Romanian President Basescu Promulgates New Law On National Integrity Agency

„Romania’s President, Traian Basescu, signed Tuesday, August 31, the Decree promulgating the Law on integrity in the performance of public positions and office, amending Law 144/2007 on the creation, organization and operation of the National Integrity Agency, as well as amending other acts,” says a Presidency press release.

Last week, Romania’s Senate adopted the National Integrity Agency (ANI) bill in the form put forward by the Chamber of Deputies, with 78 votes in favor and one abstention, after rejecting the amendment exempting union leaders from the obligation to submit wealth statements.

The new ANI law restores a series of provisions eliminated in previous debates, including the creation of investigation committees subordinated to Courts of Appeals and the single wealth statement form, comprising data on jewelry, accounts and homes, without revealing personal information.

Under the new ANI law, public officials will be required to declare any contracts with state authorities in their statements of interest. The law also allows the Agency to investigate an official within 3 years of their leaving office.

The National Integrity Agency (ANI), a EU-required body, was originally created through Law 144/2007. Its stated purpose was screening the wealth of public officials and recommending prosecution for alleged illicit gains, in a move to tackle endemic corruption.

Despite being commended for its activity by the European Commission, ANI was stripped of its main powers through an April 16, 2010 ruling of the Romanian Constitutional Court. A revised version of the ANI law was adopted by the Parliament on May 12, but was sent back for re-examination by President Basescu.

On June 30, the Parliament adopted a new law on ANI, rejecting most of Basescu’s suggestions. The resulting law drastically weakened the Agency’s authority. Basescu challenged the new law on July 13 and, on July 19, the Constitutional Court ruled it unconstitutional. In his contestation, Basescu cited breaches of certain constitutional provisions regarding law adoption procedures and the powers of the two chambers of the Parliament.

Finally, in August, both chambers adopted a version of the law restoring most of ANI’s powers. The new law took care to meet the requirements of the Constitutional Court and European Commission, according to Daniel Buda, a member of the Chamber of Deputies committee that worked on the law.