Romanian Constitutional Court Clears Pension Bill

The pension bill had been contested by opposition liberals, social democrats and conservatives.

The Constitutional Court was expected to rule on the pension bill last week, but decided to postpone the ruling for October 6 as the issue needed a thorough analysis.

In their contestation liberals claimed lawmakers did not observe legal procedures in adopting the pension bill and argue the act breaches ownership rights and the right to pension and a decent living standard.

Liberal deputy Eugen Nicolaescu highlighted the Chamber of Deputies lacked the required quorum to enact the pension bill, namely 167 deputies, and added the vote on the draft act was rigged. He also said the pension bill will apply retroactively in the case of police officers and public servants with special status, which is against regulations on the retroactive character of laws. Nicolaescu highlighted that liberals are against the decision to set the retirement age at 65 years for both men and women, and reject a pension point below 45% of the gross wage.

Social democrats have filed a criminal complaint against the Chamber of Deputies speaker, whom they accused of rigging the vote on the pension bill. Opposition parties have also threatened to trigger procedures to suspend the head of state from his position if he passes the bill, the final step for it to become law.

The bill reforming the country's pension system, adopted on September 16, is among the conditions imposed by the International Monetary Fund, which is leading a EUR20 billion loan package Romania has taken to emerge from a deep recession.

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