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Letter open to the European Community Institutions and public opinion
ALARMING STATUS ON THE RIGHTEOUS STATUS IN ROMANIA
We, the signatory organizations, constituent of civil society in Romania, would like to draw attention to the extremely alarming situation in our country regarding the adoption by the Romanian Government of the Civil Code, Criminal Code and Procedures Codes Civil, respectively Criminal.
Such an initiative took place without complying with legal procedures and European standards on transparency and civic participation, affecting the adoption of the fundamental legislation for Romanian citizens. As citizens of a Member State of the European Union, Romanians should be the beneficiaries of a legal process governed by clear rules and openness. We consider that the abuse of these procedures, the violation of the existing legislation and the non-observance of the civic and political rights by the Romanian Government have profound and negative implications for the entire European society.
In this regard, we draw attention to the following issues:
The Romanian Government has notified the Senate with the new draft Civil Code, Criminal Code, Civil Procedure Code and Criminal Procedure Code for their adoption, without complying with the provisions:
Law 25/2003 on decisional transparency in public administration
Law 24/2000 on normative technical norms for the drafting of normative acts
Law 317/2004 on the Superior Council of Magistracy
As a consequence of these violations of the law, the new codecision proposals contain a number of provisions already declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court of Romania, resulting in an illegal and unlawful legislative process.
These codes represent the legal infrastructure of a state with a social impact equivalent to that of the Constitution and should therefore reflect the fundamental priorities of society; however, the company was neither questioned nor heard in this regard.
In view of the above, we have addressed:
The Government of Romania, requesting the withdrawal from Parliament and the resumption of the adoption process in compliance with the legal requirements
Requesting the termination of the legislative procedures and the identification of the legal procedural means leading to a real public debate on the final forms of the four codes, and
The President of Romania, in order to mediate, according to the provisions of the Constitution, between state and society. However, no agreement has been reached on addressing the above legal and procedural shortcomings
Failing to observe national legislation, the actions of the Romanian Government are not in line with the Copenhagen criteria that justified Romania's accession to the European Union. In this case, the way in which the four codes are dealt with by the Romanian Government neither demonstrates nor supports the existence of the guaranteeing institutions of democracy, the rule of law, human rights and the protection of minorities, all of which are necessary for the accession to the European Union.
At the same time, the Romanian authorities have breached the provisions of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which states that these fundamental rights and freedoms constitute the very foundation of justice and peace in the world and that their preservation is essentially based, on the one hand, on a genuinely democratic political regime, and on the other hand on a common understanding and common respect for the human rights they derive from. In this case, the civil and political rights of Romanians to participate in the decision-making process were seriously violated.
Significantly, the United Nations Convention Against Corruption, ratified by most Member States, including Romania, also highlights a number of fundamental approaches to ensure a representative and equitable democracy, including public participation and representation processes the development of public policies are essential. The preamble to the Convention states that states are responsible for eradicating this scourge and that they must cooperate with each other, with the support and participation of individuals and groups not belonging to the public sector, such as civil society, non-governmental organizations and people's communities, their efforts in this area are effective and also promote the principles of fairness, accountability and equality before the law, as well as the need to preserve the integrity and foster a culture of denial of corruption.
Given the flagrant way in which the Romanian Government has ignored many of the European and international standards, we, as representatives of civil society organizations, want to send a firm protest about the lack of respect that the Bucharest authorities looks at the rule of law and the democratic principles that should govern the rights of all European citizens, including those living in Romania.
A fundamental legislative reform for Romanian society reflects the practice of authorities totally disagreeing with the principles of transparency, accountability and participation demanded and respected by the European Union and its neighbors.
Coalition "Stop Codes!":
Transparency International Romania,
The Center for Legal Resources,
Press Agency - Active Watch,
The Romanian Journalists' Association,
The Pro Democracy Association,
The Association for the Defense of Human Rights in Romania,
Center for Support for Non-Governmental Organizations,
Convention of Media Organizations,
The Resource Center for Public Participation,
The Romanian Federation of Journalists MediaSind,
Center for Independent Journalism,
Federation for the Development of Civil Society,
Romanian Training Institute,
Save the Children Organization,
The Employers' Association of Local Publishers,
The ACCEPT Association,
League of Defense of Human Rights (Satu Mare and Timis subsidiaries),
Media Consumers Association,
Society Timisoara.