The year 2025 brought increased attention to the CCR, after last year’s decision to cancel the presidential elections, the first part of the year being marked by the organization of a new presidential election. At the end of the year, the CCR must decide again on the project that seeks to modify the retirement conditions of the magistrates.
The year 2025 brought new members of the Constitutional Court of Romania (CCR), as well as the change of leadership. Three new judges took office: Dacian Cosmin Dragoş (proposal of President Nicușor Dan), Csaba Asztalos (proposal of UDMR) and Mihai Busuioc (proposal of PSD), and Simina Tănăsescu was elected president of CCR (option of president Klaus Iohannis, in 2019), after the expiration of Marian Enache’s mandate.
Repeat presidential election
The CCR grabbed public attention after the cancellation of the elections at the end of 2024, and the decisions to reject the presidential candidacies in 2025, especially Călin Georgescu, started the controversy, keeping the Court in the spotlight. The initial cancellation, at the Central Electoral Office, started a violent protest in the heart of the Capital in March, which generated the opening of an investigation at the General Prosecutor’s Office.
The first round of the presidential elections, organized on November 24, was canceled on December 6, when voting had already begun abroad for the second round, in which former independent candidate Călin Georgescu and USR candidate Elena Lasconi qualified. While Georgescu’s candidacy submitted for the May elections was rejected by the CCR, Elena Lasconi remained the USR candidate, until the party decided to support Nicușor Dan.
Secrecy of asset declarations
Another controversial decision that drew criticism of constitutional judges this year came at the end of May. According to the CCR decision, asset declarations must no longer be published and must no longer include the spouses’ income.
Nicusor Dan noted then that, “if the reasons for the decision identify deficiencies of a technical nature in the current legislative framework, it is the Parliament’s responsibility to correct them expeditiously”. The interim prime minister at that time, Cătălin Predoiu, was of the same opinion. However, the Legislature has not yet come up with a new project to restore the obligation to publish asset declarations.
Critics came including from the National Integrity Agency (ANI), which warned that this decision “it can violate all the commitments assumed by Romania at the international level in the last 20 years regarding the fight against corruption and ensuring integrity in public office”.
The packages of the Bolojan government, in the hands of the CCR
The cabinet led by Ilie Bolojan took over the reins of government at the end of June, starting a real race against the clock for the country’s economic recovery, in which context it assumed responsibility in Parliament for two packages of laws. All projects have reached the constitutional control of the CCR.
From the possible resignation of the prime minister to the halting of European funds, the decision of the constitutional judges on the II package of fiscal-budgetary measures, especially on the project that lowers incomes and increases the retirement age of magistrates, was the one that caused the greatest concern. “If the project to modify the magistrates’ pensions falls to the Constitutional Court, it is hard to assume that this Government will have the legitimacy to come and solve other injustices”said Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan in September.
Last but not least, 231 million euros from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) depend on this reform.
Pensions for magistrates, again in the hands of the CCR
On October 20, the decision to admit the referral to the High Court of Cassation and Justice regarding the first project for which the Bolojan Government assumed responsibility in the Parliament was taken with the vote of judges Cristian Deliorga, Gheorghe Stan, Bogdan Licu, Mihaela Ciochina and Mihai Busuioc, mainly citing a technical problem, the lack of the opinion of the Superior Council of Magistracy (CSM).
Another second project was submitted through the same procedure. With the vote of the same judges, the decision for the second initiative of the Executive was postponed. This time, four of the nine judges of the CCR – Gheorghe Stan, Cristian Deliorga, Mihai Busuioc and Bogdan Licu – proposed postponing the decision, which ended up being scheduled for December 28.
“If the Court respects its coat of arms, it must give the same decision” – Augustin Zegrean, former president of the CCR
The former president of the CCR Augstin Zegrean draws attention to the previous jurisprudence, which the Constitutional Court must take into account in the analysis of the new project.
“If the Court respects its motto, it must give the same decision as last time. If it respects its motto, you cannot go from what they gave last time. How do you justify why they give a different solution now compared to the other one, which was basically the same law”, is the opinion of the former president of CCR, showing that the motivation of the previous project also indicated substantive problems.
However, he is skeptical that the CCR will settle the matter on the set date.
The issue of special pensions has, in fact, reached the Constitutional Court of Romania (CCR) for the third time, upon referral to the High Court of Cassation and Justice (ÎCCJ). The Supreme Court was the one that also attacked the previous project from the second package of fiscal measures proposed by the Bolojan Government, and another project in 2020. However, that initiative included several different professional statutes, which is one of the reasons why it failed the constitutionality test on May 6, 2020.
