# Constitutional Court of Romania

The Constitutional Court of Romania (Romanian: Curtea Constituțională a României) is the institution which rules on whether the laws, decrees or other bills enacted by Romanian authorities are in conformity with the Constitution.
It consists of nine members serving nine-year terms which cannot be extended, with three members each appointed by the President, the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. Three members are renewed every 3 years.

## Powers

According to the Article 146 of the Constitution, the Constitutional Court exercises the following powers:
* to adjudicate on the constitutionality of laws, before promulgation, upon notification by the President of Romania, by the President of either Chamber of Parliament, by the Government, the Supreme Court of Justice, by a number of at least 50 Deputies or at least 25 Senators, as well as, ex officio, on initiatives to revise the Constitution
* to adjudicate on the constitutionality of the Standing Orders of Parliament, upon notification by the President of either Chamber, by a parliamentary group or a number of at least 50 Deputies or at least 25 Senators
* to decide on exceptions brought to the Courts of law as to the unconstitutionality of laws and orders
* to guard the observance of the procedure for the election of the President of Romania and to confirm the ballot returns
* to ascertain the circumstances which justify the interim in the exercise of office of President of Romania, and to report its findings to Parliament and the Government
* to give advisory opinion on the proposal to suspend the President of Romania from office
* to guard the observance of the procedure for the organization and holding of a referendum, and to confirm its returns
* to check on compliance with the conditions for the exercise of the legislative initiative by citizens
* to decide on objections of unconstitutionality of a political party
* to carry out also other duties stipulated by the organic law of the Court.

## Related events

* 5 October 2024 – The Constitutional Court notably disqualified S.O.S. Romania candidate Diana Șoșoacă from running in the 2024 Romanian presidential election, ruling claiming that her public statements and conduct "systematically" violate the country's constitutional foundation of membership in Euro-Atlantic structures, without giving any specific reasons to backup their claim. The court's ruling, which was split 5–2 along party lines, was criticized by some for being politically motivated, undemocratic and a result of corruption.
* 28 November 2024 – The Constitutional Court ordered the November 24 presidential election to recount its votes.
* 2 December – 2024 Romanian presidential election: The Constitutional Court unanimously validates the results of the first round of the presidential election.
* 6 December – 2024 Romanian presidential election: The Constitutional Court annuls the results of the first round of the presidential election.
* 11 March 2025 – The Constitutional Court notably disqualifies independent candidate Călin Georgescu from running in the postponed 2025 Romanian presidential election after being charges with six offenses.

## Members
### Current structure

| Appointer | Name (Office) | Term start | Term end |
| Senate | Marian Enache [ro] (President) | 2016 (2022) | 2025 (2025) |
| Senate | Cristian Deliorga [ro] | 2019 | 2028 |
| Senate | Laura Iuliana Scântei [ro] | 2022 | 2031 |
| Chamber of Deputies | Attila Varga [ro] | 2016 | 2025 |
| Chamber of Deputies | Gheorghe Stan [ro] | 2019 | 2028 |
| Chamber of Deputies | Dimitre Bogdan Licu [ro] | 2022 | 2031 |
| President | Livia-Doina Stanciu [ro] | 2016 | 2025 |
| President | Elena Simina Tănăsescu [ro] | 2019 | 2028 |
| President | Mihaela Ciochină [ro] | 2022 | 2031 |

### History

Since it was created in 1992, the Constitutional Court had the following composition.

#### Past presidents

* Vasile Gionea (1992–1995)
* Ioan Muraru (1995–1998)
* Lucian Mihai (1998–2001)
* Nicolae Popa (2001–2004)
* Ioan Vida (2004–2010)
* Augustin Zegrean (2010–2016)
* Valer Dorneanu (2016–2022)
* Marian Enache (2022–present)