Parliament passes referendum bill, including recommendation that President Iohannis observe constitution, court rulings

Parliament on Wednesday passed, 263 to 9 and one abstention, a bill on the request of President Klaus Iohannis for holding a national consultative referendum on issues of national interest on May 26 that includes several recommendations to the head of state.

"Parliament is hereby favourably approving the initiation by the President of Romania of a national consultative referendum on the following issues of national interest: the prohibition of amnesty and pardon for corruption offences and the prohibition of the adoption by the government of its emergency ordinance in the area of criminal offences, punishments and judicial organisation correlated with the right of other constitutional authorities to notify the Constitutional Court (CCR) directly about ordinances, recommending that the question on the ballot paper comply with the Constitution of Romania, Law 3/32000 on referenda, the relevant rulings of the CCR and the recommendations in the Code of Good Practices on Referendums adopted by the Venice Commission," according to the bill.

The bill also says the President must comply with Articles 90 and 74 (2) of the Constitution, which provides that fiscal, international, amnesty and pardon issues cannot be the subject of the citizens' legislative initiatives. Also, the head of state must comply with CCR Ruling 70/1999, which stipulates that the president cannot initiate a legislative referendum, as well CCR Ruling 799/2011 for the purpose of exempting from referendums issues of national interest requested by the president which, sanctioned by the will of the citizens, would require the revision of the Constitution.

Under Parliament's bill, the head of state must observe the Code of Good Practices on Referendums adopted by the Venice Commission that the text put to the vote should not violate international law or statutory principles of the Council of Europe - democracy, human rights and the preeminence of law - the rule of law.

Leaders of the opposition National Liberal Party (PNL) and Save Romania Union (USR) protested against the proposed bill. They have called for the report of the legal committees to be redone, arguing that the report is "a fake".

PNL floor leader Raluca Turcan said the report was a "fake," with several texts being mixed up, and asked for it to be reworded.

The accusations were rejected by Chairman of the Judicial Committee of the Chamber of Deputies Nicusor Halici, who said that the report only asks the head of state to observe the constitution and recommendations of the Venice Commission.

"The report of the committees is a fake, the report is grossly falsified against the vote and the debates in the committee. Unfortunately the draft decision contains a whole new text. The president has the right to consult with Parliament, and the committee has issued a favorable opinion without any amendments. We are asking for the report to be reworded," Turcan told a plenary session of Parliament.