(RO: Scrisoarea dlui.Coposu către Preşedintele Ion Iliescu)

The office of the president
The National Peasant Democratic Christian party
Corneliu Coposu President

Addressed to MR. Ion Iliescu, president of Romania,

Dear MR. President,

The law concerning the right of the government to emit ordinances was adopted by the two chambers of parliament in conditions that overruns dangerously fundamental rules of democracy, through a mistaken intention of calculating votes in the chamber of deputies. Art 58 alin 1 of the constitution prescribes that the parliament is the unique legislative authority of the country. On the other hand, art 514, alin 2 prescribes that parliament can adopt a special law to habilitate the government for emitting ordinances. From the corroborated interpretation of the two constitutional texts, results clearly that art 58 alin1 114 represents an exception from this rule and it is a rule of principal. In all the fields of law, the exception reduces itself to a strict interpretation and that means that it could be possible in circumstance when the rule is impossible to be put in practice, but the law we are referring to, the government was habilitated to give laws in different fields which in conformity with the art 58 align 1 are given with priority and are made for the competence of parliament. The vaster application of the exception prescribed art 514 align 1 takes the content of the rules prescribed by art 58 align 1. On the other hand, the habilitation of government to give laws through ordinances in such a various fields brings with itself the violation of the fundamental principles of democracy, violates and alters the good function of the public institution of the law state. We also remind you that during the debate of law, a number of 118 deputies have demanded the reunion of the chamber of deputies in an extraordinary session in order to debate the ordinances in the normal legislative procedure. This is a constitutional way of reunion prescribed by art 63 12.

From that moment, the foregoing examination of the law project is not justified and the projects of ordinances must have been brought under a normal debate during the extraordinary session from January 1994.

The mentioned law was voted in the chamber of deputies and the number of votes was not sufficient, and for the adoption of the law, there were only 559 deputies, one of them, has voted for, and another has not voted. So, at the election, the number of participants was 561, less than half of the total number of deputies. The deputies of the opposing parties have not participated to election, as a form of protest to the unexpected parliamentary procedures and in front of the abusive guidance of the meeting made by the president of the chamber of deputies. He took into consideration the presence at the meeting of 278 deputies noticed at a precedent former nominal call.

For this last reason, a number of 50 deputies have given a contestation to the constitutional court. In this moment, we don’t know the solution adopted by the constitutional court. This letter has as the main purpose the demand of the following details for the case in which the constitutional court will defend the contestation, and the law would be presented to you in order to be promulgated for this case. We ask you not to promulgate the law, and using the provision 77 alin 2 from the constitution to give it back for a reexamination to the parliament for the reason analised here at the point 1. The background this Demand is made, is because in conformity with art 80 alin 2 from the constitution, you should take into consideration the constitution and at the good function of the public authorities, which have the obligation to mediate between the powers of the state. But as we have already shown through art 1 to give such directions of laws, that include such a variety to the government, overruns the good function of the rule of law and of democracy and alters the constitutional relations between the executive and legislative power.

Please, receive it, MR. President, along with the assurance of my respectful intentions,

Corneliu Coposu,

Bucharest, 4 January 1994