Article
Licensed
Unlicensed
Requires Authentication
EU Values Through Constitutional Lenses: Assessing the Resilience of the Romanian Constitutional Court
-
Raluca Bercea
Published/Copyright:
December 30, 2025
Abstract
The Romanian Constitutional Court is a specialised institution, independent from all three powers in the state. While this framework offers positive premises as regards its potential resistance to autocratization, the Court failed to live up with such expectations during the illiberal backsliding of 2017–2019. On the contrary, the militant decisions it issued on the sensitive occasion of the 2024 national elections have been so unexpected that they divided the national legal epistemic community, being perceived as illegitimate by part of the Romanian society. The paper investigates the possibility to assess such shortcomings through the concepts of ‘resistance’ and ‘resilience’.
Keywords: resistance; resilience; illiberalism; Romanian Constitutional Court; 2024 national elections
Funding source: Unitatea Executiva pentru Finantarea Invatamantului Superior, a Cercetarii, Dezvoltarii si Inovarii
Award Identifier / Grant number: PN-III-P4-PCE-2021-0319
Appendix: The Chronology of the 2024 Romanian Elections Saga (as of April 25, 2025)
| Date | Decision/judgement/request | Body | Effect | Main legal ground | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 05/10/2024 | Decision No. 2 of 5 October 2024 | Romanian Constitutional Court | Annuls the Decision of the Central Electoral Bureau regarding the registration of the candidacy and the electoral sign of the Diana Iovanovici-Şoşoacă, head of the Romanian “SOS” far-right party | Art. 146 let. f) + Art. 142 of the Romanian Constitution | In the framework of an objective electoral dispute, the Court uses instruments rather proper to assess the constitutionality of a political party [Art. 146 let. k)]. In the hypothesis of Art. 146 let. k), but not in that of Art. 146 let. f), the procedure requests citation of the parties and review of evidence. |
| 24/11/2024 | First round of Romanian presidential elections, unexpectedly won by the ultranationalist Călin Georgescu | ||||
| 27/11/2024 | 2 candidates request the RCC to annul the first round of elections. The decision in one case is postponed until after the parliamentary elections while one is rejected as late filed. | Accusations of illegal financing of Călin Georgescu’s electoral campaign, support from outside the country, with the aim of destabilizing Romania | |||
| 28/11/2024 | Decision of 28 November 2024 | Romanian Constitutional Court | Recount of all ballots cast on 24/11/24, the first round is not validated until then | Art. 146 let. f) of the Romanian Constitution | Impossible to be performed before the parliamentary elections |
| 01/12/2024 | Parliamentary elections won with difficulty by the Pro-European parties | ||||
| 02/12/2024 | Decision of 2 December 2024 | Romanian Constitutional Court | Confirms the general validity of the first round of presidential elections; the second one is to take place on 08/12/2024 | Art. 146 let. f) of the Romanian Constitution | Decision adopted although the recount of ballots was not finished. |
| 06/12/2024 | The second round of the presidential elections starts in the diaspora. | ||||
| 06/12/2024 | Decision No. 32 of 6 December 2024 | Romanian Constitutional Court | Annuls the entire electoral process regarding the election of the President, which would be resumed at a later date, with the Government going to set a new date for the election itself, as well as a new calendar program for carrying out the necessary actions | Article 146 (f) of the Romanian Constitution | Unanimously adopted; ex officio |
| 16/12/2024 | Călin Georgescu v. Romania (application no. 37327/24, ECHR) | Individual application under art. 34 ECHR & request for interim measures | Alleged violations of the Applicant’s rights provided for in Articles 6 (right to a fair trial) & 13 (right to an effective remedy) of the Convention and Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention (right to free elections). Alleged violations of Articles 10 and 11 of the Convention are also claimed, yet not sustained by factual and legal arguments | Rule 39 of the Rules of the Court Articles 6, 13, 10, 11 ECHR and Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 ECHR |
|
| 21/01/2025 | ECHR 022 (2025) | European Court of Human Rights | Request to issue an interim measure in the case Călin Georgescu v. Romania (application no. 37327/24) rejected as outside the scope of application of Rule 34 § 1, not concerning an imminent risk of irreparable harm | Rule 39 of the Rules of the Court | Decision taken unanimously by a Chamber of seven judges |
| 27/01/2025 | Urgent Report on the cancellation of elections results by Constitutional Courts | European Commission for Democracy through Law | Response of a general nature, referring to an analysis of general comparative constitutional law and European and international standards to the question “Under which conditions and under which legal standards can a constitutional court invalidate elections, drawing from the recent Romanian case?” | Article 14a of the Venice Commission’s Revised Rules of Procedure | The Report concludes by proposing 7 key recommendations (para 78) |
| 11/02/2025 | Călin Georgescu v. Romania (application no. 37327/24, ECHR) | European Court of Human Rights | Decision of inadmissibility | The complaint is incompatible ratione materiae with the provisions of the Convention and its protocols. It is manifestly ill-founded and must be rejected in accordance with Article 35 §§ 3 a) and 4 ECHR. |
Committee of 3 judges |
| 09/03/2025 | Decision 18D/09.03.2025 to reject the registration of Călin Georgescu’s independent candidacy | Central Electoral Bureau | Refers to both the RCC Decision No. 2 of 5 October 2024 and to the RCC Decision No. 32 of 6 December 2024 Analyses the whole context of the candidacy, not only its formal aspects |
Adopted by 10 to 4 votes | |
| 10/03/2025 | Călin Georgescu contests the Central Electoral Bureau’s Decision before the RCC | ||||
| 11/03/2025 | Decision no. 7/11.03.2025 | Romanian Constitutional Court | Art. 146 let. f) of the Romanian Constitution The electoral process for the election of the President of Romania in 2025 has as its source of initiation, organization and conduct the Decision no. 32 of December 6, 2024. The Court allowed the direct application by the BEC of the Constitution only for this electoral process conducted in the exceptional circumstances determined by the cancellation of the 2024 electoral process. |
Unanimously adopted | |
| 14/03/2025–15/03/2025 | Endorsement of the Urgent Report of 27/01/2025 | Venice Commission at its 142nd Plenary Session | |||
| 14/03/2025 | Statement of the RCC President on the publication of Decision no. 7/2025 | Transparency concerns, 5 points, in the general framework established as follows: “In Romania, a member state of the EU and NATO, and therefore part of the Western democratic space, the constitutional and legal order must be respected, as an expression of the sovereignty and state and societal unity, as well as of the constitutional identity. In this sense, the Constitutional Court of Romania, through which constitutional justice is achieved, cannot be influenced or threatened by any form of pressure, having not only the role, but also the constitutional obligation to guarantee the supremacy of the Constitution by effectively exercising its powers. In a state governed by the rule of law, criticism is welcome, pressure is unacceptable”. | |||
| 10/04/2025 – 24/04/2025 |
More than 100 files are registered on the role of various ordinary national courts requiring the annulment of the RCC Decision no. 32/6 December 2024 and the suspension of its effects, wrongfully qualifying it as an administrative act | ||||
| 24/04/2025 | Decision no. 135/24.04.2025 Ploiesti Court of Appeal |
Admits the request, annuls the RCC Decision no. 32/6 December 2024 and suspends its effect until the case is settled by a final judgement. The Decision of Ploiesti Court of Appeal is challenged on the same day by the Ministry Public. |
|||
| 25/04/2025 | Press release of the RCC | Since December 2024, over 200 similar actions have been brought before ordinary courts across the country, challenging the RCC Decision no. 32/2024. Until this date, the administrative courts, in compliance with the Constitution and the law, have rejected these requests, the Ploieşti Court of Appeal’s sentence being a completely singular and isolated one. |
|||
| 25/04/2025 | Decision no. 2198/2025 of the High Court of Cassation and Justice | Admits the appeals of the Romanian Constitutional Court and of the Ministry Public and quashes Decision no. 135/24.04.2025 of Ploiesti Court of Appeal | |||
Received: 2025-01-30
Accepted: 2025-06-04
Published Online: 2025-12-30
© 2025 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
You are currently not able to access this content.
You are currently not able to access this content.
Keywords for this article
resistance;
resilience;
illiberalism;
Romanian Constitutional Court;
2024 national elections
