01 April 2025
Romanian Militant Democracy in Action
On March 11, 2025, the Romanian Constitutional Court definitively barred far-right extremist Călin Georgescu from running as a candidate in the upcoming presidential election. This decision represents the culmination of a series of landmark decisions through which the Court has strengthened the principle of militant democracy. Moreover, the Court has affirmed the EU and NATO membership as a central component of Romania’s democracy and rule of law, shielding it from subversion by the principles of non-regression and militant democracy. Continue reading >>
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13 March 2025
Romanian Militant Democracy and the Time Machine
Romania was recently rocked by the annulment of presidential elections in December 2024, a crisis stifled by the March 2025 invalidation of Georgescu’s candidacy in do-over elections. Mr. Georgescu, an ultranationalist firebrand, presents himself in a MAGA-style as the tribune of “the People” and a warrior against a “Soros-driven” elite conspiracy. Europhile opponents present the invalidations as valiant examples of militant democracy and rule of law in action. I argue that the story is both simpler and more complex, partly a local variant of “authoritarian liberalism”, partly an example of idiosyncratic Eastern traditions of the RoL in Euro-friendly attire. Continue reading >>27 February 2025
The Dismissal of the Romanian Prosecutors Annulment Action
In the latest chapter of the EU rule of law saga, the General Court dismissed an annulment action lodged by an association of Romanian prosecutors, which challenged the termination of the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism in 2023, due to lack of direct concern. We argue that a too-narrow view of the issue does not reflect the rule of law situation in the country, including open non-compliance with the CJEU’s own rulings, and leads to several undesired consequences. Continue reading >>13 December 2024
Shooting Democracy in the Foot?
On December 6th, the Romanian Constitutional Court (CCR) annulled the Presidential Elections. The CCR’s decision followed the disclosure of intelligence documents on December 4th. These showed Russian interferences in the electoral process and campaign, via propaganda and disinformation. The gravity of the violations evidenced by the documents released, coupled with the many concerning declarations by Călin Georgescu, made the CCR’s intervention vital. However, the modalities of and belatedness of the CCR’s and the Romanian authorities’ response with respect to this unfolding mess do nothing but exacerbate the root causes of Georgescu’s win, bolstering his claim that democracy is being denied to the people of Romania. Continue reading >>10 December 2024
On Means and Ends
During the 2024 presidential elections, the Romanian Constitutional Court has assumed a surprisingly militant stance, ultimately granting it an unexpected leading role in the outcome (disruption) of the elections. Alas, the outcome, which at the moment seems an acceptable political result for the pro-European parties, i.e. preventing a possible victory of a far-right, pro-Russian candidate, was achieved through a series of unfortunate decisions. They were at odds with constitutional order, principles of the rule of law, or the idea of democracy. Continue reading >>10 December 2024
A Troubling Triumph in Romania
The annulment of Romania’s presidential election results by its Constitutional Court is, at first glance, a triumph for democracy. By nullifying the first round – narrowly won by far-right candidate Calin Georgescu amid allegations of Russian-backed interference – the Court sent a clear message: electoral integrity is not up for debate. But is this really a victory? In truth, this decision reflects a troubling pattern in how democracies respond to crises: after the fact. The annulment is not so much a defence of democracy as a stark reminder of the limits of judicial power. Continue reading >>
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07 December 2024
The Second Round that Wasn’t
On 6 December 2024, the final day of Romania’s most turbulent presidential election campaign in the last 25 years, the Constitutional Court issued a ruling that was unprecedented not only in recent Romanian, but also in European constitutional history: it annulled the first round of the elections, held on 24 November, and ordered the entire electoral process to restart. Only 4 days earlier, on 2 December 2024, the same Court had ruled not to annul the first round of the elections. What led to this dramatic shift between those two dates? Continue reading >>29 November 2022
War, Schengen, and the Rule of Law
On 22 November 2022, the European Commission (EC) published its final report on Romania under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM) and proposed the mechanism be terminated. While this is an early Christmas present to the ruling elite of Romania, it certainly isn’t one for the rule of law – neither in Romania nor the EU. It’s been nearly 16 years since the CVM was established at the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the EU in January 2007. Setting and monitoring benchmarks, its aim is to support both countries in overcoming shortcomings relating to the rule of law, especially the independence of the judiciary and fight against corruption. While Bulgaria was considered to have successfully fulfilled all benchmarks by 2019 and the mechanism was lifted, the case is different for Romania. Continue reading >>18 June 2021
A Tale of Primacy Part. II
On 18 May 2021, the CJEU issued a judgment on several requests for preliminary ruling by Romanian national courts regarding the impact of EU law on Romanian laws on the judiciary and the CVM. On 8 June, the Romanian Constitutional Court issued a decision pertaining to the subject. In a succession of legal nonsense, it shattered hope that the CJEU’s judgment could be a guide for national courts for applying the primacy of the EU law. Continue reading >>02 June 2021
A Tale of Primacy
In its 18 May ruling Asociația „Forumul Judecătorilor din România”, the ECJ took a solid stance on the primacy of EU law by recognizing the binding nature of the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism established by the European Commission with respect to Romania in 2007. The judgment is a genuine guide to national courts on applying the primacy of EU law, especially as regards controversial issues such as the judicial independence and rule of law. Continue reading >>
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