Romanian Constitutional Court Notes Legal Conflict Between Parliament, Government

Democrat liberal MP Mihail Hardau, head of the Senate’s committee for education, said he was pleased with the fact that the education bill „will return where it belongs,” in Parliament.

The Senate’s social democrat chairman, Mircea Geoana, notified the court two weeks ago regarding a potential conflict between state institutions, triggered by the Cabinet’s decision to pull the education bill from the Senate and seek lawmakers’ confidence vote to pass it. The Government appeared in Parliament on October 28.

A previous version of the education bill, adopted through a vote of confidence in the Government on September 15, 2008, was ruled unconstitutional by the Court on November 18, 2009. At the time, the Court argued that this bill adoption mechanism should only be used in exceptional circumstances and its abuse undermines the separation of powers in the state.