Constitutional Court pushes on with presidential suspension procedure

The Constitutional Court in Bucharest delivered arguments to the Official Gazette for a recent decision on the constitutionality of President Traian Basescu’s political actions on Tuesday. Once published in the Gazette, the Court position would allow Romanian MPs to vote whether to launch suspension procedure against Traian Basescu on constitutional grounds.

The Constitutional Court was notified several weeks ago about the findings of a parliamentary commission that President Basescu has breached the Constitution on several accounts since named in office.

The Court responded last week with a decision that was misread as saying that the head of state did breach the fundamental law with a series of moves in his struggle with political opponents. But the Court was understood to say that he did not do that in such a manner as to justify suspension moves.

The Constitutional Court did not find that according to the commission findings the head of state did indeed breach the fundamental law of the country, according to the arguments of the Court, obtained by HotNews.ro.

The explanation today suggests the data delivered by the parliamentary commission that issued the charges against him do not support the charges, so it can be said the President did not breach the Constitution at all.

What the Court sent to the Official Gazette today was the explanation for its decision last week. The Court findings are non-compulsory, but the Parliament must now convene within 24 hours after the publication of the data to decide on the issue.

Suspension plans announced by Basescu’s political rivals in the opposition and the government seemed brought to a halt on Monday, several days after he announced that should procedures to suspend him be launched, he would resign immediately.

That would allow him to run in early presidential elections due to be organized within three months. As he has no real competitor for such a poll, his challengers these days seemed undecided whether to pursue their suspension plans.

HotNews.ro, Apr 17, 2007