Bucharest, 29 May 2025

Avoiding a major setback from integrity standards

The transparency of assets of public officials and civil servants is a standard assumed by Romania within the constitutional framework of international treaties and is part of the constitutional order.

Transparency International Romania expresses its deep concern and indignation regarding the disproportionate regression of the legal framework regarding the transparency of assets of public officials, civil servants, and other categories of persons in the public sector who are vulnerable to corruption. The declaration and disclosure of such assets represent an essential guarantee of transparency and a key instrument enabling the public to carefully scrutinize any unjustified discrepancies arising during the exercise of public mandates.

The complete removal, from asset declarations, of information concerning the declarant’s family members creates a transparency gap and may facilitate the transfer of assets and income in the name of third parties, thereby making the concealment of wealth more difficult to detect. At the same time, the elimination of the mandatory disclosure drastically limits the ability of civil society, journalists, and the public to actively participate in monitoring integrity within public administration.

Since 2004, Transparency International Romania has actively advocated for a robust asset transparency system, contributed to the drafting of several legislative initiatives aimed at increasing transparency, and implemented effective programs in collaboration with relevant public authorities in this field. In light of our expertise, we unequivocally maintain that the principle of transparency in asset declarations does not conflict with the right to private life. More specifically:

1. The income of spouses, civil partners, and dependent children may and must be declared to public authorities, in the same manner as fiscal income is declared for all persons with tax residence in Romania, without infringing upon the constitutional guarantee of the right to private life.
2. The income and assets of persons designated by law as declarants fall within the proportional limits of restricting the exercise of certain rights and are subject to the public law regime allowed by Constitution for public officials.
3. The transparency of asset declarations constitutes a legitimate and proportionate condition governing the exercise of public authority and the management of public decision-making and public resources.
4. The processing of asset declarations under the legislation in force is carried out in compliance with the European Regulation on the processing of personal data.

In view of these considerations, which are grounded in an extensive theoretical basis, including prior case law of the Constitutional Court of Romania (CCR), we submit the following firm requests to the public authorities in Bucharest, in order to ensure that the effects of the CCR’s decision do not result in a regression from the essential principles of public integrity and transparency:

• We call upon the Constitutional Court of Romania, in the reasoning of its decision—which forms an integral part of its operative provisions—to confer upon its ruling the value of an interpretative decision, clearly specifying that the reasoning of the judgment concerns exclusively the protection from publication of the income of spouses and dependent persons, insofar as such income is subject to a private confidentiality regime. This clarification is necessary in order to ensure compliance with civil obligations relating to income subject to private confidentiality, and to harmonize the declaration obligation with other obligations concerning income generated under contractual provisions involving private individuals who do not hold public office. In relation to the proportionality test applied in the analysis of Article 6(1)(d) and Article 12(6) of Law no. 176/2010, this interpretation should not extend to exempting public officials from declaring such income, insofar as it forms part of the marital community property (if the separation of property exists, the declaration obligation no longer applies). We further request that the interpretative decision clarify that the unconstitutionality of the publication obligation under the aforementioned provisions applies only with respect to spouses and dependent persons, and not to public officials or civil servants as declarants.

• We urge the Ministry of Justice to promptly propose the necessary normative solutions to supplement the legislation in light of the CCR’s decisions, to engage in public consultation, and to submit these proposals to the Government for adoption under delegated legislative authority, given the urgency of preventing legal gaps in the field of public integrity during parliamentary amendment procedures. Accordingly, the Government must harmonize and amend Law no. 176/2010 in a manner that preserves the preventive and deterrent character of the asset and interest declaration mechanism and ensures the adoption of additional preventive measures and increased effectiveness of oversight by the competent institutions.

We recall that, through its prior jurisprudence, the Constitutional Court of Romania has repeatedly affirmed the proportional nature of certain obligations in relation to individual rights when applied within the legal regime governing the holding of public office.

Transparency International Romania emphasizes that integrity in public office is an essential condition for good governance and for maintaining citizens’ trust in public institutions. We reiterate that the purpose of Law no. 176/2010—preventing corruption and ensuring integrity in the exercise of public functions—must be preserved and strengthened. Any amendment to the legal framework must pursue this objective while simultaneously guaranteeing respect for fundamental rights.

Our organization will continue to support initiatives aimed at strengthening integrity standards and will actively participate in the public consultations necessary to improve the legal and institutional framework. To this regard, in the immediate future we will propose to the authorities in Bucharest effective solutions to ensure that transparency and integrity standards are not diminished, our proposals will also be disclosed to the public.

Transparency International Romania’s Board of Directors