution was first amended in 2003 . Articles were introduced on "Integration into the European Union " and " NATO Accession", bringing the total to 156 in 8 titles. These specified that both could take place by parliamentary vote alone, and that EU citizens living in Romania can vote and run in local elections. The revised constitution grants minorities

494-399: The right to use their native language when dealing with local administration and the courts, improves the functioning of the legislative chambers (better specifying their attributes) and restricts the privilege of parliamentary immunity to political declarations, extends the president's term to five years, explicitly "guarantees" rather than "protects" the right to private property and removes

520-546: The state of play before the 2008 election; parties in bold were part of the governing coalition. That coalition was tacitly supported by the PSD. Elections to the Chamber of Deputies were held on 26 November 2000, in which the Social Democratic Party of Romania (PSD) won plurality. The governing majority was formed from the PSD and the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR/RMDSZ), which, with 182 members, made up 54.8% of seats. The president of

546-440: The turnout was only 21.1%, below the required voter turnout threshold of 30%. 2003 Romanian constitutional referendum A constitutional referendum was held in Romania on 18 and 19 October 2003. The proposed amendments to the constitution were approved by 91.1% of voters. The 2003 referendum was the first revision of the Romanian constitution since its inception on 8 December 1991. The referendum included

SECTION 20

#1732772496792

572-527: The vice-president of the Parliamentary Commission, Valeria Schelean , requested the immediate convocation of the commission to begin working on amendments. On 6 and 7 October 2018 a referendum took place regarding the definition of the family as provided by Article 48 of the Constitution (that defines the family as being founded on the free-willed marriage "between spouses"), to prohibit same-sex marriage. The referendum failed as

598-473: Was composed by a committee of parliamentarians and constitutional law specialists; was approved by Parliament , meeting as a Constituent Assembly, by a vote of 414 to 95 on 21 November 1991, being published in Monitorul Oficial the same day; and was approved by referendum on 8 December 1991, with 77.3% voting in favour. The 1991 Constitution contains 7 titles and 152 articles. Romania is defined as

624-476: Was raised repeatedly in the early 2010s, especially after a major political crisis in the second half of 2012. The ruling coalition at the time, the Social Liberal Union , claimed that insufficient constitutional constraints led then-incumbent President Traian Băsescu to abuse his presidential powers, thus justifying new amendments. A public debate began in 2013 and a Parliamentary Commission for

650-683: Was replaced by Cuza's own organic law, entitled Statutul dezvoltător al Convenţiei de la Paris ("Statute expanding the Paris Convention"), in 1864. Although the newly minted state was nominally still a vassal of the Ottoman Empire , it only acknowledged the suzerainty of the Sublime Porte in a formal way. The first constitution of the Romanian United Principalities was adopted 1 July 1866. It

676-519: Was retained after Romania became a kingdom in 1881. After the extension of national territory in 1918, a new constitution was approved 29 March 1923. It was repealed by King Carol II in 1938 and replaced with a corporatist/authoritarian document with the king's National Renaissance Front as the sole legal party. This document was, in turn, cancelled in 1940 by the National Legionary State government under Ion Antonescu and

#791208