of rights and obligations, for the conditions of which the presence of an individual is necessary, that is, a category of non-inherited rights. Based on this interpretation, the difference between the German and French approaches lies not in the ideological difference of the principles and bases of legal acts concerning posthumous privacy, but in the classification of the type of assets.

## ROLE OF THE PLATFORM-PROVIDER PROVIDERS' CONDUCT AND PERSPECTIVES

One of the most important links in matters of posthumous privacy and the transfer of digital assets equally to the legal regulator is the platform service provider. Platforms supplement the general rules on privacy and transfer of assets, by providing the instrumental framework for their application.<fnref n="39" /> And as is clear from the standard GDPR application, while the classic law provides the answers to the question of persons liable, private-made rules of the platforms tackle the issue of «how», still constituting a large fraction of control over the data.<fnref n="40" />

In the absence of legal regulation of the issue, the platform is actually the main and only regulator. The lack of legal regulation of post-mortem data opens incredible prospects for platforms whose goal is often profit, which for aspects such as privacy and reputation, and certainly for those connected to the deceased data subject, means a radical increase in the risks of violation of rights and personal boundaries. Malgieri, in particular, attributes to these risks the possibility of obtaining data about friends and relatives from unregulated posthumous data through secondary data processing and exploiting it in attempts to profit from the grief and vulnerability of people related to the deceased through online behavioural advertisements.<fnref n="41" />

Considering these risks, attempts to distance the regulation of post-mortem privacy from service providers within the framework of the French regulatory approach do not appear to be unreasonable, despite the availability of a much easier regulatory method – full delegation of the role of the “post-mortem data controller” to the service provider.

## HARMONIZATION ASPECTS

In the conditions of such a little-regulated and little-studied phenomenon as post-mortem privacy, views on the need for an EU harmonisation, identical to that existing for the rest of the provisions of the GDPR, differ to a large extent. For example, Okoro believes, that the call for posthumous privacy will not be welcomed and answered by all Member States “as each state has its own unique history and traditional beliefs upon which its legal system is built and to harmonise them in this regard would be too problematic”.<fnref n="42" />

At the same time, Petra raises the quite valid issue of risks associated with non-regulation at the European level, in particular, the possibility of legal fragmentation and legal uncertainty in cross-border matters.<fnref n="43" /> Hamulák, Kocharyan, and Kerikmäe agree that harmonisation is indeed needed, but the “unified hybrid (“consensual”) mechanism of post-mortem data protection” created on the basis of the states’ best practices should precede the GDPR harmonisation of the matter.<fnref n="44" /> Considering the vast dissimilarities in the current EU-Member States’ approaches to tackling post-mortem privacy, the author of this work also shares this opinion. It is important that this potential approach should not be one-sided. Posthumous privacy is a multi-category notion that depends on

<footnote n="39">³⁹ Grochowski, M. F. (2019), *Supra nota*, p. 1204.</footnote>

<footnote n="40">⁴⁰ Ibid.</footnote>

<footnote n="41">⁴¹ Giancaudio Malgieri, 2018, *Supra nota*, p. 3</footnote>

<footnote n="42">⁴² Egoyibo Lorrita Okoro, “Death and Personal Data in the Age of Social Media” in *Tilburg University*, 2019, p. 25.</footnote>

<footnote n="43">⁴³ Petra Schubauer, “Legal Protection of Personal Data Relating to Personality, in Particular Certain Aspects of Post-mortem Privacy,” Doctoral dissertation defended in 2021, Károli Gáspár University, p. 15</footnote>

<footnote n="44">⁴⁴ Ondre Hamulák, Hovsep Kocharyan, Tanel Kerikmäe, 2020, *Supra nota*, p. 238.</footnote>
and, accordingly, affects many different legal fields and subjects. Judging and managing it solely from the point of view of the right of inheritance, or solely from the point of view of contract law, without taking into account privacy, data protection and ethics, or vice versa – to completely eliminate inheritance rights – is the road to nowhere.

## CONCLUSIONS

This paper critically discovered the issue of post-mortem privacy in terms of the latest legislative development shifts and legal discourse's reaction to them thus:

- Consolidating and complementing the theoretical basis based on the critical observation of the latest regulatory trends and updates in light of the previous considerations and assumptions.

- Revealing a view of the problem and possible ways to mitigate it from the point of view of an approach that includes consideration of related interdependent areas of law: contract and succession law in the light of review and interpretation of the most recent and significant case law.

- Critically discovering the approaches of the legal regulators in 3 countries representing different stances on the issue and evaluating the probability of the possible EU-level harmonisation and possible harmonisation issues.

This research considers only types of property related to the “personality of the legal predecessor” criteria, thus not taking into account the intellectual property rights regimes’ applications towards the goods within certain accounts. The conditional categorisation of the accounts on private and public ones based on the criteria of economic and public value may be sufficient for further research.

The research mainly concentrates on the general conceptualisation of the issues related to post-mortem privacy and its regulations, while slightly touching upon the issues of procedural legal regulator-intermediary conduct and cooperation, which requires more careful consideration and discovery as this factor is key for the practical enforcement aspects.

The direct recipients of the research and its conclusions are assumed to be the legislator, the regulator, and the intermediaries, that is, the service provider, while the users are presumed to be the indirect recipients benefiting from their conduct.

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# Inside Pandora's Box, finding the roots of Natural Law.
## Applicability in the Future of the European Law

DR. VLAD BĂRBAT

VISITING LECTURER AT THE ,, 1DECEMBER 1918” UNIVERSITY OF ALBA-IULIA, LAW SCHOOL, ROMANIA

**Abstract:** The main purpose of this article is to highlight the importance of a more “deconstructed” Legal European system in which all actions be guided firstly by actions of the natural law and afterwards by the stiff and uneasy legal positivism that dominates the entire European Legal Framework. In this aspect, we would try to investigate why we are still addressing positive Law and following the procedures indicated by natural Law. The article presents the argument that contemporary societies are in the face of increasing overproduction of shocking standards its efficient operation. However, the argument is deconstructed later, especially through comparison (Europe vs. Analysis, note that what is of great concern in this respect of The Atlantic does not seem to be on the other side. The article concludes with some possible remedies – admitting that we are facing a disease –to the current state of overproduction.

**Keywords:** EU, institutional cloaking, legal positivism, primacy of natural law, European Law, normativism, cultural hegemony

## INTRODUCTION

Monday morning, we set our goals straight to buy a car and on the same day a wonderful apartment situated in the heart of our city. We go to the local car dealer and bank in order to get a loan and, bewildered by the amount of sheer paperwork that we have to fill are immediately discouraged to continue any intention. Construction permits, bank evaluation, fluctuations of the bank interests, notary procedures, cadastral assessment and many fees that have to be submitted to the public authorities. Not to mention the intricate roads and unceasing roads from point A to point B, from one institution to the other, yet that is the course of life seen as normality. In this spectrum of continuous pendulum movement gravitates all Legal procedures from one corner to the other and the image designed by this system of super norms drains the essence of all Legal thought.

Whether we discuss political, social, environmental changes within the European member states, the idea of change affects our daily lives and determines our social state. The research will aim an anticipatory effect and will focus on the European rule of law and its struggle to continuously build an equalitarian framework for the member states and the dimensions of maintaining equity within its borders facing the future of a changing society (in interpretation of art.3 (5) TUE). We stress the ongoing power shifts that shape the European continent and how can the European rule of law, throughout its pillars and institutions, protect the integrity of the European Union from endogamous separation movements created by forces stemming the relationship with its member states. Furthermore, our aim would be to identify future perils for the foundations of European Law and proposing solutions to maintaining equity of the rule of law in direct relationship with the member states without creating the phenomenon of the “supranational state” or the legal and institutional “capture” phenomenon. The research tries to demonstrate that systemic deficiencies affecting the functioning of the rule of law pullulate both horizontally, since they affect relations between the Member States, and vertically, distorting the mechanisms of co-operation between the EU institutions and the member states. (“The Rule of Law and the Future of Europe”)
## THE EUROPEAN RULE OF LAW CHALLENGED

The rule of law is being questioned by those who invoke values that are seen as “superior” or at least “equivalent,” such as the will of the people, the national interest, the precedence of justice over the law, the idea that all institutions and decision-making bodies should have direct democratic legitimacy, and the requirement that their decisions be effective. The priority of law over power hierarchies is thus rejected where the rule of law is under attack, and a new social order is proposed, stopping the development of European civilization. Second, by reducing democracy to the notion of the majority’s democratic legitimacy, the basic foundations of the democratic system—which upholds the rule of law—are being weakened.

The separation of powers and respect for fundamental rights (even against the desire of a democratically elected parliament) are gradually eliminated under this constellation, two key tenets of modern democracy. The emergence of an illiberal democracy is frequently used to characterize such a change to a new political and legal order. Third, under this situation, certain member states openly contest the independent judiciary's function. The requirement (sine qua non) for the protection of all other (basic) rights is the meta-right to effective legal protection. In many several ways, including through more or less direct involvement by the political authorities, the independence of courts is being questioned. This is because there is no single standard for measuring judicial independence; instead, it depends on a variety of factors including the constitutional tradition and established constitutional practice, the tenacity and durability of the democratic practice in the member state, the general level of legal literacy, and the field's historical performance.

## ON JUS AND NATURE

The iusnaturalist perspective views law as a value, an ideal, and a finality rather than a positive truth. Not all finalities will embrace the theory in the context of jusnaturalist perspectives. It is necessary to distinguish between utilitarianism, according to which the goal of law is to promote social group pleasures, and the jusnaturalist interpretation, which identifies justice as the finality of law. The scientific phrase for its study is somewhat inadequate because the law does not convert into a positive reality; rather, it is a value that should be sought after and an ideal that directs our social concepts on how we perceive each other and our civilization.<fnref n="1" />.

The relationship between the two major doctrines is asymmetrical. The positivists, on the other hand, do not recognize the existence of a natural right, as they deny the possibility of knowing values, the finality, the ideal. Hume<fnref n="2" />, for example, denounces naturalistic paralogism, showing that, in most naturalistic doctrines, at a given moment, the discourse slides imperceptibly from the register of factual findings to an abstract one of the ideal. Hume claims that a norm cannot be deduced from a descriptive statement, a prescription from a sentence; what is (is) will never

<footnote n="1">¹ Fr. Gény, *Méthode d'interprétation et sources en droit privé positif. Essai critique*, 2ᵉ éd., LGDJ, Paris, 1919, t. 2, nr. 162: «Sans prétendre justifier, sous le rapport de la justice absolue, les institutions juridiques de toutes les époques et de tous les lieux, il suffit, pour écarter le scandale de leur diversité, d'observer que, presque toujours, le but a été moins différent que les moyens de le réaliser. Mais, si l'on admet, d'après la raison, l'expérience, et le sentiment intime, l'uniformité de la nature humaine, l'identité constante de sa destinée, et l'existence d'un ordre naturel permanent de rapports entre les éléments du monde, on en conclura nécessairement, que les principes de pure justice, qui ne sont qu'une des faces de cet ordre, conservent, au milieu des variétés et des contingences de leur mise en œuvre, un caractère universel et immuable». Adde E. Picard, *Les constantes du droit: Institutes juridiques modernes*, Éd. Ernest Flammarion, Paris, 1921 apud R.Rizoiu, Despre nevoia (realistă) de drept natural, Article published on the Universul Juridic Online Platform, consulted on the 8.09.2023, Link: Despre nevoia (realistă) de drept natural – ESSENTIALS (juridice.ro);</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² For a complete argumentation, please consult A. Buciuman, *Juridicitatea Obligației Naturale*, in Studia Universitatis „Babeș-Bolyai”, No 3/2015, p.68.</footnote>
logically tell us what should (ought), therefore ontology or the search for the essential nature of things will never be able to find a system of rules of conduct. The logically irreconcilable distinction between being (*sein*) and having to (*sollen*) is taken over by Kant and generalized with regard to knowledge. Kelsen's entire edifice, so appreciated in the legal world, is built starting from the opposition *sein* – *sollen*, which he superimposes on the reality – value dualism. Science can only issue propositions, by the axiological neutral hypothesis, about reality<fnref n="3" />. The transition from *sein* to *sollen* can only be made through value judgments, thus leaving the sphere of science.

Insisting on the need for separation between science and politics, advocates for positive legal theory argue that this goal is to protect legal scholarship by separating it from approaches from other fields such as economics, politics, sociology, or psychology that are not related to the study of law but are separate from it<fnref n="4" />. Natural law's speculative nature deprives it of its status as a subject of legal scholars' research. The modification of its shape caused by the dismissal of some “pure” sciences is significant. Regardless of the topic at hand—concept, methodology, or positivist ideologies—rights are reduced to laws, judicial precedents, historical timelines, or contemporary social trends<fnref n="5" />.

## THE NON-LAW THEORY AND A CONTRASTING IMAGE OF THE FUTURE

The place where the law has retreated or where its abstention is obvious, despite it would have had the theoretical vocation to be there, is essentially what Jean Carbonnier's non-law is characterized by<fnref n="6" />. Natural obligation would appear to follow the same pattern at first glance: an obligation to which the law removes its sanction or fails to impose it implies the same mechanism. The jurist might therefore be inclined to use this idea-metaphor to support the exclusion of natural obligation from the legal system. There is only one clear similarity. We quickly see that the solution to the legal issue of natural obligation is not found once we delve into the theory's depth, which was, by the way, quite cleverly built.

He must first recognize that the idea of non-law is one that is defined in relation to the idea of law. However, this immediately assumes a position on the reference object that is already set in stone. The concept of non-law is defined through the lens of two parameters, and should not be confused with the violation of the law (although, in an accessory way, such behavior can enter the phenomenon of non-law), with anti-law (the unjust law imposed by totalitarian regimes), with sub-law (or infra-legal relations, so-called folkways, socially obligatory manners that are not imposed by public authorities), or with non-contentious law. To counter the *panjurism* premise, which dominates the ideas of dogmatic jurists, there is first a transfer of competence from law to non-law, followed by a sociological vision of law that is reduced to “official” law, characterized by two constants, which thus become criteria of the juridical: coercion (understood as the power to impose, the possibility of forced execution or legalized violence) and eventus *judicii* (the respective social relationship potential to be subjected, in any form).

Additionally, the vast majority of the proposed non-law hypotheses pertain to the official rule rather than the substantive rule of law, more specifically the rule of law established by the legislator and effectively enforced by the authorities. The adage “happy people live as if law does not exist” simply means that they live in accordance with the laws of justice, not that they are exempt from

<footnote n="3">³ *Ibidem*.</footnote>

<footnote n="4">⁴ Bruce P. Frohnen, *The Irreducible, Minimal Morality of Law: Reconsidering the Positivist/Natural Law Divide in Light of Legal Purpose and the Rule of Law*, Saint Louis University Law Journal, Vol.58, No 2/2014, p.481. Article consulted online on the 08.09.2023, Link: The Irreducible, Minimal Morality of Law: Reconsidering the Positivist/Natural Law Divide in Light of Legal Purpose and the Rule of Law (core.ac.uk);</footnote>

<footnote n="5">⁵ Bruce P. Frohnen, *The Irreducible, Minimal Morality...op.cit*, p.481.</footnote>

<footnote n="6">⁶ A. Buciuman, *Juridicitatea Obligației..., op.cit.*, p.77;</footnote>
the application of the law. Only unhealthy expressions of legal life, not life itself, such as court appeals or government interference. Smaller contracts or those that the parties keep private are nevertheless valid even if they are not presented to the court; what matters is the purpose of the parties to have legal implications, which means to change the existing legal system. There are several legal thresholds, however<sup>7</sup> they are not always used to distinguish between what is lawful and what is not. The legal system exists, even if it is considered latent by the authorities, so that it does not become apparent. The responsibilities of respect, fidelity, moral support, and material support between spouses were not imposed by their legal consecration and even the choosing of friends or life partners are not affected by a disagreement regarding them.

In order to arrive at a new understanding of law, Professor Carbonnier redefines the relationships between the state and society before establishing non-law as a principle of legal policy. As a result, the idea of a less “etatic” society is pushed, with the state serving as merely one of the social order’s articulations (along with morality, morals, social conventions, etc.) rather than acting as the society’s primary unifying force. The non-right stands in for society’s fledgling claim to freedom from a right that is nothing more than a manifestation of state power<sup>8</sup> Non-law is not void, chaos, riot, disorder, or anarchy; rather, it is a constructive phenomenon that frequently takes the law as its model and strives for the same goals of order, harmony, and social peace. Professor Carbonnier<sup>9</sup> believes that the key to a legislative plan is the acceptance of the non-right. The politics of non-law are those of a disengagement from the legal system.

It is with these considerations that we think of what the European society will evolve around the paradigm of change within the system, the European rule of law is considered to have its origin in the formal legality and process<sup>10</sup> Formal legality means that Laws must be universal (applicable to everyone in a similar scenario), given out in advance (no retroactive laws), and made publicly available (promulgated); rule of law, not men: the responsibility of a separate and impartial judiciary must be in charge of enforcing the law, which behaves impartially, without bias or arbitrary judgment, and without any passion the litigants; the court also has the authority to conduct judicial review of other departments of ensuring that the fundamentals of government are regulated by written laws are faithfully upheld. The fundamental elements of the rule of law were outlined by Legality, legal certainty, equality before the law, and other Venice Commission access to justice and nondiscrimination.

## THE LACK OF LAWS IN THE FUTURE AS RESULT OF INSTITUTIONAL COMBINATION

As a result of this ultra-ambiguous cluster of norms combination, we get the feeling that there is no sense in anything that we would plan, as the continuous outburst of planned law within the Eu directs us and quantifiers our lives daily. Norms crave new norms and the lack of compliance with the existing ones expresses the need for new increasingly. This need for a continuous afflux will end in the Future, we can imagine the desolation of norm-creating as norms are a desirable kind of social control<sup>11</sup> since a regulation may be beneficial but too expensive for the state to implement in comparison to the advantages. A regulation prohibiting bad table manners, for instance, is hardly

<footnote n="7"><sup>7</sup> Alina Buiuman, *Juridicitatea Obligătiei...op.cit.*, p.79;</footnote>

<footnote n="8"><sup>8</sup> Judith Hahn, *The Effectiveness of Law- Foundations of a Sociology of Canon Law*, Springer Open Access, Berlin, 2022, pp.160-161.</footnote>

<footnote n="9"><sup>9</sup> For a complete analysis, Vincent Forray, Sebastiene Pimont, *Governing globalization through law: The Hypotheses of a New Natural Law*, Governing Globalization, Revue Europeene de Droit, Vol. 2/2021, p.23.</footnote>

<footnote n="10"><sup>10</sup> *Ibidem*.</footnote>

<footnote n="11"><sup>11</sup> Eric. B. Rasmusen, Richard A. Posner, *Creating and Enforcing Norms, with Special Reference to Sanctions*, Coase-Sandor Working Paper Series in Law and Economics, Nr. 96/2000, p.370. Article consulted online on the 8.08.2023, Link: *Creating and Enforcing Norms, with Special Reference to Sanctions* (uchicago.edu)</footnote>
appropriate for incorporation into the legislation. However, compared to laws, norms have a number of disadvantages. Since no one individual or political group can take credit for the creation of a norm, norms are even more of a public good than laws. Additionally, the expense of imposing penalties for breaking a rule cannot be covered by taxation that is mandated; rather, it must be borne freely by those who uphold the rule<sup>12</sup>. These characteristics of norms make it seem inevitable that they would be underdeveloped.

In this aspect we ask ourselves what would be the efficacy of normative Law in the Future? The European conception of the “rule of law” differs greatly from the Anglo-Saxon model and is correctly referred to as a “État de droit” or “Rechtsstaat,” with the State serving as the franchiser of normative authorities or the practically only maker of laws. The connections to the prevailing political theory are evident throughout Europe, whether in the North or the South, on the continent or on an island<sup>13</sup>. The continued importance of legal realism and the scant influence of European political theory in the US unavoidably strengthen a sociological perspective that centers, for good reason, on social norms.

## FUTURE SCENARIOS, SOLUTIONS AND CURES (PING-PONG SOFT LAW/HARD LAW)

We are inclined to believe that the European Union is a welfare and that its institutions that continuously assure social ties and solidarity are at a standstill, overcoming the strictly procedural aspects that hold the instruments of law enforcement, (the crisis of the social welfare state, of the welfare state), the forms of the relationship between law and society and the ways of establishing individual and collective identities. The European legal system risks transforming itself from a reparative right, into a business right in which the negotiation has the advantage over the application of the rule, without justice. Therefore, if the rule of law is provoked or challenged, the dominance and primacy of law over all statal forces and hierarchies is rejected, thus diminishing the elements of democracy and its legitimacy within the member states

First, compared to hard law, soft law agreements are simpler to complete and have lower transactional bureaucratic expenses. Second, soft law standards are adopted when little is at risk: the goal is straightforward to achieve; states are reasonably confident that they will not stray from the promised behavior in the future because the issue is not that important. There is no need to spend money on a legally enforceable agreement in those circumstances. Thirdly, and in contrast to the second argument, states are more likely to embrace soft legislation when they have important interests that they do not want to jeopardize<sup>14</sup>.

They understand that harsh legislation involves concessions and jeopardizes sovereignty, and that soft law will have less of an impact than strong law, however, it is highly unlikely that the future of the European rule of law will bring forth a complete “delegalization”<sup>15</sup> as there are normative trends issued by the European Commission and Parliament that mandate the need for a stable and clear legislation. In this aspect we can see the actions performed by the European Stability Mechanism to permanently safeguard and assist member states in financial need and assure capital

<footnote n="12">12 *Ibidem*.</footnote>

<footnote n="13">13 Vincenzo Zeno- Zencovich, *A Normative Metastasis?* in European Journal of Comparative Law and Governance, No 7/2020, pp. 16-17.</footnote>

<footnote n="14">14 Jean-Marc Sorel, The Role of Soft Law in Global Governance: Heading Towards Hegemonic Influence?- *Governing globalization through law: The Hypotheses of a New Natural Law, Governing* Globalization, Revue, Europeene de Droit, Vol. 2/2021, p. 45.</footnote>

<footnote n="15">15 Andrew T. Guzman, Timothy, L. Meyer, *Explaining Soft Law*, Berkley Law School,2009, p.25. Academic content found on the Escholarship Database. Read online on the 9.09.2023. Link: *Explaining Soft Law* (escholarship.org);</footnote>
markets stability.<fnref n="16" /> Here, we can as well mention, the ongoing desire of the European Parliament to console the powers of the member states with the general interest of the Union. In this sense can we imagine the primacy of a “non-norm” European society and if so, what could be the limits? There are some resolute authors that express a vivid interest in the subject, here we mention Professor Vicenzo Zeno-Zencovich that proposes the insertion of the “sunset clauses”: “Explicitly or implicitly introduced in EU normative texts “sunset clauses” convey the idea that legislation is no longer a long-term product but depends on economic and social conditions. When the latter changes, so does legislation. It is doubtful, however, that such clauses determine, after a certain time, the disappearance of norms as if they were degradable materials. Generally, once they have expired, they are subject to a restylng which brings to a wider and more complex intervention. If one follows the metaphor of the sunset one must acknowledge that after a very short night the normative sun rises again, stronger than before<fnref n="17" />.”

EUROPEAN INTEGRITY: SUPRA-NATIONALISM VS. NATIONALISM AND IDENTIFICATION OF THE RULE OF LAW

Another aspect that we would have to reflect upon is the exact nature of state identity in the
future as the supremacy principle of the European rule of law may become obsolete. In Western
political culture it is defined that states are an aggregate of cultures associated with specific
territories with a complex mélange of ethnic groups, which is why for instance an apparent “isolated
“matter risks to be seen as of “general interest” that may affect the integrity of the supremacy
principle. For instance, if we think that polluting the Tisza River that flows in the Danube that on
its way to the Black Sea borders Romania, Bulgaria and Ukraine may generate firstly a regional
crisis and may escalate in an international crisis. It is therefore that the main integration model
proposed by the European framework (the intra -governmental model and the federal model) we
observe among other specialists in the field<fnref n="18" /> that a unique hybrid model of nation- state is proposed.

The “structural” model of the hybrid model has in the course of the twentieth century suffered substantial modifications (border shifts, status quo political dynamics, Parliamentary groups mélange) and many such political dynamics. In these situations, we are inclined to believe that the European Law is “Law without a State”<fnref n="19" />, of course the proportions of analysis have to be maintained as the whole concept of the state has to be defined in outer source of social order, ethnic groups, political identity, of course it will be difficult to define the epitome of social unity outside these objective criteria. As it stands, it will be our purpose in the coming future to guard the European legal framework in terms of legal primacy of the Law for what it is: a commonwealth of high human standards and not the mechanistic perpetuum of norms that generate a blind coherence and obeisance Furthermore, why should the European Rule of Law remain within the public sphere? The growing nationalist movements of Europe In an effort to define legal pluralism from an internal perspective, we often come to an end when we understand that a legal order just cannot afford to hold back from claiming to be a single entity, and as a result a multiple final references on which to base a rule or judgment. Such a hierarchy is unthinkable. The most we have been able to conceive. There is some intricacy in the cohesiveness of a single legal system, such as that it is flexible enough

<footnote n="16">¹⁶ European Stability Mechanism: Home | European Stability Mechanism (europa.eu), site consulted on the 11.08.2023, 12.01.</footnote>

<footnote n="17">¹⁷ Vicenzo Zeno-Zencovich, *A Normative Metastasis? op.cit.*, p.19.</footnote>

<footnote n="18">¹⁸ J. Habermas, *Faktizität und Geltung. Beiträge zur Diskurstheorie des Rechts und des demokratischen Rechtsstaats*. 2. Aufl., Frankfurt a.M., 1992 apud van Roermund, G.C.G.J. Jurisprudential Dilemmas of European Law, Law and philosophy, 16(4),p.363.</footnote>

<footnote n="19">¹⁹ Ibidem, p.364.</footnote>
to incorporate quite diverse features into one structure. In an effort to define legal pluralism from an internal perspective, we often end when we understand that a legal order just cannot afford to hold back from claiming to be a single entity, and as a result multiple final references on which to base a rule or judgment. Such a hierarchy is unthinkable. The most we have been able to conceive. There is some intricacy in the cohesiveness of a single legal system, such as that it is flexible enough to incorporate quite diverse features into one structure.

## WHAT CAN WE CONCLUDE?

The European Rule of Law will be the subject of change along with the entire social institutional structure of the European Union, new policies will be created to adapt its beneficiaries, new Legislative walls will be created, and a fortress of complex procedures adopted once more by the European Parliament as to assure its survival. But has the European Rule of Law forgot that the landmarks of its present and future lie in the actions of man? It may sound redundant, but in the mechanistic future still to be awaited, this concept of Man before the Law and Law for the Man risks becoming obsolete. This can be our greater chance of pleading for soft law, as it will possibly (from our perspective) replace the current self-regulating and ultra-mechanistic Rule of Law. Soft law is the greater creation of natural law, the epitome of human natural behavior- the Norm will transgress the Rule<fnref n="20" /> widely seen as impersonal, unpractical, and sterile. Natural behavior throughout natural law will determine a more social responsibility towards society and effectiveness opposing Rule/Regulation – that symbolizes the area of confusion (as it will fail to be regarded as the sole source of social stability).

Another point we would like to stress is the increasing phenomenon of “cultural hegemony” representing the lack of reaction to what makes the world what it is today, better said, common ongoing practices dictated or imposed and integrated into society by one group. Unconsciously (or conscious enough) the everyday cultural domination will be a standard practice in the Future European establishment throughout: Legal consumerism (ultra-normativity without any social purpose), the upheaval of the nation-state vs. federalist unions. In this constellation, the battle will, in the Future, most certainly be taken on the field of Legal reasoning, if societies (implicitly the EU) will be able to adapt to Man’s natural state and not construct a Kafkaesque normative paradise.

## BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Buciuman, Adina, *Juridicitatea Obligației Naturale*, Studia Universitatis „Babeș-Bolyai” No 3/2015.

2. Costea, Maria and Costea, Simion (coord.), *Diplomație și actori geopolitici în epoca interdependenței complexe/Diplomacy and Geopolitical Players in the Age of Complex Interdependence*, Cluj-Napoca, Napoca Star, 2021.

3. Costea, Simion and Labori, Michel, *Le Management des Politiques de l'Union Européenne* PARIS, Prodifmultimedia, 2011.

4. Costea, Simion (coordinator), *Culture, Elites and European Integration, Volume IV – International Relations and European Union Interdisciplinary Studies*, PARIS, Editions Prodifmultimedia, 2011.

5. Costea, Simion and Costea, Maria (coord.), *Integrarea României in UE: provocări și perspective/Romania’s Accession to the EU: Challenges and Perspectives*, Iași, European Institute, 2007.

6. Costea, Simion (coord.), *For a Stronger and Wider European Union*, Cluj-Napoca, Napoca Star, 2005.

7. Forray, Vincent, Pimont, Sebastiene, *Governing globalization through law: The Hypotheses of a New Natural Law, Governing* Globalization, Revue Europeene de Droit, Vol. 2/2021.

<footnote n="20">²⁰ Jean-Marc Sorel, *The Role of Soft Law in Global Governance...op.cit.*, pp.46-47.</footnote>
8. Frohnen, P., Bruce *The Irreducible, Minimal Morality of Law: Reconsidering the Positivist/Natural Law Divide in Light of Legal Purpose and the Rule of Law*, Saint Louis University Law Journal, Vol.58, No 2/2014. (“Bruce P. Frohnen – SSRN”)

9. Guzman, Andrew, Timothy L. Meyer, *Explaining Soft Law*, Berkley Law School, 2009.

10. Hahn, Judith, *The Effectiveness of Law-Foundations of a Sociology of Canon Law*, Springer Open Access, Berlin, 2022.

11. Rasmusen, Eric, B, Richard A. Posner, *Creating and Enforcing Norms, with Special Reference to Sanctions*, Coase-Sandor Working Paper Series in Law and Economics, Nr. 96/2000;

12. Sorel, Jean-Marc, The Role of Soft Law in Global Governance: Heading Towards Hegemonic Influence?- *Governing globalization through law: The Hypotheses of a New Natural Law, Governing* Globalization, Revue Europeenne de Droit, Vol. 2/2021.

13. Zeno- Zencovich, Vicenzo, *A Normative Metastasis?* in European Journal of Comparative Law and Governance, No 7/2020.
# Security challenges from the perspective of the constitutional courts' vulnerabilities

PROFESSOR MARIETA SAFTA, PHD

TITU MAIORESCU UNIVERSITY OF BUCHAREST, FACULTY OF LAW

**Abstract:** Constitutional justice has gradually been established in Europe and throughout the world. Guarantors of the supremacy of the Constitution, with a consolidated position, including through professional support networks at regional and global levels, the Constitutional Courts have a decisive role in the legislative process, relations between public authorities, the electoral process, and fundamental rights. At the same time, however, the Constitutional Courts are not infallible. They are exposed to pressure factors from various sources, external and internal erosion, with the risk of undermining credibility or turning them into political instruments. The study presents vulnerable elements of constitutional justice, emphasizing, from this perspective, the importance of carefully following the general developments under this aspect and early intervention to avoid slippages and to strengthen constitutional justice as a pillar of the rule of law.

**Key words:** constitutional courts, constitutional review, judges, security challenges

## INTRODUCTION

The most recent Congress of the Conference of European Constitutional Courts, held at the beginning of 2021 in Prague, mostly online because of the restrictions imposed by the pandemic, and under a silent but almost palpable concern in the face of the danger emerging from Russia, concluded with a profound speech of the president of the host Constitutional Court. He addressed the participants, urging them as follows: "Protect your independence and reputation because it takes years to build and only moments to lose; be loyal only to your constitutional mission and nothing else; support those who are at risk today. If you do not do that today, there will be no one to help you tomorrow." These words strengthened what he had emphasized since the opening of the Conference, namely that "a constitutional court is not a decoration of the rule of law. A constitutional court is not a decorative palm at the palace of State power. A constitutional court is an assurance that the State will respect its own constitutional rules. And it must fulfill its role cautiously, uncompromisingly and without regard to other interests."<fnref n="1" />

Outbreak of war, the impossibility of providing collegial support or correcting anything in such an extreme situation, the risk of the uselessness of the constitutional justice itself when absolute power decides, directed attention and concerns to the more important topic in this context: PEACE. The Congress of the World Conference on Constitutional Justice, which took place in October 2022 in Indonesia, Bali, (the 5th in the history of the World Conference of Constitutional Justice)<fnref n="2" />, had as its topic "Constitutional Justice and Peace." One of the panels of the Congress, the only one "with closed doors," referred to the independence and threats to the constitutional courts/justice. The establishment of such a special panel and debates around the independence of the constitutional courts shed light on two closely related aspects: the increasing role of constitutional justice worldwide and the risks of the transformation of the constitutional courts in pure "decoration of the rule of law". Through the status they have acquired, the expansion of their powers, and the

<footnote n="1">¹ See XVIII Congress of European Constitutional Courts, Recording of the Congress proceedings is available here: https://usoudcz-my.sharepoint.com/:f:/g/personal/david_krev_usoud_cz/EuIYvnC4eEdMIQ8skqXGgRsB8TC2AozTPy9yzYOGdQzjZg?e=UR7EKc; The General Report in English and French is available here.; https://www.cecc2017-2020.org/congress/xviith-congress/</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² Congress page – https://wccj5.mkri.id/</footnote>
strengthening of the effects of their decisions, the constitutional courts have become fundamental actors of democracy and equilibrium of power within the State. Therefore, when a constitutional court is only a “supplement” of a power, confined to certifying its acts and giving them an appearance of legitimacy, the rationale of such a court (subordinated to the guarantee of the rule of law) becomes grounds against the court. For this reason, a political, constitutional court, obedient or so-called independent but composed of judges whose competence/specialization is questionable, represents a security risk, a real “Trojan horse” of the rule of law.

To avoid the risks, it is necessary to pursue the slippages carefully and identify tools for early prevention and countering any threats to constitutional justice. Within international bodies, as well as the forms of cooperation of the constitutional courts, these developments are closely pursued. We will emphasize specific vulnerabilities of the constitutional courts in an attempt to reveal the complexity of the issues encountered by constitutional justice and the need to identify appropriate and effective solutions for such threats.

## CHANGING THE COMPOSITION OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURTS AND THE STATUS OF CONSTITUTIONAL JUDGES

### 1. Appointment of constitutional judges<fnref n="3" />

Perhaps the most debated phenomenon in this context is the so-called “court-packing”, understood as “a deliberate change of the composition of a judicial adjudication institution pushed by the government to secure its control”<fnref n="4" />. Court-packing “allows co-opting a court without necessarily modifying its powers” and it is “one of key strategies that illiberal executives implement to destroy democracy.<fnref n="5" />” As was shown<fnref n="6" />, “political leaders adopt a plethora of different techniques to help them secure friendly majorities in courts”, as in Argentin a, where “three presidents in a row reduced the number of Argentina’s Supreme Court justices”, as Slovak and Polish political leaders which “repeat-edly thwarted the judicial selection process by refusing to appoint newly elected judges or benched judges from opposing coali tions “, lustration in postcommunist judiciaries, the forced retirement of Polish judges found by the CJUE incompatible with fundamen tal values of constitutional democracies etc. There are extensive studies on this topic, with reference to the court-packing and the role played in the erosion of democracy in Ecuador, Bolivia, Hungary, Poland, Turkey and Venezuela<fnref n="7" />. Also, the Venice Commission emphasized<fnref n="8" /> that the changing of the composition of the Constitutional Court and the procedure for appointing judges are among the most important and sensitive questions of constitutional adjudication and argued for the preservation of a credible system of the rule of constitutional law. It is necessary to ensure both the independence of the judges of the Constitutional Court and to involve different state organs and political forces into

<footnote n="3">³See also Marieta Safta – Appointment of constitutional judges. A comparative law perspective, in Jeton Shasivari (ed.) Balázs Hohmann (ed.) Expanding Edges of Today's Administrative Law, Adjuris, the 4th International Conference Contemporary Challenges in Administrative Law from an Interdisciplinary Perspective 21 May 2021, Bucharest</footnote>

<footnote n="4">⁴ Benjamin Garcia Holgado, Raúl Sánchez Urribarri, Court-packing and democratic decay: A necessary relationship?, Global Constitutionalism (2023), 1–28, doi:10.1017/S2045381723000011</footnote>

<footnote n="5">⁵Ibidem</footnote>

<footnote n="6">⁶ Kosar', David and Katarina Šipulová. 2020. 'How to Fight Court-Packing'. Constitutional Studies 6. Available at <https://constitutionalstudies.wisc.edu/index.php/cs/article/view/52>. Kosar', David and Katarina Šipulová. 2023 forthcoming. 'Comparative Court-packing' International Journal of Constitutional Law 21. Current version available at <https://justin.law.muni.cz/media/3432458/kosarsipulova_comparative-court-packing-2022.pdf>.</footnote>

<footnote n="7">⁷ Kosar', David and Katarina Šipulová. 2020. 'How to Fight Court-Packing'. Constitutional Studies op.cit</footnote>

<footnote n="8">⁸Venice Commission – CDL-AD(2004)043 Opinion on the Proposal to Amend the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova (introduction of the individual complaint to the constitutional court), paragraphs 18-19; https://www.venice.coe.int/webforms/documents/default.aspx?pdffile=CDL-AD(2004)043-e</footnote>
the appointment process so that the judges are seen as being more that the instrument of one or the other political force.

Considering the abundance of literature on this subject, we will refer to a related issue that also needs to be analyzed, namely the appointment of judges who are not distinguished by their professional competence. The requirement of “high professional competence” is usually regulated in Constitutions or laws as an appointment requirement of the judges, without being detailed, which makes it difficult to determine and evaluate in practice. This formula aims to ensure that the judges of the constitutional courts have a special, “higher” knowledge.<fnref n="9" /> As the Venice Commission emphasized<fnref n="10" />, “a lack of professional capacity can often be corrected through training, but it is a strong reason not to recruit a person” (par. 11) In other words, the judges of the constitutional courts are not appointed for such an office with the perspective of “training” and, as far as they are concerned, the constitutional courts are not a place of “professional training”. The constitutional judge must, through his/her special professional experience and qualities, be himself, *ab initio*, a “light” for the Court. In any case, the professional profile must take account of the activity that will be carried out during the term of office, as well as the fact that the judges will immediately start the activity, settling the cases referred to the Court. The technical and auxiliary personnel of the constitutional courts ensure and must ensure only the support of the judges’ activity.<fnref n="11" /> An incompetent court is a court that gradually discredits itself<fnref n="12" />, which means the erosion of a fundamental institution of democracy. However, even the will to evaluate the fulfilment of the requirement of high professional qualities is questionable, as long as it remains within the exclusive margin of appreciation of the authority that made the appointment, which cannot be challenged in this respect: “the Court cannot substitute the authority that made the appointment.”<fnref n="13" /> Of course, not the evaluation of a court of law would be the solution, but the establishment of a transparent and fair prior verification, involving both national and international competence in the field. In addition to the elements of the CV, the transparency and substantial nature of the hearings of the candidates would compete with the fulfilment of the goal of ensuring the selection of judges with high professional competence.

In connection with the appointment of judges, the procedures of the submission of candidacies can be also analyzed. We expressed our opinion regarding the need to ensure a broad selection base, in order to reduce the suspicion of appointing a certain person based on exclusively political criteria. In Romania, entrusting this stage to the exclusive discretion of the parliamentarians and the President<fnref n="14" /> (even if it can be supported with certain arguments), creates the premises for a subjective/discretionary restriction of the recruitment. Of course, widening the selection base through voluntary submission of applications cannot, *per se* and of itself, be a guarantee of fair/independent appointments. As was also revealed with regard, for example, to the Croatian

<footnote n="9">⁹ CDL-AD(2017)011 Opinion on the Draft Constitutional Law on the Constitutional Court of Armenia, paragraph 12-13.</footnote>

<footnote n="10">¹⁰ CDL-PI(2022)051 Venice Commission Compilation of the opinions and reports concerning vetting of judges and prosecutors, https://www.venice.coe.int/webforms/documents/?pdf=CDL-PI(2022)051-e</footnote>

<footnote n="11">¹¹ CDL-AD (2008)030 Opinion on the draft law on the Constitutional Court of Montenegro; CDL-STD (1995)015 Protection of fundamental rights by the Constitutional Court, Science and Technique of Democracy</footnote>

<footnote n="12">¹² About the importance of the reputation of a Court, see Tom Ginsburg, Nuno Garoupa – Building Reputation in Constitutional Courts: Political and Judicial Audiences, available here https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2441&context=journal.articles</footnote>

<footnote n="13">¹³ The Venice Commission CDL-AD (2017)001 Opinion on Questions Relating to the Appointment of Judges of the Constitutional Court of Slovak Republic, paragraphs 70).</footnote>

<footnote n="14">¹⁴ See Law no. 47/1992 on the organization and functioning of the Constitutional Court, republished in the Official Gazette no. 807 of 3 December 2010</footnote>
experience,<fnref n="15" /> the effect of this “public recruitment procedure” was that a large number of people repeatedly apply, on their own initiative, although according to parliamentary practice they have no chance of success. Therefore, it is necessary to resort to other guarantees, such as to ensure the transparent selection of candidates who meet the requirements of competence and professional integrity.

Likewise, decision on nominations – statutory majorities is an important factor in the equation of appointing an independent judge. The Venice Commission considers that Germany’s example<fnref n="16" />, where a two-third majority vote for electing the judges, is a positive one. The majority must reach a compromise with the opposition<fnref n="17" />, allowing the process of electing judges to be depoliticized, as it calls for the opposition to have an important role in the appointment process. <fnref n="18" /> Consequently, the general constitutional regulation in Romania, which requires that such a decision be adopted by a simple majority of votes, is criticizable. At a future revision of the Constitution, the issue of the majority with which Parliament’s decisions are adopted could be reanalyzed.

## 2. Dismissal and liability and of constitutional judges

Constitutional judges, in exercising their powers, are not the employees of the authorities that appointed them and cannot be dismissed by them. Nor can one imagine an independent judge when the “sword” of dismissal would hang over his/her head, forcing him/her to be loyal to the one who appointed him/her. The Constitutions and laws that regulate the status of constitutional judges establish in this regard that judges shall be irremovable, which constitutes a guarantee of their independence in carrying out their term of office. From the moment of taking the oath, judges are independent, irremovable and subject only to the Constitution.<fnref n="19" />

Interesting recent examples provide in this regard the experience of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Moldova (CCM), faced with regulations intended to lead to the dismissal of constitutional judges. In this regard, CCM held<fnref n="20" /> in 2014 (recitals later resumed in the more recent decision) that “the institution of the constitutional litigation court has the task to examine the activity of the Parliament. The submission of the Court judges to the need of ‘confidence of the Parliament is obviously contrary to the purpose itself of the constitutional court’. The Court noted that the liability of the Constitutional Court judged before the Parliament, whose activity they examine, is inadmissible. Such a possibility creates a risk of pressure from the Parliament in certain cases that may appear before the Court, and the liability before the Parliament may put an indirect pressure on a judge, in order for him/her to avoid making unpopular decisions or to make decisions that will be popular for the legislator, so that he/she would not “lose confidence” This “is likely to create

<footnote n="15">¹⁵ Snježana Bagic, Protection of the status of constitutional justices independence. The Croatian example, in Les Cours Constitutionnelles, garantie de la qualite democratique de la societes, including the papers presented at the Colloquium of 12 July 2018 held by the Constitutional Court of Andorra, Collection Grands Colloques, 2019, LGDJ, Lextenso</footnote>

<footnote n="16">¹⁶ CDL-AD(2004)043 Opinion on the Proposal to Amend the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova (introduction of the individual complaint to the constitutional court), paragraphs 18-19.</footnote>

<footnote n="17">¹⁷ CDL-AD(2013)028 Opinion on the draft amendments to three constitutional provisions relating to the Constitutional Court, the Supreme State Prosecutor and the Judicial Council of Montenegro, paragraphs 5-8</footnote>

<footnote n="18">¹⁸ CDL-AD (2017)001 Opinion on Questions Relating to the Appointment of Judges of the Constitutional Court of Slovak Republic, paragraphs 58-59.</footnote>

<footnote n="19">¹⁹ Opinion of the Venice Commission no. 870/2016 regarding the draft law on the Constitutional Court, adopted at its 109th plenary session, on 9-10 December 2016, CDLAD(2016)034, § 26</footnote>

<footnote n="20">²⁰ Resolution no. 18 of 2 June 2014 for the constitutional review of Law no. 109 of 3 May 2013 amending and supplementing certain legislative acts (the Law on the Constitutional Court and the Code of Constitutional Jurisdiction) (judges’ status, competences and procedure of the Constitutional Court) (Communication no. 34a/2014), taken from the Communication posted at https://www.constcourt.md/libview.php?l=ro&idc=7&id=551&t=/Media/Noutati/Revocarea-judecatorilor-CCM-de-catre-Parlament-este-neconstitutionala</footnote>
suspicion on the impartiality of the judges, who might be at the discretion of a political organ par excellence, whose activity is carried into politics; being created a danger of subordination to the foreign influences of the Court's purpose." The Court found that "the removal from office of the Constitutional Court judges by the Parliament is a legal nonsense, since it is not the Parliament that appoints all the judges of the Court. Even if the Court judges take the oath before the Parliament plenary, the President of the Republic and the Superior Council of Magistracy, it does not mean that Parliament intervenes as a deciding factor in their appointment, it just has the nature of a solemn ceremonial investiture procedure and of determining the date when the judges' tenure begins." As a result, the Court decided that "the removal from office of the Constitutional Court judges by the Parliament is an inadmissible interference in the activity of the Constitutional Court, in other words, a violation of the principle of its independence, and it is contrary to the principles of irremovability and independence of its judges [Articles 134 (2) and 137 of the Constitution]."<fnref n="21" /> The Court found that the interlocutory part of the Parliament Resolution No 73 of annulment by partial withdrawal of the Parliament Resolution No 121 of 16 August 2019 regarding the appointment of a Constitutional Court judge contains, in Article 1, the provision for revoking the tenure of a Constitutional Court judge. Taking account of the meanings of the word "withdrawal", the Court concluded that the Parliament Resolution on annulment by partial withdrawal of the Parliament Resolution No 121 of 16 August 2019 violates the constitutional provisions of Article 137, as it not only seeks to cancel the constitutional guarantee of the immovability of the tenure of a constitutional judge, but also attacks the very essence of the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova, reconfiguring the system of checks and balances.<fnref n="22" />

As for the liability of the constitutional judges, this is also a “hot” topic, as long as the fear of initiating disciplinary and/or criminal proceedings against the judges if they had taken the decisions they considered legal or grounded23 would undermine their independence. It is noteworthy the relatively recent amendment of the organic law of the Constitutional Court of Romania (CCR) in this regard, with the “lights” (stated in the reasoning of the CCR on the matter, but also the “shadows” (stated in the dissenting opinion). Thus, in 201824, Article 66 of Law No 47/1992 was amended, establishing that “(1) The Judges of the Constitutional Court cannot be detained, arrested, searched or indicted for criminal offenses unless the Constitutional Court has approved the same, at the request of the Prosecutor General of the Prosecutor’s Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice. (2) The approval as referred to in paragraph (1) shall be expressed based on the vote of two thirds of the number of Judges of the Constitutional Court, after hearing the Judge concerned.” The CCR found that “the legislator’s option to entrust the Plenum of the Court the power to approve the removal of the constitutional judge’s immunity not only does not violate the provisions of Article 1 (4) of the Constitution regarding the principle of separation and balance of State powers, but, on the contrary, it establishes the expression of this principle, the new legal situation being likely to ensure the proper functioning of the Constitutional Court, under conditions of full independence and impartiality.”(par.70)25 In the dissenting opinion signed by three judges of the Constitutional Court, it was concluded that “the capacity of Constitutional Court judge cannot, by itself, constitute an objective criterion of differentiation in the matter of the inviolability regime, nor in regard to the

<footnote n="21">²¹ Ibidem</footnote>

<footnote n="22">²² See also Decision for the constitutional review of Parliament Resolution no. 73 of 23 April 2021 regarding the annullement by partial withdrawal of Parliament Resolution no. 121 of 16 August 2019 and Parliament Resolution no. 74 of 23 April 2021 regarding the appointment of a judge at the constitutional court, https://www.constcourt.md/public/ccdoc/hotariri/h_13_2021_92a_2021_rou.pdf</footnote>

<footnote n="23">²³ See the Joint Cases C 558/18 și C-563/18, and for the comment as such A.Groza, Some of the lessons of the "reform" of the judiciary in Poland, in the Journal of the judges' forum, no. 1/30 June 2021</footnote>

<footnote n="24">²⁴ Law no. 168/2018, Official Gazette no. 595 of 12 July 2018</footnote>

<footnote n="25">²⁵ Decision No 136/2018, Official Gazette no. 383 of 4 May 2018</footnote>
procedure provided by law for approving the measures that are the subject-matter of Inviolability. However, in this situation, the option of the legislator regarding the inviolability of the constitutional judge represents an arbitrary approach, without any rational, objective and reasonable justification, and which gives rise to a privilege. (...) The inclusion of the Plenum of the Constitutional Court in the procedure for removing the immunity of a constitutional judge, including for the criminal acts committed by him/her and which are not related to the exercise of the tenure, violates not only the constitutional prerogatives of the authorities that appointed the constitutional judges, but implicitly also the principle of the separation of State powers and the purpose of the concept of immunity, an institution of constitutional rank, being practically diverted. On the other hand, this legislative solution is not substantiated from a constitutional point of view, representing the establishment of a sui-generis immunity, a particular, special, unique immunity of its kind, which has no constitutional enshrinement.”

### 3. Vetting procedures

The fight against corruption has brought to the fore in recent years the concept of the vetting of judges. According to the Venice Commission, “integrity checking and vetting procedures are not explicitly foreseen and regulated by any international instruments. They have however been dealt with, and commented upon, by soft law instruments and by case-law. Most comments relate to the classical lustration-type vetting, which seeks to remove from the public offices, individuals who had close ties to the previous non-democratic regimes and, as such, cannot be trusted to serve the new democratic regime or are found unworthy of representing such a regime.”<fnref n="26" /> The Venice Commission dealt with three categories of national measures: «(i) “prior assessment of candidates’ integrity for a specific office”; (ii) integrity checkings that shall be carried out on a regular basis (for example, the obligation to present an annual declaration of assets); (iii) complete integrity assessment procedures». With reference to these, the Commission considered that although “prior checking” of the candidates and the integrity checkings carried out by examining asset declarations are quite common and, in principle, uncontroversial, the extraordinary control can only be justified in exceptional circumstances”.<fnref n="27" />

However, the Commission stated that the assessment/checking process described in the projects couldn't in any case be tantamount to disciplinary procedures. “[E]valuation and disciplinary liability are (or should be) two very different matters.” Disciplinary liability requires the existence of a disciplinary offense. A negative performance that leads to an overall negative assessment result can be caused by factors other than disciplinary misconduct. Therefore, the proposal that negative overall assessment results should lead to the initiation of disciplinary proceedings raises concerns. At the same time, the Venice Commission upheld that an adequate system can be established in which errors or misconduct by judges – including those discovered during an assessment process – can be assessed and transferred to a disciplinary procedure.<fnref n="28" /> Therefore, such an assessment procedure should be pursued with great caution, especially when it occurs during the carrying out of the judge's tenure. According to the Commission, “to the extent that the re-evaluation is a general measure, applied equally to all judges, decided at the constitutional level, and accompanied by certain procedural safeguards and not related to any specific case a judge might have before him/her, the Venice Commission does not see how this measure may be interpreted as affecting the judge's independence to an extent incompatible with Article 6 [of the

<footnote n="26">²⁶ CDL-AD(2018)034 Albania – Opinion on draft constitutional amendments allowing vetting of politicians</footnote>

<footnote n="27">²⁷ CDL-PI(2022)051 Venice Commission Compilation of the Opionions and Reports concerning Vetting of judges and prosecutors, par. 15</footnote>

<footnote n="28">²⁸ CDL-AD(2022)024 Republic of Moldova – Joint opinion of the Venice Commission and the General Directorate for Human Rights and the Rule of Law (DGI) of the Council of Europe regarding the draft law on the Supreme Court of Justice</footnote>
European Convention on Human Rights]. This does not, however, exclude the possibility that the vetting procedure might on a particular occasion be abused in order to influence the judge's position in a particular case: if such allegations were proven, this might require the reopening of that particular case since the judge would not be an 'independent tribunal. "<fnref n="29" />

POWERS OF CONSTITUTIONAL COURTS

As a rule, the powers of constitutional courts are regulated in Constitutions, which is a strong guarantee of independence, as long as Constitutions are, by their nature, more difficult to amend. In this light, entrusting the possibility for the legislator to regulate at the infraconstitutional level the powers of the constitutional courts can be a way of affecting its independence.

In this regard, it should be noted that the CCR ruled in 2003 against the regulation in the Constitution regarding the possibility of acquiring other powers by organic law<fnref n="30" />. The Court held that "this proposal is to be eliminated in order to preserve the political neutrality of this public authority and to comply with the will of the original constituent power." The recommendation was resumed in 2011 (Decision No 799/2011) when the CCR noted that, based on the constitutional text that allows such a possibility, "the powers of the Constitutional Court can be multiplied whenever the interests of the political forces require the amendment or supplement of the Court's organization law. The Court considers that, by removing the constitutional provision (which allows the introduction of new powers by organic law), the independence of the constitutional court is guaranteed, and the will of the original constitutional power is preserved with regard to the limited powers of the Court stipulated only in the Constitution." As can be seen from reading the current constitutional text, the legislator did not comply with this recommendation of the Court, which allowed the introduction, over time, of two new powers of the CCR, one of which raising some issues in practice, namely the constitutional review of the Parliament's resolutions. Thus, after introducing by organic law the possibility of reviewing the Parliament's resolutions, the legislator "changed his mind", but the subsequent attempt to "withdraw" this last power was sanctioned by the CCR by finding it unconstitutional, being criticized in an opinion of the Venice Commission.<fnref n="31" /> Later, on the occasion of another initiative for the revision of the Constitution, in 2014, the CCR recommended the "constitutionalization" of the two powers already introduced by organic law (the constitutional review of the laws revising the Constitution and the constitutional review of the Parliament's resolutions), in the meaning of being taken over in the text of the Constitution itself, with the elimination, for the future, of the possibility of adding new powers by infra constitutional law.<fnref n="32" />

A similar problem (of reducing the powers of the constitutional courts) can also be created by a Constitution that is too "flexible", namely easily amended, by the simple coagulation of a political will that, at a given moment, may turn against the constitutional courts. An example can be the Constitution of Slovakia, compared by certain authors to a "shopping list". Thus, it was shown that "since that day on September 1, 1992, just four months before Czechoslovakia split into two countries, different parliaments and the Constitutional Court adopted 20 amendments to it – and politicians unsuccessfully tried to change it more than 150 times", as well as the fact that "the constitution is not a shopping list to which anyone can add anything just because they don't like

<footnote n="29">²⁹ CDL-AD(2015)045 Albania – Interim opinion on the draft constitutional amendment of the judicial system; see also CDL-AD(2016)036 Albania – Amicus Curiae Opinion for the Constitutional Court on the Law on the Transitional Reassessment of Judges and Prosecutors (Vetting Law)</footnote>

<footnote n="30">³⁰ Decision No 148/2003, published in the Official Gazette no. 317 of 12 May 2003</footnote>

<footnote n="31">³¹ https://www.venice.coe.int/webforms/documents/default.aspx?pdfile=CDL-AD(2012)026-e</footnote>

<footnote n="32">³² Decision No 80/2014, Official Gazette no. 246 of 7 April 2014</footnote>
something, for example, a ruling by the Constitutional Court".<fnref n="33" /> Likewise, such amendments aimed at restricting the powers of the Constitutional Court, such as the power to review the amendments to the Constitution. In a comment on this topic and the perspective it opens up it was noted that "similar proposals to strip courts of the power to review constitutional amendments, unfortunately, prevailed in Hungary, but courts in India, Belize and elsewhere successfully fended off the attack. The Slovak Constitutional Court can rely on domestic and supra-national support structures, such as the Venice Commission that seems to hold the opinion that at least procedural review of constitutional amendments is legitimate."<fnref n="34" /> Furthermore, this power is, in itself, controversial, with consistent pro and con arguments, equally relevant to the topic addressed here<fnref n="35" />.

ORGANIZATION AND FUNCTIONING OF CONSTITUTIONAL COURTS

In the specialized literature<fnref n="36" /> various ways in which the constitutional courts can be subject to
pressure, influences and even politically “captured” have been identified.

One such practice is, for example, that of **changing the number of constitutional judges**
("packing the court") to allow the increase in the percentage of those supported, at a given moment,
by certain political forces that want to impose their goals/ideology. The appointment of only certain
judges "faithful" to the political majority at a given time, by "overwhelming" the number of those
who are not "faithful" is another such practice, which leads to the isolation, eventually, in dissenting
opinions, of the minority, which it is not often represented/present in the solutions of the politically
"faithful" Court. As the doctrine emphasizes<fnref n="37" />, this risk is greater where the appointments of
constitutional judges can be made by a simple majority of the parliamentarians, and where the voice
of the opposition cannot, in fact, be expressed on the occasion of the appointment.

**The refusal to appoint new judges** upon the expiry of the term of office of the incumbents
may constitute a way of affecting the activity and implicitly the independence of the constitutional
courts. This may be the result of a political crisis, likely to create the conditions for a deadlock at the
level of the appointing authorities, meaning that the majority required for the appointment cannot be
obtained or the completion of the appointment procedures is refused, such as taking the oath, as
happened, for example, in Ukraine<fnref n="38" />.

Finally, an apparently benign topic, circulated from time to time also in the Romanian legal
space, that of **the taking over of the constitutional review by the courts of law** (High Court of

<footnote n="33">³³ Peter Dlhopolec, Slovakia's 'shopping list' constitution marks 30 years, https://spectator.sme.sk/c/22997752/slovakias-shopping-list-constitution-marks-30-years.html</footnote>

<footnote n="34">³⁴ Šimon Drugda: *On Collision Course with the Material Core of the Slovak Constitution: Disabling Judicial Review of Constitutional Amendment, VerfBlog*, 2020/12/03, https://verfassungsblog.de/on-collision-course-with-the-material-core-of-the-slovak-constitution/, DOI: 10.17176/20201203-220021-0.</footnote>

<footnote n="35">³⁵ With specific reference to Slovakia see Marek Domin: *A Part of the Constitution Is Unconstitutional, the Slovak Constitutional Court has Ruled, VerfBlog*, 2019/2/08, https://verfassungsblog.de/a-part-of-the-constitution-is-unconstitutional-the-slovak-constitutional-court-has-ruled/, DOI: 10.17176/20190211-212614-0.; for a general approach see R.Albert, Constitutional Amendments, Making, Breaking and Changing Constitutions, Oxford, University Press 2019</footnote>

<footnote n="36">³⁶ See the Colloquium organized by the Constitutional Court of Andorra – Constitutional Courts: en endangered species?
Schnutz Rudolf Durr, în Rousseau, Dominique, ed., Les Cours constitutionnelles, garantie de la qualité démocratique des
sociétés?, LGDJ, Lextenso, Issy-les-Moulineaux (2019), pp. 111-136; see also Roznai, Yaniv, Who will Save the
Redheads? Towards an Anti-Bully Theory of Judicial Review and Protection of Democracy (November 16, 2019). William
& Mary Bill of Rights Journal, Vol. 29, 2020, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3488474 or http://dx.
doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3488474,</footnote>

<footnote n="37">³⁷ Schnutz Rudolf Durr, cited work</footnote>

<footnote n="38">³⁸ Opinion on possible constitutional and legislative improvements to ensure the uninterrupted functioning of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, CDL-AD(2006)016, https://www.venice.coe.int/webforms/documents/default.aspx?pdfile=CDL-AD(2006)016-e</footnote>
Cassation and Justice) and the consequent abolition of the constitutional court, also represents a form of pressure and impairment of the independence of the constitutional court<fnref n="39" />. Although harmless at first glance, since in its favor it is argued with the argument of “professionalization” of the constitutional judge, such a change can lead to the drastic restriction of constitutional review and raises questions regarding the approach of this specialized review by a court that applies the law in civil and criminal cases, difficult role to reconcile with that of “judge” of the law in relation to the Constitution. During the debates on this topic, examples of actions by representatives of the Venice Commission were given to stop the transformation/merger of the constitutional court with the Supreme Court (the cases of Georgia or those of the State of Kyrgyzstan)<fnref n="40" />

Changing the procedures, for example by introducing short terms for settlement, can be, under the appearance of good intentions, ways to pressure and affect the activity/role of the constitutional courts. According to the CCM<fnref n="41" />, for example, “the effectiveness of the Court’s action, carried out in accordance with the competence established by Article 135 of the Constitution, as in the case of any litigation or trial, is inextricably linked to the observance of reasonable terms. Otherwise, the constitutional jurisdiction would risk becoming illusory. The reasonableness of the terms is determined according to several factors: the complexity of the case, the behavior of the court, the behavior of the parties, the behavior of other authorities involved.” The Court held that the rules concerned “risk short-circuiting the activity of the Constitutional Court, especially in the context in which the Parliament did not provide the necessary resources to support the activity of the Constitutional Court in this regard and their imposition took place without consulting the Court or the society or relevant national and international institutions.” Summing up, the Court ruled, as a matter of principle, that “the regulation of the examination terms and the procedures of the Constitutional Court by laws issued by the Parliament violates the principle of the independence of the Court. In the practice of other States, normality consists in the regulatory autonomy of the Court, which has the right to approve its own rules of procedure. (...) the establishment of excessively limited terms a fortiori impairs the Court’s independence and risks compromising the complete examination of the cases and, respectively, emptying the Court’s role as guarantor of the Constitution.”

The non-publication or non-enforcement of the decisions of the constitutional courts is also a form of impairing the role and status of the constitutional courts, turning them into ignored and useless institutions, whose voice does not actually matter. This non-enforcement can materialize in “indifference” or vehement criticism of the legislator or the executive, which does not comply with the “unwanted” decisions, or in the refusal of the courts to enforce these decisions. Such a situation of non-publication of decisions was created in Poland, and, on the occasion of the opinion expressed then, the Venice Commission stated, *inter alia*, that “under the rule of law and in particular the principle of the independence of the judiciary, the validity and force of judgments cannot depend on a decision of the executive or the legislature. In particular, refusal to publish the judgments of a Constitutional Tribunal without sanction constitutes a fundamental challenge to the court’s authority and independence as the final arbiter on constitutional issues.”<fnref n="42" />; “to ignore a decision of the Constitutional Court means to ignore the Constitution and the constituent power, which assigned the Constitutional Court the power to ensure the supremacy of the Constitution. Parliament and the

<footnote n="39">³⁹ Schnutz Rudolf Durr, ibidem</footnote>

<footnote n="40">⁴⁰ Ibidem</footnote>

<footnote n="41">⁴¹ Resolution no. 18 of 2 June 2014 for the constitutional review of Law no. 109 of 3 May 2013 amending and supplementing certain legislative acts (the Law on the Constitutional Court and the Code of Constitutional Jurisdiction) (judges’ status, competences and procedure of the Constitutional Court) (Communication no. 34a/2014), https://www.constcourt.md/libview.php?l=ro&idc=7&id=551&t=/Media/Noutati/Revocarea-judecatorilor-CCM-de-catre-Parlament-este-neconstitutionala</footnote>

<footnote n="42">⁴² Poland, Opinion on the act on the Constitutional Tribunal, CDL-AD(2016)026, https://www.venice.coe.int/webforms/documents/default.aspx?pdffile=CDL-AD(2016)026-e</footnote>
executive must comply with the role of the Constitutional Court as the guardian of the Constitution, even if they are not satisfied with a decision or believe that the Court made a mistake”.<fnref n="43" />

**Reducing the budget of the constitutional court** can also be a way of “holding on to respect” the constitutional judges, by allocating inappropriate resources for carrying out the activity. Under the guise of “budgetary difficulties”, the authorities that have the “bread and the knife” in budgetary matters, eminently political, can significantly “adjust” the budget allocated to the constitutional court, with consequences on the entire activity it carries out. Considering the importance of this side of the independence of the constitutional courts, the issue of their financing has been the topic of debates at the meetings of the constitutional courts, including the Conference of European Constitutional Courts that took place in 2011 in Romania.<fnref n="44" />

## CONCLUSIONS

The topic addressed is highly complex, susceptible to development on all the coordinates emphasized here, as well as the identification of additional coordinates. However, some conclusions are self-evident: “since courts have the capacity to interpret the constitutionality of executive and legislative actions, politicians often try to neutralize and/or co-opt the judiciary using different court-curbing strategies<fnref n="45" />“, meaning “formal or informal actions that aim to make it harder for the judiciary to limit the executive and legislative branches”. Consequently, the judges of the Constitutional Court and the courts themselves need strong guarantees for their independence.<fnref n="46" /> Certain forms of direct “aggression”, due to their “visible” nature, result in the immediate reaction of other Courts, of international bodies, the activation of control and protection instruments that have been consolidated over time. Other forms, less visible, that establish insidiously, can “deceive” so that the detection of the threat is late or more difficult to address.

It is also clear that no infallible appointment procedures can be identified, not even with regard to international or supranational courts where “filters” have been established in order to verify the competence of candidates. Thus, it was noticed<fnref n="47" /> with reference to the CJEU that “it is true that the treaties require that judges be chosen among persons whose independence is beyond doubt, and the appointment procedure includes the consultation of a special committee, in order to ensure the qualities of the candidates to exercise the offices of a judge to the relevant EU court. However, the very fact that judges can be appointed again could be considered to jeopardize their independence; it could be argued that judges would be more likely to be re-appointed (or at least proposed for re-appointment) if the judgments in which they participated were favorable to the interests of the Member States and even, more precisely, to the interests of the Member State of origin, which traditionally has prerogatives to propose.” Likewise, we can add the fact that the selection of candidates, namely the proposals that will reach the special committee, is done at the national level, following more or less transparent procedures, which supports the cited criticism. However, the limitation of mandates in the case of international/supranational courts is, in our opinion, desirable, being supported with exactly the same arguments that support the impossibility of renewing the mandates of constitutional judges at the national level.

<footnote n="43">⁴³ https://www.venice.coe.int/webforms/events/?id=3137</footnote>

<footnote n="44">⁴⁴ Constitutional Justice. Functions and relationships with other public authorities, https://www.ccr.ro/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/raportgeneralro.pdf</footnote>

<footnote n="45">⁴⁵ Benjamin Garcia Holgado, Raúl Sánchez Urribarr, op.cit.</footnote>

<footnote n="46">⁴⁶ see Opinion amicus curiae of the Venice Commission no. 967/2019 on the criminal liability of Constitutional Court judges, adopted at its 121st plenary session, on 6-7 December 2019, CDL-AD(2019)028, § 28) [Constitutional Court Ruling no. 9 of 26 March 2020, § 31</footnote>

<footnote n="47">⁴⁷Josef. Azizi, Bringing to light the internal decision-making process by the EU courts: a justification for dissenting opinions?, in the Romanian Journal of European (Community) Law, no. 2/30 April 2012</footnote>
As concluded at the World Congress in Bali, there is a need for mutual respect between the constitutional courts and other State powers, including the prompt execution of the decisions of the constitutional courts; openness, accessibility and transparency in communication are needed, without losing sight of the need for reserve, to enhance confidence in the constitutional courts and strengthen their status as independent institutions. It is important that constitutional courts can rely on the solidarity of their counterparts, expressed through regional groups and the World Conference, including statements of support when under pressure. The 5th Congress appealed to the judges of the Member Courts of the World Conference to resist the pressure of other State powers and issue their decisions only on the basis of the Constitution. In view of those analyzed here, we consider that the proposal of the President of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Indonesia to establish a *Constitutional Supremacy Index* (CSI) in order to measure the progress and evolution in complying with the Constitution in each country, in accordance with the principles of constitutionalism<fnref n="48" />, is of great interest, so that to have “a universal benchmark or parameter for respect and implementation of the Constitution”<fnref n="49" />. Our proposal would be that the main criterion/section of this specific Evaluation Mechanism should concern the independence of the constitutional courts, without which any other criteria or conclusion appear to be illusory.

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* Benjamin Garcia Holgado, Raúl Sánchez Urribarri, Court-packing and democratic decay: A necessary relationship?, Global Constitutionalism (2023), 1–28, doi:10.1017/S2045381723000011

* CDL-AD (2008)030 Opinion on the draft law on the Constitutional Court of Montenegro; CDL-STD (1995)015 Protection of fundamental rights by the Constitutional Court, Science and Technique of Democracy

* CDL-AD (2017)001 Opinion on Questions Relating to the Appointment of Judges of the Constitutional Court of Slovak Republic, paragraphs 58-59.

* CDL-AD(2004)043 Opinion on the Proposal to Amend the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova (introduction of the individual complaint to the constitutional court), paragraphs 18-19.

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* CDL-AD(2013)028 Opinion on the draft amendments to three constitutional provisions relating to the Constitutional Court, the Supreme State Prosecutor and the Judicial Council of Montenegro, paragraphs 5-8

* CDL-AD(2015)045 Albania – Interim opinion on the draft constitutional amendment of the judicial system; see also CDL-AD(2016)036 Albania – Amicus Curiae Opinion for the Constitutional Court on the Law on the Transitional Reassessment of Judges and Prosecutors (Vetting Law)

* CDL-AD(2016)026, https://www.venice.coe.int/webforms/documents/default.aspx?pdffile=CDL-AD(2016)026-e

* CDL-AD(2017)011 Opinion on the Draft Constitutional Law on the Constitutional Court of Armenia, paragraph 12-13.

* CDL-AD(2018)034 Albania – Opinion on draft constitutional amendments allowing vetting of politicians

<footnote n="48">⁴⁸Josef. Azizi, Bringing to light the internal decision-making process by the EU courts: a justification for dissenting opinions?, in the Romanian Journal of European (Community) Law, no. 2/30 April 2012
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<footnote n="49">⁴⁹Thoroughly, M. Safta, Constitutional reports (October – December 2022). Indexul supremației constitutionale (The Constitutional Supremacy Index: CSI), https://www.juridice.ro/essentials/6324/actualitati-constitutionale-octombrie-decembrie-2022-indexul-suprematiei-constitutionale-the-constitutional-supremacy-index-csi</footnote>
CDL-AD(2022)024 Republic of Moldova – Joint opinion of the Venice Commission and the General Directorate for Human Rights and the Rule of Law (DGI) of the Council of Europe regarding the draft law on the Supreme Court of Justice

CDL-PI(2022)051 Venice Commission Compilation of the Opinions and Reports concerning Vetting of judges and prosecutors, par. 15

CDL-PI(2022)051 Venice Commission Compilation of the opinions and reports concerning vetting of judges and prosecutors, https://www.venice.coe.int/webforms/documents/?pdf=CDL-PI(2022)051-e
comparative-court-packing-2022.pdf>

Congress page - https://wccj5.mkri.id/

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Decision for the constitutional review of Parliament Resolution no. 73 of 23 April 2021 regarding the annullement by partial withdrawal of Parliament Resolution no. 121 of 16 August 2019 and Parliament Resolution no. 74 of 23 April 2021 regarding the appointment of a judge at the constitutional court, https://www.constcourt.md/public/ccdoc/hotariri/h_13_2021_92a_2021_rou.pdf

Decision No 136/2018, Official Gazette no. 383 of 4 May 2018

Decision No 148/2003, published in the Official Gazette no. 317 of 12 May 2003

Decision No 80/2014, Official Gazette no. 246 of 7 April 2014

https://usoudcz-my.sharepoint.com/:f:/g/personal/david_krev_usoud_cz/EuIYvnC4eEdMlQ8skqXGgRsB8TC2AOzTPy9yzYOGdQzjZg?e=UR7EKc; The General Report in English and French is available here.; https://www.cecc2017-2020.org/congress/xviiith-congress/

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Kosar', David and Katarína Šipulová. 2020. 'How to Fight Court-Packing'. Constitutional Studies 6. Available

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Marek Domin: *A Part of the Constitution Is Unconstitutional, the Slovak Constitutional Court has Ruled*, VerfBlog, 2019/2/08, https://verfassungsblog.de/a-part-of-the-constitution-is-unconstitutional-the-slovak-constitutional-court-has-ruled/, DOI: 10.17176/20190211-212614-0.; for a general approach see R.Albert, Constitutional Amendments, Making, Breaking and Changing Constitutions, Oxford, University Press 2019

Marieta Safta – Appointment of constitutional judges. A comparative law perspective, in Jeton Shasivari (ed.) Balázs Hohmann (ed.) Expanding Edges of Today’s Administrative Law, Adjuris, the 4 th International Conference Contemporary Challenges in Administrative Law from an Interdisciplinary Perspective 21 May 2021, Bucharest

of Constitutional Law 21. Current version available at <https://justin.law.muni.cz/media/3432458/kosarsipulova_>

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Resolution no. 18 of 2 June 2014 for the constitutional review of Law no. 109 of 3 May 2013 amending and supplementing certain legislative acts (the Law on the Constitutional Court and the Code of Constitutional Jurisdiction) (judges' status, competences and procedure of the Constitutional Court) (Communication no. 34a/2014), https://www.constcourt.md/libview.php?l=ro&id=7&id=551&t=/Media/Noutati/Revocarea-judecatorilor-CCM-de-catre-Parlament-este-neconstitutionala

Rousseau, Dominique, ed., Les Cours constitutionnelles, garantie de la qualité démocratique des sociétés?, LGDJ, Lextenso, Issy-les-Moulineaux (2019), pp. 111-136; see also Roznai, Yaniv, Who will Save the Redheads? Towards an Anti-Bully Theory of Judicial Review and Protection of Democracy (November 16, 2019). William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal, Vol. 29, 2020, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3488474 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3488474,

Šimon Drugda: *On Collision Course with the Material Core of the Slovak Constitution: Disabling Judicial Review of Constitutional Amendment*, VerfBlog, 2020/12/03, https://verfassungsblog.de/on-collision-course-with-the-material-core-of-the-slovak-constitution/, DOI: 10.17176/20201203-220021-0.

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The Venice Commission CDL-AD (2017)001 Opinion on Questions Relating to the Appointment of Judges of the Constitutional Court of Slovak Republic, paragraphs 70).

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# Le notariat traditionnel face à la blockchain

IRINA-CRISTINA APOSTOLESCU

NOTAIRE PUBLIC, UNION NATIONALE DES NOTAIRES PUBLICS DE ROUMANIE

La synthèse proposée concerne des textes appartenant à la littérature juridique scientifique et d'actualité. La recherche scientifique couvre les années 2015 – 2020 alors que l'actualité est représentée par des articles et média visuels des années 2019 et 2020. Tous les documents recensés ont été consultés en format électronique. Le thème de la recherche porte sur l'avènement de la blockchain dans la profession notariale et la problématique se posant consiste à percevoir comment devrait se positionner le notariat roumain par rapport à la blockchain, une technologie déjà adoptée globalement dans plusieurs secteurs économiques, y compris dans plusieurs juridictions nationales de droit romano-germanique. Les auteurs des textes sont majoritairement connectés au monde académique, s'intéressent à l'application des nouvelles technologies dans le domaine juridique, des avocats, des notaires, des médecins, mais aussi des journalistes. La lecture de la majorité des documents écrits, et sur lesquels se fonde cette recherche, a été faite dans leurs langues d'origine respectives, à savoir le français pour les textes de provenance notariale ou traitant des sujets liés aux compétences du notaire latin, et l'anglais pour les textes d'analyse économique ou portant sur les *smarts contracts* et les *notaries public* du monde anglo-saxon.

Ceci est un effort personnel d'alphabétisation et de compréhension de ce que la blockchain pourrait amener au notariat roumain, sur les outils dont on devrait se munir pour en préparer et accompagner la transposition dans la pratique, si faisable. Considérant le fait que la blockchain accompagne les notariats du monde depuis très peu, et qu'elle ne pousse pas sur un terrain aride mais fertile en solutions techniques d'avant-garde (l'acte authentique électronique en France, l'acte notarié technologique à Québec, les plateformes d'accompagnement des clients leur offrant une information permanente et accessible sur les actes qu'ils pourraient choisir de parfaire d'eux-même, les prises de rendez-vous en ligne, etc.), la mission du notaire roumain est de s'informer, saisir les métamorphoses subies/exigées par sa clientèle et, dans la mesure du possible, garder la position de premier choix aux yeux de son public actuel.

Dans la première section je présenterai la stratégie de recherche de la littérature scientifique et d'actualité que j'ai parcourues grâce à la formation Nanoprogramme *La chaîne de blocs: impacts et enjeux pour votre organisation* de l'Université Laval, Canada. La deuxième partie représente la synthèse de la recherche, montrant la motivation des promoteurs blockchain de pénétrer le marché notarial, mais aussi la capacité de quelques notariats de droit latin à soulever le défi technologique. La troisième section est dédiée à une analyse pragmatique des domaines où l'on pourrait, un jour, intégrer la technologie de la chaîne de blocs, ainsi que les outils et les mentalités à développer ou à modeler en vue d'une approche efficace et durable de l'avancée de la profession. La conclusion concentre le message développé dans les sections antérieures, tout en admettant les limitations de la recherche.

## 1. STRATEGIE DE RECHERCHE: MOTS CLES ET SOURCES CONSULTEES

### 1.1. Recherche scientifique

Les bases de données Dalloz, Lamyline, Doctrinal Plus, Factiva, l'outil recherche Sofia de la bibliothèque de l'Université Laval et Google Scholar ont été interrogés sur la période 2015 – 2020 avec les mots clés des deux versions linguistiques française et anglaise: « blockchain », « chaîne de blocs », successivement juxtaposées à « notaire », « notariat » ou « notary », ce qui a produit des
constructions/parataxes telles: « blockchain + notariat », « blockchain + notary », « chaîne de blocs + notaire », « blockchain notariale»; « blockchain + legal procedure »; « notaire ET nouvelles technologies ET blockchain »; « notaire ET smart contract ».

La raison derrière cette syntaxe plutôt simpliste était la conviction, naïve à l'époque, que cette technologie pointue n'avait pas encore trouvé de place dans le domaine notarial. L'outil à portée de main n'aurait pu en être autre qu'un oxymore (*blockchain notariale*), car je craignais (nourrissait l'espoir?) de vite me retrouver sur un champ vide. Les retours m'ont, en revanche, appris deux leçons à valeur tactique:

a. La vitesse fulminante est de l'essence de cette technologie. Où que l'on se retrouve sur l'échelle de l'évolution technologique et peu importe le penchant traditionnaliste ou progressiste, individus et profession doivent réagir vite, dans le sens d'y prêter attention et de s'informer avant de prendre toute décision engageant leur avenir.

b. La deuxième découverte, aussi révélatrice que la première et qui prédit un bon équilibre entre l'humain et le virtuel, est exactement la preuve qu'il faut préserver cet équilibre et reconnaître à chaque acteur sa juste valeur. Les notariats ayant adopté la technologie ont su mettre en évidence le rôle traditionnellement essentiel du notaire, celui de conseil.

**1.2. Recherche d'actualité**

Une veille a été mise en place sur Google Alert à partir des mots clé « blockchain and lawyers », « notary blockchain » et les articles retournés ont été retenus comme des références d'actualité. Le site d'informations financière et d'affaires Factiva a reçu des interrogations couvrant la période 2019-2020. Les combinaisons de mots clé « blockchain + notaire » et « blockchain + legal » ont retourné des instantanés de cas d'usage en préparation ou déjà lances, tous revêtus de clarté et de concision, ce qui indique que ces dernières années représentent le moment des premières décisions éclairées.

## 2. SYNTHESE DE LA RECHERCHE (ASSAISONNEE D'UN GRAIN DE SEL CRITIQUE)

La recherche a révélé la motivation que la blockchain retrouve dans un domaine-cible tel que le notariat (2.1.) ainsi que la réaction de la cible face à ce frappement inattendu à sa porte (2.2.).

**2.1. Une technologie motivée ...**

a. La sensation trainant à l'esprit après lecture est que le notariat du monde, une profession ancienne et heureuse dans son millénaire établissement la revendiquant plutôt des juges que de toute autre profession juridique<fnref n="1" />, soit incompatible avec la chaîne de blocs, en tout cas dans sa forme publique.

Tous les documents recensés abondent en définitions captatrices de ce que c'est que la blockchain et tous les auteurs s'accordent à dire que c'est une innovation perturbatrice de la manière traditionnelle de faire, dans tout domaine qui porte de la valeur économique: la blockchain est un échafaudage d'infrastructure (une double cryptographie issue d'une clé prive = labélisation algorithmique de la valeur à y transiger, et d'une clé publique = l'équivalent d'une adresse courriel ou de l'IBAN du participant à la transaction; des nœuds puissants/mineurs capables à résoudre les plus complexes problèmes mathématiques autour de l'admission d'une nouvelle valeur dans le bloc d'informations soumises à validation, les propriétaires ou possesseurs des nœuds, mais qui sont aussi économiquement capables d'investir dans des puissances de calcul considérables; une gouvernance fondée sur le consensus de 51% de la puissance de calcul des nœuds, généralement parlant). Et surtout une quantité énorme de questions et d'inconnues, comme par exemple qu'en est-il du parfait équilibre de la chaîne lorsqu'une personne, protégée par le pseudonymat et l'anonymat

<footnote n="1">¹ Frison-Roche, Marie-Anne. « Analyse des blockchains au regard des usages qu'elles peuvent remplir et des fonctions que les officiers ministériels doivent assurer » (2019) 25 Defrénois 23.</footnote>
caractéristiques, positionne ses capacités de contrôle derrière les 51% des mineurs? La blockchain offre un registre de valeurs/actifs/documents abrité par un réseau décentralisé et immuable une fois le bloc dont ces valeurs font partie est approuvé par consensus.

Ses promesses de sécurité, d'intégrité et de traçabilité s'agrémentent aussi de l'offre des smart contracts, des logiciels intégrés dans l'architecture de la chaîne de blocs au but d'automatiser l'exécution de certaines *commodities*, considérées par les promoteurs de la blockchain comme créatrices d'inefficiences pour le professionnel du droit. La blockchain promet et promeut aussi la désintermédiation des opérations qu'elle abrite (les participants n'ont plus besoin de tiers de confiance pour passer leur contrat de bail, par exemple).

De l'autre côté, le notariat est un monopole d'état octroyé à un juriste hautement qualifié pour être capable d'exercer en toute autonomie sa triple fonction régalienne de vérificateur, auteur et conservateur de l'acte authentique<fnref n="2" />. Ces deux auteurs s'accordent à voir l'avenir du notariat français sous l'angle de l'innovation autant technologique qu'humaine, dont l'un constamment approbateur d'un notariat renouvelé (Mekki) et l'autre plus directe dans son appel à la lucidité et à l'action subtile, surtout par d'autres moyens que les outils technologiques (Tissot). Car le monopole de l'État et, par conséquent, la délégation de pouvoir/décentralisation dont jouissent actuellement les notaires partout dans le monde de droit civil, peuvent disparaître le moment où le même État change de paradigme dans la valorisation du lien propriété – propriétaire et surtout de comment faire pour le défendre: ex ante, c'est à dire plus couteux mais fait à l'amiable, ou ex post, ce qui est moins cher au début, l'atténuation des risques pouvant se régler devant le juge (M.-A. Frison-Roche 2019).

b. Cet antagonisme est pourtant superficiel, car il y a des similarités essentielles entre les deux offres, technologique et notariale: (1) sécurité dans la force probante et le caractère exécutoire de l'acte authentique, mais aussi dans le hachage de l'empreinte numérique d'un acte authentique block-chaîné, une fois reçu par le notaire; (2) intégrité et traçabilité accrues d'un acte authentique dont empreinte numérique logée dans une blockchain privée interinstitutionnelle, par rapport à celui qui n'est déposé qu'aux archives du notaire et au minutier central de la profession; (3) le même client-cible, à savoir le détenteur de valeurs patrimoniales. Ce n'est peut-être que voir les grosses touches d'un tableau plus complexe de ce qu'on pourrait évoquer dans cette synthèse. Pourtant, la substituabilité de certaines fonctions que remplit le notaire peut être parfaitement concevable et pleinement valorisée par les promoteurs de la blockchain.

Mais la motivation la plus poignante est donnée par ces mêmes promoteurs, friands de « rapide, sécuritaire et bon marché », qui sont d'ailleurs les futurs clients du notaire: les *millenials* ou les *digital natives*. En fonction desquels il a l'intérêt de repenser sa propre offre, s'il ne veut pas que leur produit ait complètement raison du sien... selon le principe « celui qui a créé une monnaie peut certifier un document, car plus simple »<fnref n="3" />. En plus, il n'est pas anodin de regarder aux chiffres qui, si l'on croyait à ces jeunes pousses concurrentes, représentent des revenus moyens de notaire importants et surtout pas prêts à concurrencer les avancées technologiques<fnref n="4" />.

Ce qui est facile à observer c'est le tournant posé par l'année 2015 dans la psychologie collective, sur la capacité de la blockchain de concurrencer le notaire dans ses fonctions régaliennes.

<footnote n="2">² Mekki, Mustapha. « Congrès MJN 2017-2018: rapport de synthèse » (2017) 47 JCP Notariale & Immobilière 1313; Mekki, Mustapha. « L'intelligence artificielle et le notariat » (2019) 1 JCP Notariale & Immobilière 1001; Tissot, Nicolas. « Profession notaire: de nouveaux enjeux » (2018) 3 Enjeux numériques 63: http://www.annales.org/enjeux-numeriques/2018/en-03-09-18.pdf</footnote>

<footnote n="3">³ #TECHNOT2019 | Retour sur la 3e édition du Forum Technologies et Notariat – YouTube; Chassaing, Pascal. « 3 questions à: Pascal Chassaing 1er Forum Technologies et Notariat: découvrir, connaître, échanger » (2017) n°26 JCP Notariale & Immobilière; Can blockchain technology send notaries on vacation... For good? | by Stampery Inc. | Medium 4 mai 2015</footnote>

<footnote n="4">⁴ Livre blanc Sigma Gestion, 2018 (https://www.sigmagestion.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Llivre-blanc-de-Sigma-Gestion-D%C3%A9finition-et-incidences-de-la-blockchain-sur-la-soci%C3%A9t%C3%A9-let-le-secteur-financier.pdf</footnote>
Le fait que la blockchain s'est vue dédiée une édition entière dans The Economist, ce magazine fétiche du monde des affaires, est tout simplement créateur de réputation<fnref n="5" />. Se faire présenter comme solution salutaire quelques mois après une chronique négative sur les notaires européens, parue dans le même magazine, est porteur d'une certaine signification<fnref n="6" />.

Le notariat a donc de quoi être motivé pour adopter la blockchain lui-même et avant que d'autres joueurs ne s'immiscent dans son territoire authentique<fnref n="7" />.

## 2.2. ... motivant le notariat

La recherche que j'ai menée dans le cadre du premier bloc du nanoprogramme a produit certaines évidences sous l'angle de la capacité des notariats à soulever le défi:

**a. Premièrement, l'intégration de la blockchain par certains notariats du monde est toute récente (2020) mais elle s'installe dans un contexte riche d'innovations, tant juridiques que technologiques.** La grande majorité des textes porte sur l'évolution technologique du notariat français, de l'année d'adoption de la signature électronique par une loi modifiant le Code civil (2000) jusqu'au lancement de la première blockchain notariale française (2020). Dans d'autres pays du notariat latin, la palette technologique compose une ébauche prometteuse du point de vue technologique: l'acte technologique dématérialisé et fait à distance à partir du 27 mars 2020 à Québec; la carte d'identité électronique peut être utilisée pour signer une procuration à distance, accompagné de son notaire en vidéo-conférence, en Belgique, et les exemples s'ensuivent avec l'Estonie – le premier juge-robot mis en place en 2019 pour les requêtes de moins de 7000 Euro<fnref n="8" />, et l'Ukraine avec la première vente immobilière par blockchain au monde, en septembre 2017 (mais sans s'être passé de la présence du notaire, de la libération des paiements jusqu'à la validation finale de l'acte). En Chine, le 4 décembre 2020, l'office de notaire de l'Arrondissement Xuhui de Shanghai a organisé une journée portes ouvertes pour tout membre du public désirant apprendre sur l'arrivée de la blockchain dans leur notariat de proximité, capable dorénavant de leur offrir des procédures notariales à distance et sans papier<fnref n="9" />.

En France, la blockchain n'est que le sommet de tout un écosystème innovateur rapprochant les deux mondes, celui professionnel et celui technologique. La modification du Code civil en 2000 a permis la signature électronique de l'acte authentique et l'avènement de l'acte dématérialisé<fnref n="10" />. Les articles recensés abondent en exemples d'initiatives collectives, dans le cadre de la profession, ou par des notaires agissant seuls, ayant comme but le mariage indissociable entre plusieurs technologies et le notariat. Les types de technologies adoptées varient des innovations entrepreneuriales (les *legaltech*, des partenaires proposant des solutions aux notaires) aux innovations dans le premier contact avec les clients (la prise de rendez-vous en ligne). Par exemple, la jeune pousse Quai des notaires, créée par un notaire en 2018 pour répondre aux critiques des clients qui considèrent l'acte notarial comme une formalité chronophage, propose des fonctionnalités rapprochant clients et notaires et réduisant le temps de traitement du dossier: « la génération automatique d'avant-contrats; la visio-signature certifiée pour un acte sous seing privé; un coffre-fort numérique ayant une volée blockchain »<fnref n="11" />. Il ne faut pas oublier les deux premières françaises

<footnote n="5">⁵ *The great chain of being sure about things*, The Economist, 31.10.2015</footnote>

<footnote n="6">⁶ *The Princes of Paperwork*, The Economist, 19.03.2015 (Notaries – The princes of paperwork | Finance & economics | The Economist (cam.ac.uk))</footnote>

<footnote n="7">⁷ Humbert, Jean-François. « "Il faut oser", Entretien avec Jean-François Humbert » (2018) 45 JCP Notariale et Immobilière 860</footnote>

<footnote n="8">⁸ 26.03.2019 Estonia is creating an AI-powered JUDGE | Daily Mail Online</footnote>

<footnote n="9">⁹ 04.12.2020, Blockchain News (blockchain-powered notary services in China) (https://cryptonews.com/news/binance-expects-up-to-usd-1b-in-profits-this-year-more-news-8524.htm)</footnote>

<footnote n="10">¹⁰ Tissot, Nicolas. « Profession notaire: de nouveaux enjeux » (2018) 3 Enjeux numériques 63: http://www.annales.org/enjeux-numeriques/2018/en-03-09-18.pdf</footnote>

<footnote n="11">¹¹ Vayr, Jonathan. « La blockchain à portée du notariat » (2019) Les Petites Affiches 6</footnote>
en matière de vente immobilière: un hôtel particulier de l'ouest parisien a été complètement « tokénisé » et ensuite transactionné sur la blockchain Ethereum le 25 juin 2019¹²; des fichiers-maquettes d'un projet immobilier sont annexés à l'acte de vente en l'état futur d'achèvement puis échangées en format « natif » grâce à la blockchain mise à disposition par une legaltech partenaire du promoteur immobilier. La fiabilité de la blockchain reçoit ainsi un coup de pouce de la part du notaire instrumentant l'acte, car celui-ci n'a pas utilisé les data rooms professionnelles, mais il a préféré la blockchain de ses clients<fnref n="13" />.

Il est important de noter que le notariat français semble avoir suivi ses propres conseils, à savoir s'approprier les outils nécessaires pour conserver l'acte authentique, mais aussi se munir de technologies tout en pensant aux clients et non seulement aux notaires (N. Tissot, 2018). L'abstention déontologique de faire de actes inutiles pour les clients s'agrémente de la volonté des notaires de laisser certains actes entre les mains de ceux-ci, prêts à les conclure sous signature privée: Bailmyself, un service en ligne des notaires de France (J.-Fr. Humbert, 2018).

Enfin, la blockchain notariale française a été créée par les Chambres de Notaires du Grand Paris et lancée le 7 juillet 2020¹⁴. L'annonce de son lancement laisse comprendre une complémentarité entre cette technologie et le reste des outils dont la profession s'est munie ces dernières années. Pourtant, ce produit *tout notaire* n'était applicable (au moment de la recherche, à savoir décembre 2020), que parmi les notaires de l'Île de France, la région la plus peuplée et la plus riche du pays. Douée d'une gouvernance privée, autoportante et bénévole, cette blockchain privée dont les mineurs sont toujours des notaires, a l'air de réagir vite à la concurrence attendue dans le domaine de la sécurisation des documents et des transactions de valeurs, car les premiers projets concernent le transfert de documents volumineux et le mouvement de titres des sociétés non cotées.

b. Le deuxième aspect significatif issu de la recherche est le caractère syndicataire, donc cohésif, que la blockchain paraît avoir par rapport aux autres technologies et même par rapport au droit en général. C'est ce manque de confiance dans l'humain (clamé par la blockchain) qui rétablit une sorte de coopération inhérente, forcée entre l'outil sortant (le tiers de confiance humain, la loi) et la technologie disruptive. Quelques exemples semblent assez révélateurs:

Dans le domaine des transaction *in rem* la blockchain ne peut pas opérer en dehors du cadre règlementaire imposant un tiers de confiance-délégataire de l'autorité de l'État, que ce soit notaire ou registre foncier, dans les pays où l'enregistrement est porteur d'effet constitutif de droit<fnref n="15" />.

Dans le domaine de la date certaine, l'horodatage que la blockchain produit ne peut avoir un tel effet juridique que si le document est doué d'une signature électronique qualifiée par un tiers certificateur (condition posée par le règlement eIDAS en vigueur depuis le 1er juillet 2016 portant sur la signature électronique, les tiers de confiance et les documents électroniques au sein du marché intérieur européen). Ce tiers certificateur, dans le cas des notaires européens, est leur ordre professionnel (M. Mekki, 2019).

En ce qui concerne la promesse de désintermédiation que la blockchain professe, là encore la coopération avec un *oracle* de confiance (tiers humain ou logiciel intelligent à introduire les données

<footnote n="12">¹² 24.06.2020, *Première vente immobilière via blockchain en France* par Gregory Raymond, Capital.fr (https://www.capital.fr/immobilier/premiere-vente-immobiliere-via-blockchain-en-france-1342764)</footnote>

<footnote n="13">¹³ 29.11.2019, *Entretien. Une technologie qui répond à une vraie demande et procure gain de temps et de sécurité (Vivien Baufumé, Cristophe Carminati, Dominique Legeais)*, La Semaine Juridique – Notariale et Immobilière n°48, 29.11.2019; 25.11.2019 Technot 2019 Immobilier 001 (première signature mondiale de vente en l'état futur d'achèvement dont échanges documentaires pré-, durant- et après l'acte ont été sécurisées par la chaîne de blocs) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHvBwVjD-xQ&feature=youtu.be&t=4884)</footnote>

<footnote n="14">¹⁴ 07.07.2020 Présentation de la blockchain notariale. Dossier de presse 7 juillet 2020 2020-07-07 – DP – Présentation de la Blockchain Notariale VF2.pdf (notairesdugrandparis.fr)</footnote>

<footnote n="15">¹⁵ Arrunada, Benito. «Blockchain's Struggle to Deliver Impersonal Exchange» (2018) 19:1 Minn J L Sci & Tech 55</footnote>
de la météo dans la blockchain) vient détruire un rêve de singularité. Pour l'instant, l'oracle le plus fiable du notariat ouvert vers la blockchain est le notaire.

Même la pratique exige d'une telle coopération, prouvant vraie la prédiction du rapport *Global Blockchain Survey 2019* de Deloitte (page 7): « *la blockchain est, à l'heure actuelle, à la recherche de nouveaux cas d'usage* ». C'est le cas d'usage soigneusement conçu, à l'heure de la recherche toujours théorique, du marché des traductions produites par des traducteurs assermentés en Espagne, avec un œil subtil vers les traductions de textes juridiques. L'auteur de l'étude propose l'établissement d'un system de gestion de la qualité des traductions jugées officielles par la création d'une combinaison technologique de blockchain hybride, logiciels d'intelligence artificielle et standards de qualité ISO. Le but serait de complétement éliminer le papier et de standardiser les traductions juridiques pour qu'elles puissent jouir, dans la langue-cible, de la même pleine force officielle/effet juridique dont les documents originaux sont revêtus dans la langue-source<fnref n="16" />. Pour aller plus loin, la complémentarité entre le domaine des traductions juridiques et celui du notariat servirait au dernier non seulement d'exemple mais surtout comme moyen d'enrichir l'offre de service juridiques spécialisées, voués à se réinventer dans le sillage de la blockchain.

Enfin, même les propos des détracteurs de la blockchain, souhaitant convaincre une audience experte d'un certain caractère insidieux de la technologie, laissent entrevoir le besoin de la chaîne des blocs de s'ancrer, du point de vue langage, dans le jargon juridique afin de mieux convaincre ces adeptes (E. Caprioli, Conférence Cour de Cassation, *De la technologie des algorithmes a la technique juridique*, 2019)<fnref n="17" />.

Ces réflexions, dans leur ensemble, constituent un bon départ (vers l'inconnu) pour le notaire qui se considère infaillible, heureux de toujours faire la même chose: l'acte authentique de vente immobilière sur papier.

### 3. LE NOTARIAT ROUMAIN: CE QU'IL FAUDrait FAIRE, VOIRE ABANDONNER POUR ETRE CAPABLE, UN JOUR, D'INTEGRER LA BLOCKCHAIN, SI JAMAIS...

La leçon-clé que j'ai tirée de cette recherche? Ce n'est pas obligatoire de rejoindre les usagers de la blockchain *si* l'on est sûr que ce n'est pas à elle de *nous* adopter.

Chez nous, le mot blockchain ne se trouve pas encore sur les lèvres des notaires, mais les juges ont déjà commencé à se familiariser avec (une petite dizaine de jugements rendu entre 2019 et 2020, surtout concernant le blanchiment d'argent et le trafic de drogues à grand risque).

#### 3.1. Aurait-on des choses à remettre en bon ordre avant de comprendre une technologie qu'on ne connaît pas?

a. Surtout s'informer pour éradiquer la compréhension insuffisante ou inexistante des technologies émergentes, tant au niveau individuel qu'au niveau de l'ordre professionnel (la blockchain litteracy) (WEF *Building blockchains for a better plannet*, 2018)<fnref n="18" />. L'arrivée de la blockchain en Roumanie aura le même effet perturbateur que dans tout autre industrie sur la planète. Et l'invariable dite réputation du notaire serait-elle la même que celle décrite par The Economist en 2015 (des *gourmands*) ...

<footnote n="16">¹⁶ Duro Moreno, Miguel. « Translation quality gained through the implementation of the ISO En 17100:2015 and the usage of the blockchain. The case of sworn translation in Spain » Babel 66:2 (2020), pp. 226-253. issn 0521-9744 | e-issn 1569-9668 © John Benjamins Publishing Company</footnote>

<footnote n="17">¹⁷ Eric Caprioli, Conférence Cour de cassation, De la technologie des algorithmes à la technique juridique jeudi 7 février 2019 https://www.caprioli-avocats.com/fr/informations/entre-mysteres-et-fantasmes--quel-avenir-pour-les-blockchains---innovation-et-21-311-0.html</footnote>

<footnote n="18">¹⁸ World Economic Forum (weforum.org), date du dernier accès 30.04.2023</footnote>
b. Être perméable à la culture de l'improvisation, ce qui veut dire encourager les membres de la profession qui ont des passions, des qualifications, et des expériences autres que le notariat, par exemple un notaire-traducteur ou un notaire-programmateur (improvisation culture) (D. Nylén, J. Holmström, Digital innovation strategy, p. 66)<fnref n="19" />.

c. Connaître son client. Décrypter la mentalité des clients qui appartiennent à des groupes socio-professionnels et d'âge différents et qui sont assez opposés en préférences (les personnes âgées de plus de 65 ans, en général des propriétaires immobiliers, représentent une catégorie de clientèle qui préfère le touchable au virtuel; les personnes entre 30 et 45 ans préfèrent vivre en location avant leur 50ᵉ anniversaire, ils sont mobiles globalement, et le droit de propriété leur paraît plutôt un fardeau qu'un actif patrimonial; ils seront les plus prêts à vendre les propriétés hérités des premiers, a des immigrants intracommunautaire aussi (des transactions in rem), pour se concentrer sur des transaction in personam (des leasing, des locations, des prêts). C'est surtout avec ces derniers qu'on pourrait développer la vision de Betino Arrunada<fnref n="20" /> selon laquelle la blockchain se prête plutôt aux transactions in personam car, pour cette catégorie globalisée, ce serait difficile de placer leur confiance à un tiers précis.

### 3.2. Faudrait-il abandonner ?

a. La compétence territoriale exclusive dans certaines procédures notariales (le divorce, les successions, les actes authentiques à comparution à distance, lorsque les parties et leur notaire de confiance se trouvent dans des juridictions locales différentes) et l'interdiction de sortir de sa juridiction – peut-être la faiblesse la plus dangereuse car elle neutralise le besoin de confiance (le trust, on n'en aurait pas besoin puisque de toute manière on allait chez le notaire de l'endroit où se trouve l'immeuble, le notaire de son choix n'ayant pas le droit de se déplacer en dehors de son périmètre juridictionnel, celui du tribunal de première instance de la commune de son siège).

b. Le manque, plus ou moins marquant, d'interprofessionnalité<fnref n="21" /> chez avocats, notaires, comptables, architectes, traducteurs, agents immobiliers – ce qui fait que nous sommes, chaque profession de son côté, seuls devant le besoin d'évoluer dans la technologie, de trouver des clients, d'en garder les anciens et, surtout dernièrement, de résister face au confinement sanitaire qui vient de nous affecter tous.

c. L'impossible passage du statut indépendant à l'emploi sans perdre les privilèges de la profession (un notaire peut se faire embaucher par un employeur, mais en faisant ainsi il devra surtout demander la suspension de son statut de notaire auprès du ministre de la justice, ce qui implique des pertes au niveau de la réputation et de l'ancienneté professionnelles, car être notaire salarié ne vaut pas notaire tout court, et l'ancienneté de 5 ans au minimum pour accéder à l'examen d'entrée dans la profession d'avocat ne recommence à couler qu'après la perte volontaire d'emploi). Ce qui génère un grave déséquilibre personnel, financier et professionnel pour le notaire qui a choisi d'élargir ses expériences professionnelles tout en gardant intactes sa qualité de juriste et sa spécialité. C'est aussi la raison pour laquelle on est imperméables à la culture de l'improvisation (3.1.b. supra).

d. Certaines barrières qui subsistent toujours par rapport aux avantages des parcours interprofessionnels, à savoir les incompatibilités d'exercer toute autre activité lucrative (par exemple, les notaires-linguistes n'ont pas le droit d'exercer en tant que notaire et traducteur juré à la fois que dans des conditions ambiguës et prêtables à des interprétations restrictives). Il est néanmoins vrai

<footnote n="19">¹⁹ D. Nylén, J. Holmström, «Digital innovation strategy: A framework for diagnosing and improving digital product and service innovation» (2015), Business Horizons (2015) 58, 57-67, http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00076813</footnote>

<footnote n="20">²⁰ Arrunada, Benito. «Blockchain's Struggle to Deliver Impersonal Exchange» (2018) 19:1 Minn J L Sci & Tech 55; Arrunada, Benito «Market and institutional determinants in the regulation of conveyancers», Eur J Law Econ (2007) 23:93–116 DOI 10.1007/s10657-007-9010-1 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2007</footnote>

<footnote n="21">²¹ Boccara, Valérie. « " Le monde et l'avenir nous appartiennent » » (2018) n°66-67 Petites Affiches 4</footnote>
que les deux compétences sont parfaitement compatibles et qu'elles profitent au client mobile d'aujourd'hui.

e. Les échanges avec les institutions de l'État restent insuffisamment dématérialisées<fnref n="22" />.

3.3. On est loin de voir la blockchain comme une solution envisageable dans le fonctionnement actuel du notariat roumain. Ce contexte une fois dépassé et les ajustements nécessaires faits, tant au niveau de l'ordre qu'au niveau des autorités publiques, l'adoption d'une blockchain privée serait souhaitable entre l'ordre professionnel des notaires roumains (gardien d'un registre des personnes placées sous protection juridique), l'agence nationale de la lutte contre le blanchiment de l'argent, le ministère des affaires intérieures (gardien de la base nationale de données personnelles liées à l'identité de la personne physique), le ministère de la justice (gardien de la base de données des jugements en matières civile et pénale) et le registre foncier. Le but serait de parvenir à un acte authentique immobilier sécurisé du point de vue de l'identité et de la capacité des parties, mais aussi de la provenance des capitaux. Les institutions-gardiennes des bases de données concernant la personne et son patrimoine inscriraient dans la blockchain, de manière immuable et transparente, toute information qui pourrait déclencher un effet juridique d'indisponibilité ou d'incapacité. Lors de la vérification de l'acte avant l'authentification, toutes ces informations peupleraient automatiquement les champs du document éditable, rendant un acte valide en temps réel et utile. L'acte authentique serait toujours conservé aux archives notariales, sur papier ou en forme dématérialisée, mais son empreinte numérique serait envoyée et gardée dans tous les *nœuds* des institutions participantes dans la blockchain. Toute forme d'intelligence artificielle applicable au contexte juridique (logiciel d'extraction d'articles de lois en vigueur, selon le moment de production du fait générateur d'effets juridiques) pourrait y être ajoutée.

CONCLUSION

Dans cette synthèse j'ai essayé de révéler la perméabilité du notariat par rapport à la blockchain, une technologie apparemment appelée à saisir une partie des fonctions de la profession. Considérant certains caractères de la technologie mais aussi les insuffisants cas d'usage à disposition – car, dans le notariat d'aujourd'hui, les applications restent les mêmes –, la blockchain n'est pas encore prête à tout résoudre toute seule, mais certains domaines complémentaires au notariat (et dont la force créatrice humaine et tout aussi importante) se prêteraient à la régularisation par des technologies déjà existantes et surtout compatibles (les traducteurs jurés d'Espagne). Ce qui n'a pas été exploré dans ce travail est le registre foncier et sa capacite d'intégrer la blockchain, mais en Roumanie il est peu envisageable que cela puisse produire des effets négatifs par rapport à l'acte authentique, car l'enregistrement de la propriété se produit seulement après les vérifications obligatoires de validité et d'efficacité opérées par le notaire dans le cadre de la procédure d'authentification, le registraire n'ayant que de faibles compétences formelles en la matière. Il reste aussi à veiller sur la capacite du *notary* anglo-saxon de générer de la confusion dans les esprits des créateurs de logiciels et, ainsi, avoir un impact sur les notaires de droit civil...Chose certaine, la blockchain est vouée à transformer le notariat tel qu'on le (re)connaît aujourd'hui. La crainte demeure de ne pas être les premiers à se réapproprier la compétence primordiale, si jamais et avant que les progrès technologiques arrivent à conquérir le public consommateur de transactions patrimoniales de tout genre, ainsi que le monde politique. À bon entendeur, salut!

<footnote n="22">²² Bourassin Manuella, Corine Dauchez, Marc Pichard. « "Le cyber-notaire au cœur de la République numérique". Entretien avec Manuella Bourassin, Corine Dauchez et Marc Pichard » (2018) 23 JCP Notariale et Immobilière 530</footnote>
EU Security and Politics Highlights:
Navigating Turbulent Waters
# Sociologie d'une jeunesse radicalisée. Pourquoi certains jeunes sont attirés par cette radicalisation?

DR HEDI SAIDI<fnref n="1" />

PROFESSEUR, UNIVERSITÉ CATHOLIQUE DE LILLE, CHEVALIER DE LA LÉGION D'HONNEUR, CHEVALIER DES PALMES ACADÉMIQUES, AGRÉGÉE HORS CLASSE

**Abstract:** Radicalization is a global phenomenon, it represents a permanent danger that threatens the democratic values of the West. The shock of September 11, 2001 characterizes a new form of terrorism whose objective is not to conquer power but to fight against Western civilization. Identifying people who have been radicalized or are in the process of being radicalized is essential in order to provide them with the support they need, and to prevent any violent action. It is therefore necessary to rely on proven tools and to rely on a structured and professional chain, but also on good analyzes of the mechanisms of radicalization.

**Keywords:** EU, Radicalization, youth, prevention, Islamization, terrorism, support, violence, deradicalization, civilization.

**Résumé:** La radicalisation est un phénomène mondial, elle représente un danger permanent qui menace les valeurs démocratiques de l'Occident. Le choc du 11 septembre 2001 caractérise une nouvelle forme de terrorisme dont l'objectif n'est pas de conquérir le pouvoir mais de lutter contre la civilisation occidentale. Le repérage des personnes radicalisées ou en voie de l'être est essentielle afin de leur apporter l'accompagnement dont elles ont besoin et de prévenir tout passage à l'acte violent.<fnref n="2" /> Il est donc nécessaire de se baser sur des outils éprouvés et de s'appuyer sur une chaine structurée et professionnelle mais également sur des bonnes analyses des mécanismes de la radicalisation.

**Mots clés:** UE, Radicalisation, jeunesse, prévention, islamisation, terrorisme, accompagnement, violence, déradicalisation, civilisation.

## INTRODUCTION

La radicalisation est un phénomène vieux comme le monde mais c'est surtout après les attentats du Trade center qu'il a connu son heure de gloire dans les médias et les analyses des sciences sociales (Khosrokhavar, 2019). Le nombre des livres consacrés à ce phénomène a explosé, on voit des publications dans le monde entier et dans toutes les langues ou presque.

Depuis le 11 septembre 2001, on ne parle que de la poussée islamiste et de la radicalisation de l'islam. En même temps, une querelle est engagée pour l'hégémonie sur l'islamologie en France et la recherche sur la radicalisation. La compétition est assez rude, il faut aussi avoir à l'esprit les enjeux financiers et le pouvoir qui s'y jouent.<fnref n="3" /> Ce qui a retenu notre attention ici, ce n'est pas l'intimité de la conscience personnelle, le contenu de la foi musulmane, mais le facteur religieux en tant qu'il a débordé la vie privée comme phénomène social car cette adhésion (à l'islam) comme croyance religieuse a naturellement des effets sur le comportement des fidèles en société.

La faillite actuelle de l'idéologie marxiste<fnref n="4" /> athée et ses variantes a autorisé la réapparition du fait religieux dans des Etats où il était officiellement interdit. Ainsi renaissent au grand jour l'Eglise

<footnote n="1">¹ Hedi SAIDI <hedisaidi@wanadoo.fr></footnote>

<footnote n="2">² ("Signaler et détecter – Comité Interministériel de Prévention de la...")</footnote>

<footnote n="3">³ -Les derniers attentats ont amené gouvernement et Fondations à débloquer de grandes sommes pour les recherches sur le radicalisme.</footnote>

<footnote n="4">⁴ -Francis Fukuyama annonçait dans sa formule le « choc des civilisations », la « fin de l'histoire »: la victoire du « monde libre » dans la guerre froide devait assurer le monopole de la démocratie du marché, horizon désormais unique et indépassable.</footnote>
orthodoxe en Russie, l'Islam en Asie centrale<fnref n="5" />, le luthérianisme en Estonie et Lettonie, le bouddhisme au Cambodge. Seule la Corée du Nord, la Chine et Cuba affichent un athéisme contredit par bien des réalités (venue du pape à Cuba). Mais cette résurrection s'accompagne, à l'échelle mondiale, d'un regain de conflictualité. Non pas que les religions, dans leur essence, sont porteuses d'intolérance, toutefois, force est de constater l'accumulation d'affrontements qui culminent médiatiquement avec les attentats du 11 septembre 2001.

Ainsi depuis 1990, plusieurs pays ont connu diverses guerres civiles ou conflits régionaux comportant un élément religieux ou idéologique: l'ex-Yougoslavie, l'Irak, le Sri Lanka, l'Algérie, Israël, l'Arménie, la Birmanie, le Timor-Oriental, la Tchétchénie, le Tibet, les Philippines, la Syrie, la Lybie. Ces conflits régionaux mettent aux prises des acteurs marqués religieusement, que cette connotation soit consciente et affichée ou qu'elle leur soit attachée inconsciemment <fnref n="6" />

L'après-Seconde Guerre mondiale et la volonté affirmée de mettre à l'index la guerre, suivie de la guerre froide<fnref n="7" /> ont donné l'illusion d'un monde sans guerre. Or depuis 1945 à 1989, 160 conflits ont éclaté à la surface de la planète causant la mort de 40 millions de personnes, conflits localisés<fnref n="8" /> occultés par l'affrontement des deux superpuissances.

## LE RETOUR VIOLENT DU RELIGIEUX PARTOUT DANS LE MONDE.

L'expression « fait religieux » s'est imposée depuis les années 1980 dans le vocabulaire scientifique, scolaire et public. Le fait religieux, quoi qu'on pense de ses origines et de son contenu, est un aspect important de la vie des sociétés contemporaines qui contribue à les spécifier; il a tenu et tient encore une grande place dans l'histoire des sociétés et a entretenu des rapports nombreux et divers, avec les autres composantes de la vie collective (Rémond, 1995). Il participe pleinement à l'histoire de l'humanité. Bergson (1859-1941) n'hésite d'ailleurs pas à qualifier l'homme « d'animal religieux », véritable « machine à fabriquer des Dieux » (Delimeau, 2000). L'homme étant apparu sur terre il y a environ trois millions d'années, on dénote déjà chez ces hommes, une ritualisation de la mort, une transcendance d'une entité supérieure, d'un au-delà avec la mort, avec lesquels ils cherchent à se relier. C'est entre 95 000 et 35 000 av. J.-C. que les hommes ont voulu donner une sépulture à leurs morts, attitude les différenciant ainsi de l'animal. Chaque religion<fnref n="9" /> est dans les faits, un « système religieux » (Thual, 2003) qui renvoie à la fois « à un corpus de croyances et à des formes sociologiques et administratives se manifestant par une expression collective du culte elle-même, articulée sur les structures politiques ». Ce système religieux soude tous ceux qui y adhèrent en une « communauté morale » (Durkheim) qui se réfère, et se transmet génération après génération, un discours, une « mémoire collective » (Julliard, 1996) puisque l'acceptation du verbe polysémique latin *religare* (duquel émane également le vocable religion) signifie remémorer, se souvenir, se recueillir des restes. Avoir foi en une religion, c'est subséquemment adhérer à un dogme, pratiquer et transmettre valeurs et croyances.

<footnote n="5">⁵ Ex- Républiques soviétiques du Kazakhstan, de l'Ouzbékistan, de Kirghizie, de Turkménistan, du Tadjikistan de l'Azerbaïdjan.</footnote>

<footnote n="6">⁶ - ("Le fait religieux, l'islam et la radicalisation"). Ainsi au Kosovo, les Kosovars musulmans ont été aux prises avec les troupes de la République fédérale de Yougoslavie alors que les forces d'interposition de l'ONU (la KFOR) étaient avant tout composées de Chrétiens.</footnote>

<footnote n="7">⁷ -Où la paix impossible rendait malgré tout la guerre improbable.</footnote>

<footnote n="8">⁸ -Où l'élément religieux n'est en rien négligeable.</footnote>

<footnote n="9">⁹ -La religion vient du verbe latin *religare*: elle relie les croyants entre eux, elle soude la communauté des fidèles et fédère cette communauté à l'objet de la croyance.</footnote>
Or, en dépit de la montée du scientisme<fnref n="10" />, de l'agnosticisme<fnref n="11" />, de l'athéisme<fnref n="12" /> ou de politiques séculaires depuis le XIXème, force est de constater que le religieux fait son retour sur la sphère privée personnelle et sur la scène géopolitique mondiale. On est désormais loin de « l'imminence radicale de l'homme moderne » (Thomas Altizer) et l'optimisme rationaliste qui appartient au passé (Deumeau, 1996). L'accroissement du nombre des fidèles des grandes religions, des pratiques religieuses, l'instrumentalisation politique de la religion par certains Etats et par certains groupes politiques (terroristes ou non) finissent par opérer une résurgence du fait religieux dans le monde. En ce début du XXIème siècle, l'omniprésence des religions dans la sphère politique ne semble connaitre aucune limite. L'activisme politique du Pape François<fnref n="13" /> et la véhémence du wahhabisme saoudien illustre cette évolution dont l'interprétation littéraliste s'est largement diffusée dans le monde islamique grâce à un prosélytisme financé par les milliards des pétrodollars.¹⁴

Etudier le fait religieux revient, in fine, à analyser des « représentations (croyances, mythes, dogmes), une organisation (mosquées, églises, confréries, sectes) »<fnref n="15" /> et des rites (Dumortier, 2002). Ce qui retiendra notre attention ici, ce n'est pas l'intimité de la conscience personnelle, le contenu de la foi (musulmane) mais le facteur religieux en tant qu'il déborde de la vie privée comme phénomène social. Il le fait de plus d'une façon et pour diverses raisons que nous allons tenter expliquer. La croyance religieuse n'est-elle que l'image de l'appartenance sociale, l'expression d'une solidarité avec un certain agencement ou a-t-elle une existence autonome inflexible à d'autres phénomènes? Pourquoi des mouvements terroristes attirent-ils une partie de la jeunesse? Quel avenir pour l'islam dans un pays républicain (comme la France)? Comment passent ces radicalisés, du statut de victime (sociale, économique, politique, psychologique...) à celui de bourreau et d'implacable guerrier d'une utopie mortifère? Comment explique-t-on ce passage initiatique fulgurant?

Faire entrer l'histoire du fait religieux dans l'enseignement, c'est apporter un éclairage circonstancié sur ses incidences, sur l'aventure humaine puisqu'il est un élément essentiel des civilisations. Les croyances et les pratiques religieuses sont bien des faits de civilisation, l'exercice a donc un caractère laïc. Il s'agit de transmettre une culture et non de dispenser un enseignement religieux. Il faut donc aller aux explications théoriques pour mieux cerner ce retour du religieux particulièrement chez les jeunes et non pas les explications journalistiques

## LA RELIGION, UNE SOURCE D'INQUIÉTUDE

Partout le fanatisme religieux ruine le « Vivre Ensemble », mine la vie des pays et sabote la laïcité. Ce raz de marée de nostalgie religieuse, qui brouille les cartes et bouscule les démocraties, n'est pas si surprenant que cela.

<footnote n="10">¹⁰ -Position philosophique du XIXème siècle qui affirme que la science nous fait connaitre la nature intime des choses et suffit à satisfaire tous les besoins de l'intelligence humaine. Le scientisme se rapproche étroitement du positivisme d'Auguste Comte. L'esprit humain doit se borner à formuler des lois scientifiques entre les phénomènes et l'histoire évolue au gré des stades intellectuels de l'humanité, celle-ci passant de l'état religieux à l'état métaphysique pour aboutir finalement à l'état positif, phase de l'émancipation grâce à la science qui amène le progrès économique et l'évolution des esprits.</footnote>

<footnote n="11">¹¹ « Doctrine philosophique qui déclare l'absolu inaccessible à l'esprit humain et professe une complète ignorance touchant la nature intime, l'origine et la destinée des choses ». *Grand Larousse universel*, p.195.</footnote>

<footnote n="12">¹² « Doctrine qui nie l'existence de Dieu », *Grand Larousse universel*, p.782.</footnote>

<footnote n="13">¹³ -Depuis 2013, Le souverain pontife est engagé ans une double offensive: la première consiste à faire jouer l'Eglise un rôle actif dans la remise en cause du système économique globale et les impératifs écologiques. La deuxième vise à réformer son institution interne chose plus incertaine.</footnote>

<footnote n="1414">¹⁴¹⁴ -D'après l'historien et politiste Nabil Mouline, « L'université de Médine destinée à former des Saoudiens et des étrangers à porter la »bonne nouvelle» à travers le monde, a produit plus de 45.000 cadres religieux de 167 nationalités depuis sa création en 1961. L'Arabie Saoudite aurait dépensé plus de 4 milliards de dollars pour soutenir les Moudjahidines en Afghanistan durant les années 1980. *Le Monde Diplomatique, Manière de Voir*, 2005. p.7.</footnote>

<footnote n="15">¹⁵ (“CEEOL – Article Détail”)</footnote>
Les énormes mutations technologiques économiques et géopolitiques que nous vivons depuis plusieurs années portent en elles autant de menaces que de promesses. Mais malheureusement, elles nous précipitent collectivement dans une incertitude, une instabilité, un avenir difficile à maîtriser (Roy, 2008). Dans ces périodes, la tentation est grande de tenter de recréer rêveusement un monde auréolé de toutes les vertus, une nostalgie de l'islam pur et conquérant, son « âge d'or ».

Dans une rupture générationnelle, ces candidats à la mort cherchent à retourner contre leurs parents une « prétendue » vérité islamique que ces derniers auraient trahie et n'auraient pas su transmettre (Roy, 2012).

Des parents qui ne comprennent pas du tout la radicalisation<fnref n="16" /> de leurs enfants. Car à l'aube de la deuxième décennie du XXIème siècle, l'odeur de soufre et d'encens, les appels aux meurtres des *koffars* (athées) menacent nos vies. Partout le temps est couvert, couvert de voile, de barbes, de sang, d'interprétations fallacieuses du Coran et de l'Islam.

Des questions auxquelles nous avons tenté de répondre: Quand est ce que tout a commencé? Quelle année, quel jour et en quelle saison les lumières se sont-elles éteintes? Pourquoi les jeunes empruntent-ils le registre de la radicalisation islamique? Comment faire pour désamorcer la bombe sur laquelle nous sommes assis<fnref n="17" />? Comment ces jeunes se sont-ils imposés alors qu'ils étaient faibles?

Cette radicalisation a entrainé un conflit entre les spécialistes et a ouvert un débat de fond dans l'interprétation des causes du djihadisme chez ces jeunes. Deux conceptions vont s'affronter: celle de Gilles Kepel qui met en avant la radicalisation de l'Islam rendue visible par la montée du salafisme, exprimée dans la formule « *radicalisation de l'islam* » et celle d'Olivier Roy qui considère que la radicalisation djihadiste n'est pas la conséquence mécanique de la radicalisation de l'islam. La plupart des terroristes sont des jeunes issus de la seconde génération de l'immigration, radicalisés récemment et sans itinéraire religieux de longue date, ils ne deviennent pas djihadistes à l'issue d'un parcours de radicalisation religieuse. Quand ces jeunes se radicalisent, ils empruntent le répertoire religieux comme les jeunes des années 1970 avaient emprunté l'« action armée révolutionnaire ». Pour O.Roy c'est une révolte nihiliste générationnelle, il l'a exprimé dans la formule « *Islamisation de la radicalité* » Il ne s'agit pas pour nous de trancher ici la question mais de comprendre pourquoi Daech attire ces jeunes et comment lutter contre cette radicalisation qui met en danger le « Vivre Ensemble »?

Si l'Etat islamique recrute aussi facilement, c'est qu'il propose à ses candidats, de vivre ensemble un récit en groupe auquel on peut croire, qui donne sens à leur vie, dans des groupes d'individus prêts à se sacrifier les uns pour les autres, pour des « étrangers » unis par l'idée de l'islam. Les humains ne veulent pas vivre sans grand récit et sans mythe, les inscrire dans un récit historique pour prolonger la flamme religieuse comme au début de l'apparition de l'Islam, c'est la narration (Logier, 2016), vécu par ces gens comme positif et non nihiliste même si ce récit se traduit par des crimes atroces. Pour eux, le fait de se faire tuer ne répond pas à une volonté de mourir mais de vivre « au-delà ». C'est ce qu'a bien compris ce groupe terroriste.

Ils perçoivent leur vie actuelle comme dénuée de sens et dont ils veulent sortir, ces recrus pensent qu'ils sont en train de sauver le monde même si c'est une vision apocalyptique, puisqu'il faut d'abord le détruire. Dans cette approche, la violence constitue un rite de passage vers la libération de soi et de l'humanité (Atran, 2016). Parler de « psychopathes » ou de « fous » empêche la compréhension du phénomène. Comment explique-t-on alors le fait de trouver des sympathisants de Daech dans une centaine de pays hommes et femmes de tous âge, avec des positions sociales diverses? Des jeunes marginalisés en France, des universitaires en Angleterre, des professionnels en

<footnote n="16">¹⁶-Tout cela fini par construire une espace de religion du Djihadisme qui devient relativement autonome par rapport aux préceptes de l'islam.</footnote>

<footnote n="17">¹⁷-Est le titre de notre article paru dans le *Huffington Post* en 2015.</footnote>
Afrique, des étudiants en Tunisie. Il faut revoir le lien relationnel et social du groupe car beaucoup ont rejoint Daech avec leurs amis, tenter de réparer l'ascenseur social qui est en panne depuis plusieurs années, intégrer les mémoires de l'immigration dans le récit national afin qu'ils ne sentent plus de périphériques à la nation. Avec l'essoufflement de l'utopie politique islamique et d'une civilisation tournée uniquement (avec rigueur) sur le religieux on constate l'apparition depuis des années d'un nouvel islam tissé de compromis pragmatique avec l'Occident et nourri au libéralisme économique. Il est marqué par l'émergence d'une nouvelle classe bourgeoise cosmopolite qui est demandeuse de religion plus mondaine, plus individualiste, plus adaptée à la société française (un islam de France disaient certains) et surtout tournée vers l'économie du marché et le profit alliant Coran et management.

COMMENT DAECH A « SÉDUIT » CERTAINS JEUNES??

La radicalisation, c'est-à-dire la légitimation ou le recours à la violence, touche tous les grands monothéismes (et pas uniquement l'islam) mais aussi le domaine social (« black blocs ») et évidemment la sphère politique (identitaire, séparatistes). Le radicalisme musulman prévoit la fin prochaine du monde, avec comme signe annonciateur la guerre en Syrie.<fnref n="18" /> L'adepte entre dans une communauté fraternelle nouvelle en adoptant une idéologie globale répondant à toutes les questions de la vie.

Certains jeunes issus de l'immigration sont attirés par la révolution que porte Daech et par le changement profond de leur vie qu'elle peut leur procurer. Ces jeunes radicalisés se sentent investis d'une mission morale, même s'ils viennent d'un milieu délinquant et même s'il existe une multiplication de motivations et une multitude de profils

Des jeunes, des personnes très diverses sont séduites par Daech. Cette fascination vient du fait qu'elle leur offre la possibilité d'être des super héros, en leur donnant la faculté de décider de la vie et de la mort d'autres personnes et le pouvoir sur les femmes. Parce qu'ils sont à la recherche d'un récit qui donne sens à leur vie que ce mouvement exerce une magie sur eux. Daech cherche à mettre en application une résolution édifiée sur la négation de l'individu et des libertés individuelles<fnref n="19" />. En effet, chacun, est défini uniquement par son appartenance à la communauté musulmane, et tous les musulmans doivent adhérer à ce projet. Cette communauté doit être perpétuellement mobilisée dans une lutte dont l'objectif est fixé par le projet idéologique de Daech. Il cherche ainsi à créer un homme nouveau, il est un soldat d'Allah, il lutte et meurt pour affermir les principes de l'islam.

Daech a bien compris que les discours sur la République et les institutions démocratiques et républicaines, ne mobilise plus, il est bien au contraire source de contestation. Daech va alors développer un marketing qui s'adresse à l'affect, aux émotions, aux tripes et sentiments. Elle va chercher à inscrire ces jeunes dans un récit historico-religieux glorieux, devenant ainsi la « meilleure » organisation sur le marché de la radicalisation.

Dans son approche, la violence constitue un passage obligatoire vers une libération personnelle et même une libération de l'humanité. Elle réussit à leur « vendre » l'idée apocalyptique qu'ils sont en train de sauver le monde puisqu'il faut le détruire en premier. Il faut souligner que Daech consacre beaucoup de temps pour écouter chaque personne qu'elle recrute, en même temps, il trouve les moyens de marier des frustrations intimes avec son grand récit, cette histoire d'un monde nouveau, pur et paré de touts les vertus qu'on cherche à construit ensemble. L'objectif est de provoquer une

<footnote n="18">¹⁸-Bataille de l'Armageddon prévue par les prophètes et reprise par le Coran</footnote>

<footnote n="19">¹⁹-Cette situation nous renvoie à « la banalité du mal » qui révèle selon Hannah Arendt l'inconsistance tragique de l'accusé (Eichmann), son incapacité à penser et à juger par lui-même le rend un personnage robotisée n'ayant fait qu'obéir, « dé substantialisé », *Eichmann à Jérusalem*, 1963.</footnote>
adhésion totale en allant chercher les ressorts intimes du candidat plutôt qu’un développement de généralités théologiques sur l’Islam et le Coran.

Pour attirer les jeunes dans son giron, le mouvement terroriste Daech propose à ces jeunes ce qu’il y a de « meilleur » ces dernières années sur le marché de la contestation sociétale radicale, appuyée par une visibilité médiatique concoctée avec un récit narratif et des aventures alléchantes. Ces jeunes vont pouvoir ainsi marquer la rupture générationnelle avec leurs parents, ils vont retourner contre ces derniers une « prétendue » vérité islamique qu’ils auraient trahie et pas su transmettre (Roy, 2016).

Mais on peut s’interroger sur la vie religieuse de ces jeunes qui empruntent le registre de la radicalisation islamique. Parmi eux, il y a des jeunes stupides certes, quelques psychopathes également, mais aussi des gens brillants, instruits et intelligents.

Ces jeunes radicalisés ne sont pas pratiquants de longue date, ils croient au paradis (si non, ils ne se feraient pas exploser) et à la mort. Ils se dispensent des obligations rituelles religieuses parce qu’ils se font exploser et que dans leur conception, vis-à-vis de ce genre de sacrifice, Dieu sera plus clément vis-à-vis de la carence de leurs pratiques religieuses telles que les prières, le ramadan et autres obligations religieuses. Ce qu’ils cherchent, c’est cette rédemption finale qui les dispense d’être un bon et vrai pratiquant. La plupart d’entre eux, même s’ils viennent de milieux délinquants voire criminels, se sentent investis sincèrement d’une mission morale.

Ils affichent clairement leur volonté d’établir un califat, mais ils n’évoquent pas la société islamique qui se construirait sous le califat. Ils ne parlent jamais de ce que serait la vie dans une société islamique et n’annoncent pas non plus le futur mais seulement la fin des temps, car vivre ne les intéresse plus. Ces jeunes n’attendent rien du futur, c’est véritablement « no future » et la mort ne peut être que la solution à ce questionnement de mal de vivre. Ce sentiment est nihiliste, qui ne croit plus à la vie, il est celui qui meurt dans la pureté de son acte.

On sous-estime la capacité d’attraction de Daech, l’utopie qu’elle propose et même les valeurs que porte cette organisation terroriste. Pour Scott Atram, anthropologue français, parler de psychopathes ou de nihilistes empêche la compréhension du phénomène. Comment explique-t-on que cette organisation a des sympathisants dans nombreux pays, hommes et femmes de tout âge et de toute catégorie sociale: des jeunes diplômés et marginalisés en Tunisie, des universitaires en France, des salariés en Algérie et en Angleterre. Ils sont attirés par la révolution que propose Daech ainsi que par le changement de vie qu’elle compte leur procurer. Ces jeunes estiment leur vie inutile sans aucun sens et veulent en sortir (Liogier, 2016).

## LA MORT EST LEUR DESTIN?

La mort est au cœur du projet des jeunes radicalisés. Leur révolte mortifère se marie parfaitement bien avec le discours apocalyptique de l’organisation terroriste Daech. La biographie des djihadistes passés à l’action dans les mois qui suivent leur reconversion montre qu’ils n’ont pas de pratiques réelles de l’islam et que la mort est au centre de leur projet.

Que sait-on de leur trajectoire sociale?

Une majorité de ces candidats à la mort a pu connaitre des parcours familiaux dysfonctionnel et déstructurés assez estampillés ainsi qu’un parcours scolaire impacté par l’échec. Une enfance imprégnée par l’absence du père, certains sont marqués par des placements en foyers, d’autres par des influences subies. Il est possible qu’ils aient trouvé dans leur adhésion au djihadisme une communauté protectrice, une forme de rédemption. Ils ont connu des interventions des services sociaux et de la justice des mineurs précoces.<fnref n="20" /> Les environnements familiaux sont jugés

<footnote n="20">²⁰ (“Les chemins de la radicalisation – Le Monde diplomatique”)</footnote>
inappropriés ou défaillants et les passages en foyer et en famille d'accueil jalonnent l'enfance et l'adolescence de la plupart d'entre eux. La relégation scolaire trouve parfois une compensation dans des sociabilités de rue le monde des bandes- (Laurent Bonelli, 2015) et les petits désordres qui les accompagnent.<fnref n="21" />

Autre constatation, le sentiment puissant d'identification à une communauté d'opprimés, victime d'un supposé acharnement occidental contre l'Islam et les musulmans est dû à une haine viscérale de l'islam triomphant d'après certains d'entre eux. Ce sentiment peut expliquer en partie les raisons de cette radicalisation. Un autre élément qui nous semble intéressant est leurs contacts avec l'étranger et le monde à savoir les réseaux sociaux, les expériences sur le terrain, les vidéos...) qui joue un rôle crucial dans le processus de la radicalisation.

La grande nouveauté avec les attentats de années 1990 c'est la recherche délibérée de la mort alors que ceux des années 1980 et 1990 (comme Khaled Kelkal) cherchaient à vivre, ils organisaient leur fuite.

## LE SALAFISME CONDUIT-IL AU DJIHADISME DE CES JEUNES?

Ce mouvement a émergé dans les années 1990 juste après la première guerre du Golfe en 1991. Bien que l'Arabie saoudite a financé les mosquées, il a soutenu Saddam Hussein contre les monarchies pétrolières. Pour regagner les cœurs, les Saoudiens vont envoyer de nombreux prédicateurs et injecter beaucoup de moyens financiers pour rallier la « jeunesse arabe » à leur salafisme. Certains jeunes vont voir dans l'exacerbation de l'identité islamique une occasion de se défendre contre les actes de discriminations qu'ils subissent. Le salafisme propose une séparation et pose des problèmes de séparatisme sociétal (Homme/Femme, pratiquant/non pratiquant, musulmans/autres...). Et même si certains fondamentalistes salafistes ont flirté avec certains thèmes de Daech, et portent une grande responsabilité dans le départ de nombreux jeunes pour faire le Djihad, les salafistes, leur mort n'est pas nécessaire à leur action.

Les salafistes ne préconisent pas la violence, puisqu'ils sont liés au système saoudien et que l'Arabie Saoudite n'a aucune envie de faire la guerre avec ces clients du pétrole. Certains prédicateurs portent une responsabilité politique et morale et fait de la proximité de certains thèmes qu'ils mettent en avant avec ceux de Daech. Ce discours fournit le socle et la fracture cultuelle (Islam/Chrétienté) sur lesquels se construira aisément le passage à l'acte violent lorsque les djihadistes le prêcheront.

Le salafisme vise à construire une identité politico-religieuse qui se concrétise dans sa prétention à représenter l'ensemble des musulmans de la planète (oumma). Une stratégie de ghettoïsation qu'ils cherchent à imposer à leurs adeptes composantes de la société française s'exprime à travers des revendications clivantes sans cesse renouvelées (au niveau des comportements, vêtements, alimentation, scolarisation). Ils s'accordent le droit d'excommunier (takfir), les enfants refusent l'Islam des parents et vont jusqu'à la rupture avec ces derniers. D'autres musulmans, tels que les Chiites, les Soufis, sont leurs principaux ennemis.

Les salafistes sont sensibles aux questions géopolitiques et ceci s'explique par leur idéologie cosmopolite et par les interventions militaires ratées de l'Occident dans certains pays arabo-musulmans. L'appréciation de ces interventions militaires jugées très violentes par beaucoup des musulmans et leur cortège de morts, celle qui a enfanté en Irak l'Organisation l'Etat Islamique (OEI) et celle qui a conduit la Libye au chaos, ont alimenté un esprit de revanche et une haine antioccidentale. A ces constats nous pouvons ajouter la question palestinienne et la guerre actuelle en Syrie.

<footnote n="21">²¹ Gérard Mauger, *Les Bandes et la bohème populaire*, Paris, Belin, 2006.</footnote>
Le salafisme a réussi à faire de la défense de la *oumma* la nouvelle idéologie tiers- mondiste et à faire adhérer des jeunes à la recherche d'une cause. Ils communiquent avec les moyens technologiques moyens (internet, Facebook,...) des clips et pas du texte. Ils sont engagés dans une guerre planétaire contre l'Occident, mais aussi contre d'autres composantes de l'Islam, Certains salafistes refusent les lois républicaines et légitiment au moins intellectuellement l'usage de la violence qu'ils présentent comme vengeresse.

LA NÉCESSAIRE RÉFORME DE L'ISLAM EN FRANCE<fnref n="22" />. QUELQUES RÉFLEXIONS.

Voilà à notre sens quelques pistes de réflexion afin de faire émerger un « islam des Lumières »<fnref n="23" /> en France:

-Les instances religieuses musulmanes ne peuvent plus ignorer que leurs fidèles appartiennent aussi à une Nation et sont par conséquent les citoyens de cet Etat.

- Décréter la guerre sainte dépassée et inutile et refuser toute forme d'intégrisme<fnref n="24" />. Dans le Coran, il y a autant de versets qui prônent la paix que la guerre. Les muftis doivent privilégier les premières: l'ascèse intérieure. Substituer au Jihad, la bataille contre soi, l'approfondissement de la foi, l'amour de l'Autre, en l'absence de clergé en islam il revient par conséquent aux intellectuels musulmans de le faire

-Réévaluer le statut de la femme. Polygamie, répudiation... sont les aspects les plus visibles de l'infériorité juridique de la femme. Comme toujours les fondamentalistes s'appuient sur les textes. Ils les extrapolent exemple: *frappez- la de 100 coups* (Sourate de la Lumière), ce statut est caduc.

-Affirmer la prééminence de l'individu sur la communauté. Pour interpréter les textes, les musulmans doivent se libérer de l'idéologie de la communauté très forte dans cette religion. Puisque l'islam prétend transcender des identités nationales, la *oumma* n'est pas au-dessus de la critique humaine.

Existence des Etats avec des histoires et des cultures différentes et de l'autre côté, l'Homme croyant ou pas, est libre de s'exprimer.

-Rappeler le primat de la politique sur le religieux. L'islam régit la sphère céleste et les affaires terrestres, le domaine privé et l'espace public. Il faut cantonner les imams à la mosquée c'est à cette condition que l'islam pourra se séculariser.

Un islam rénové n'est nullement une menace pour la laïcité, il faut faire valoir un islam des Lumières (Chebel, 2009).

-Favoriser une nouvelle interprétation des textes: Après le questionnement de l'innovation Depuis près de mille ans, l'interprétation s'est figée sur des préceptes qui datent du Moyen Age. Or le coran doit être replacé dans son contexte historique nouveau, il ne nous parle plus de la même manière

-Le fait religieux comporte ordinairement une dimension sociale puisqu'il se vit dans une communauté. La foi est enseignée, reçue, vécue dans une mosquée, église, synagogue, elle s'exprime

<footnote n="22">²²- Un Islam en France est un islam qui doit respecter le statut de la femme, les valeurs de la République, la laïcité, l'égalité Homme/femme, in fine il doit séparer le ciel et la terre. Un islam en France est un islam importé d'autres pays (Arabie Saoudite, Afghanistan, Algérie...) qui veulent l'appliquer intégralement sans tenir compte de l'histoire et des spécificités de la société française.</footnote>

<footnote n="23">²³-L'expression est de l'anthropologue Malek Chebel.</footnote>

<footnote n="24">²⁴- Le terme même d'intégrisme a historiquement une origine chrétienne²⁴. En 1890, c'est le nom du parti politique espagnol crée par ses prometteurs en vue de la mise en pratique du syllabus, publié par les autorités pontificales, en 1864. Ce texte s'oppose de la façon la plus totale à tout modernisme et préconise une conception fixiste des pensées et des comportements aux différents plans politiques, idéologiques et religieux. Il s'agit en fait, de faire en sorte que rien ne change en quelque domaine que ce soit, toute modernité risquant de remettre en cause l'intégrité des principes éternels de l'Eglise.</footnote>
dans un culte célébré publiquement le vendredi. La religion suscite ainsi l'existence d'une communauté musulmane (confessionnelle par nature) à l'intérieur de la société française globale et cette dernière ne peut plus ignorer la présence musulmane et se désintéresser de la présence musulmane dans le pays.

De nombreux musulmans sont en quête d'une spiritualité enfin partageable entre tous, athées, agnostiques et croyants de toutes confessions. Les générations qui arrivent sont mues par cette immense espérance d'une « respiritualisation » du monde (A.Binar, 2016). Leurs ainées sécularisées se battaient pour une société qui soit la plus juste. A ce combat pour le progrès politique, ces nouvelles générations veulent ajouter le progrès à leur religiosité.

Elles perçoivent que les deux sont inséparables, que la transformation personnelle sera demain la condition- l'énergie- de la transformation sociale. Elle refuse le monde d'hier, qui ne donnait plus guère de droit de cité au spirituel, qui mesurait la valeur d'une vie en termes de réussite matérielle, de plaisirs sensibles. En rupture avec ce modèle, cette jeunesse veut éprouver la joie bien exaltante de se sentir vivante, animée par cette sublime source lumineuse décrite par toutes les traditions de sagesse d'Orient et d'Occident. (A.Binar, 2016).

## BIBLIOGRAPHIE sélective

* BINAR, Abdennour, *Révolution spirituelle*, Paris, Almora, 2021.

* CHEBEL, Malek, *Manifeste pour un islam des Lumières*, Paris, Hachette, 2004.

* COSTEA, Maria and Costea, Simion (coord.), *Diplomație și actori geopolitici în epoca interdependenței complexe/Diplomacy and Geopolitical Players in the Age of Complex Interdependence*, Cluj-Napoca, Napoca Star, 2021.

* COSTEA, Simion and Labori, Michel, *Le Management des Politiques de l'Union Européenne* PARIS, Prodifmultimedia, 2011.

* COSTEA, Simion (coordinator), *Culture, Elites and European Integration, Volume IV – International Relations and European Union Interdisciplinary Studies*, PARIS, Editions Prodifmultimedia, 2011.

* COSTEA, Maria, Costea, Simion, (2015, ISI proceedings article), "Challenges of the EU in the migrant/Refugee Crisis in 2015", p.166-175, in vol. *Discourse as a form of multiculturalism in literature and communication. History of cultural mentalities* Tîrgu-Mureş, Arhipelag XXI Press, 2015.

* GALONNIER, Juliette, *Politiques de lutte contre la radicalisation*, Paris, Presse de Sciences Po, 2022.

* KHADIATOULAH, Fall, *Djihadisme, radicalisation et Islamophobie en débats*, Paris, Collection Intercultures, 2021.

* KHOSROKHAVAR, Farhad, *Radicalisation*, Paris, éditions FMSH, 2019.

* LAMOTE, Thierry, *La féroce ignorance*, Paris, Archives Kareline, 2023.

* MAUCADE, Julien, *La radicalisation*, Paris, L'Harmattan, 2018.

* N'GHAHANE, Pierre, *La voie de la radicalisation*, Paris, Armand Colin, 2023.

* ROY, Olivier, *L'Islam mondialisé*, Paris, Le Seuil, 2009.

* KEPEL, Gilles, *Prophète en son pays*, Paris, Editions de l'Observatoire, 2023.

* SAIDI, Hedi, *Mémoire forcée et Histoire difficile*, Université de Sfax, Tunisie, 2020.
# Measuring Performance Management in Albanian Public Administration

(The relationship of work-life balance, work-family conflict, and family-work conflict with employee performance – the moderating role of job satisfaction)

MSC.SABINA CENOLLI AND PROF.ASOC ULPIAN HOTI

DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF REALD, VLORE
sabinacenolli@yahoo.com

**Abstract:** This study aims to examine the effect of work life balance and burnout on job satisfaction and its impact on Employee Performance. This study uses explanatory quantitative research on Public Administration in Albania with 35 respondents processed using the SEM-CB approach. The results of the study indicate that work life balance directly influences Job Satisfaction in Public Administration in Albania, burnout directly influences Job Satisfaction, work life balance directly influences employees. The success or failure of employee performance that has been achieved by the organization will be influenced by the level of performance of employees individually or in groups. Performance is the result or level of success of a person as a whole, during a certain period in carrying out tasks compared to various possibilities, such as work standards, targets, or criteria that have been determined in advance and have been mutually agreed upon. This study aims to explore the relationship between work-life balance, work-family conflict and work-family conflict and employee performance perceptions with job satisfaction serving as a moderating variable.

**Keywords:** work life balance, burnout, job satisfaction, employee performance

## INTRODUCTION

Employees are a renewable asset of the organization, they are a key driver of change, especially in a rapidly changing environment. Companies must constantly redesign their work to align with their business strategy and improve organizational performance. In the study of employee or employee performance management, there are things that require important considerations because the individual performance of an employee in the organization is part of the organization's performance and can determine the organization's performance. The success or failure of employee performance that is achieved by the organization will be affected by the level of performance of employees individually or as a group.

The importance of paying attention and developing performance is not only a need for organizations that aim for financial gains, but also a need for non-profit organizations, such as government organizations/institutions that perform various functions of governance and national development. Employees in governmental institutions have a very important role as executors of governmental activities. The Institute of Statistics (INSTAT) asks interested parties to measure the performance of their employees by providing quality statistical data. The provision of data to interested parties is carried out through various statistical activities, be it registration, survey or compilation of administrative data/secondary data which are carried out periodically, continuously or at any time with a predetermined period of implementation. Therefore, the physical and mental conditions of employees must be in good condition in order to achieve qualitative work and work objectives.
<figure><img src="image_9.png" /><figcaption>Figure 1.1 Figure of Performance Achievements of INSTAT employees. 2017-2021</figcaption></figure>

The image above shows the components of the performance achievements of INSTAT employees for the period 2017-2021, the results show that there is a decrease in the performance achievements of INSTAT employees in 2021 compared to the previous year. This performance achievement component contains several key performance indicators, including indicators aimed at increasing human resource (HR) capacity and institutional arrangements. In order to maintain the quality and commitment of the employees who are required to achieve the given objectives, in general, many companies are currently implementing Work Life Balance programs. The success of work always depends on teamwork or human resources in the organization. Getting maximum results through maintaining a work-life balance of employees becomes very important for the organization. An organization must recognize that the basic demands of employees and work stress must be balanced so that team members can deliver maximum results without fatigue (Ullah and Durrani, 2011). But if not managed properly, it can be a disaster for the organization, which ultimately, in turn, reduces the performance of the employees. In project management methodologies, work-life balance has become very important, especially in human resource management and organizational behavior studies. In previous research, it has been identified that work-life balance has a very large effect, which has a significant correlation with employees' family life, personal health, organizational responsibility, work performance and loss of efficiency in the workplace (Zheng and Wu, 2018). Discrepancy between the professional life and personal life of employees is a major concern for organizational progress because it directly affects the organizational performance chart (Muhammad Irfan et al., 2021). A person can live a happy, healthy and successful life when there is a work-life balance. Work-life balance is indeed of major concern for those who want to have a good quality of life (Breitenecker and Shah, 2018). In this case, balance is achieved when there is harmony between work and life. (Semlali and Hassi, 2016) Since the last decade, the concept of work-life balance has been seen as important for both organizations and people, and has been proven to contribute greatly to increasing employee productivity, which in turn, has a positive impact on the organization. (Guthrie, 2012). An effective work-life balance policy adopted by the organization allows employees to engage with the community while ensuring that costs and turnover are controlled and productivity is increased (Helmle et al., 2014). Soomro et al, (2017:129-146) in their research titled "The relationship of work-life balance, work-family conflict and family-work conflict with employee performance - the moderating role of job satisfaction". This study aims to explore the relationship between work-life balance, work-family conflict and work-family conflict and employee performance perceptions with job satisfaction serving as a moderating variable. The sample used by the questionnaire was distributed to 280 teaching members as respondents. The results of this study indicate that work-life balance is positively related to employee performance. The coefficient is positive (0.22) and highly significant, as expected. The equation of this research with the research to be conducted is to examine the relationship between work life
balance variables and employee performance. The difference between this research and the research that will be carried out is in the object and in the data analysis, namely this study uses AMOS 20, while the research that will be carried out uses PLS and in this study job satisfaction as a mediating variable, while the research that will be performed is job satisfaction as an intervening variable. However, it is different from the research conducted by Chiekezie et al., (2016) which does not affect the work-life balance with the performance of the workers because in improving the performance the objective is used. Employees try to meet this goal by any means for fear of losing their jobs. It can be interpreted that employee performance does not depend on work-life balance. Regardless of whether or not there is a work-life balance, workers still strive to work well because they have goals that need to be met. In addition, boredom at work is also highly influential on employee performance. One of the effects of fatigue is the reduction of productivity, if not treated immediately it will damage the institution and the individual himself. According to Rizka (2013), fatigue is a psychological syndrome that will happen to a person when that person performs the same job for a very long time. This condition will cause people to experience prolonged stress in their work. However, it is different from the results of the research conducted by Yoanisa Mahaardiani et al (2013), Hayati and Fitria (2018), which in their research found that there was no significant impact on employee performance because of fatigue. In addition, improving the quality of performance is also influenced by employee satisfaction. Job satisfaction is a positive feeling about one's job, which is the result of an evaluation of its characteristics (Robbins & Judge, 2008). Affandi (2016) who says that job satisfaction causes an increase in performance, so that satisfied workers are more productive at work. Likewise, Wirawan (2013) says that people's positive or negative feelings and attitudes towards their work have implications as for their impact on themselves and the organization. If people are satisfied with their work, they enjoy it and are motivated to perform their work and their performance is high, otherwise if they are not satisfied with their work, they are not motivated to perform their jobs and their performance is low. The results of this study are supported by the research of Ali, Idris and Kalalinggi (2013) which shows that job satisfaction has a significant and positive effect on employee performance. The research of Ali, Idris and Kalalinggi (2013) is consistent with the research conducted by Rosita and Yuniati (2016) and Febriyana (2015) which also shows that job satisfaction has a significant and positive effect on employee performance. To achieve job satisfaction, there are many factors that influence it, including work-life balance and fatigue. The results of a study conducted by Fayyazi & Aslani (2015) said that work-life balance has a significant positive impact on employee satisfaction for company workers in Albania. Supported by research by Amalina et al., (2018), Arif & Farooqi (2014) and Rene (2018) who state that work-life balance has an impact on job satisfaction. Meanwhile, there are differences in the research results of Farha et al., (2017), Hidayatulloh (2019), namely that work-life balance has no effect on satisfaction. This is the basis for making the satisfaction variable a mediating variable for the effect of work-life balance and burnout on the environmental performance of INSTAT employees.

## LITERATURE REVIEW

### Work-Life Balance

Work-life balance has good content at work and outside of work with minimal conflict (Clark in Fapohunda, 2014), this work-life balance is about how a person seeks balance and comfort at work and outside work. In aligning these two things, there is a need for balance, many employees find it difficult to manage both at work and their own health. This is especially important in the area of human resources where this balance plays an important role in the smooth running and success of employees (Saleem & Abbasi, 2015). Schermerhorn (2013) revealed that Work-Life Balance is a person's ability to balance the demands of work with personal and family needs. According to
Delecta (2011), Work-Life Balance is defined as an individual's ability to fulfill their work and family commitments, as well as other non-work responsibilities. According to Robbins and Coulter (2012), the work-life balance program includes resources for parent and childcare, employee health and welfare, relocation, and others. Where many companies offer family-friendly benefits, employees need to balance life and work, which include flextime, job sharing, telecommunicating and others. The time needed in the two different roles, if the needs and demands of an employee have been met, it can be said that the employee has a work-life balance. Based on the above definition, it can be concluded that there is a balance between roles in work and outside work where there is minimal conflict between roles within the organization and roles in the employees' lives. Balance is also associated with employees who are able to maintain and feel harmony in life, in the work environment, and roles in the neighborhood. An employee will also achieve success in his personal life as well as in a satisfying work life if the involvement between his time and his role goes well. Burnout is a state of extreme psychological stress so that individuals experience emotional exhaustion and low motivation to work. Burnout can be a result of chronic work stress (King, 2010). Maslach and Leiter (in Rizka, 2013) argue that burnout is a negative emotional reaction that occurs in the work environment, when the individual experiences prolonged stress. Burnout is a psychological syndrome that includes fatigue, depersonalization, and decreased ability to perform routine tasks such as causing anxiety, depression, or even sleep disturbances. Burnout is a situation where employees suffer from chronic fatigue, boredom, depression and withdrawal from work. The stress reaction that is especially common in people with high standards is burnout. Burnout is a state of emotional and physical exhaustion, low productivity, and feelings of isolation, often caused by work-related stress. Burnout is a state of psychological pressure on an employee after being in the job for a certain period of time. So, from the description above, it can be concluded that Burnout is psychological pressure due to emotional exhaustion experienced by employees, so that they are often weak, tired, hopeless and have low work motivation.

## JOB SATISFACTION

In working, employees do not just work, but employees will face various situations, for example the relationship with co-workers, the work relationship with superiors, the rewards received, and also promotion opportunities. It can be said that job satisfaction is a predictor in terms of achieving individual welfare and in considering a person's desire or decision to leave his job (Indrasari, 2017).

The following are stated by several experts regarding the definition of job satisfaction, including the following:

1. Robbins and Timothy (2019), said that job satisfaction is a positive feeling towards work, resulting from an evaluation of its characteristics because employees who have high job satisfaction will have positive feelings towards their work.

2. According to A.A Anwar Prabu Mangkunegara (2017), job satisfaction is the feeling of employees who support or not activities related to the work or the condition of the employee, the expression of feelings involving several aspects such as wages or salaries, career development opportunities, relationships between co-workers, placement work, type of work, and organizational structure

3. Robbins (Wibowo, 2016, P.415) Job satisfaction is a general attitude towards a person's job that shows the difference between the number of awards received at work and the amount they believe they should receive.

4. Greenbeg and Baron (Wibowo, 2016, P.415) describe Job Satisfaction as a positive or negative attitude that individuals have towards their work. Meanwhile, Vecchino (Wibowo, 2016:
415) defines Job Satisfaction as a person's thoughts, feelings, and action tendencies, which is a person's attitude towards work.

**3.1 Employee Performance**

Performance is the result or level of success of a person, over a certain period, in carrying out tasks compared to various possibilities, such as work standards, targets, targets or criteria that have been determined in advance and have been mutually agreed upon. According to Anwar Prabu Mangkunegara (2013) performance is the result of work in quality and quantity achieved by an employee in carrying out his duties in accordance with the responsibilities given to him. According to Irham Fahmi (2016) performance is the result obtained by an organization, both when the organization is profit oriented and non-profit oriented, which is produced over a period of time. According to Kasmir (2016), performance is the result of work and work behavior that has been achieved in completing the tasks and responsibilities given in a certain period. Meanwhile, according to Edison (2016) performance is the result of a process that refers and is measured over a certain period of time based on pre-determined provisions or agreements. From the various definitions for performance above, it can be concluded that performance is the performance or appearance or work of a person or organization in carrying out work to achieve goals and can be measured by standards that have been set for a certain period.

**THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK**

Pratama and Setiadi (2021) explain in their research that personal life work disorders interfere with personal life with work, increased work life, increased personal life affect employee satisfaction. Through this research, it is hoped that new businesses can benefit from work-life balance policies to increase job satisfaction. Next, Ganapathi (2016) explains in his research that work-life balance has a positive effect on employee job satisfaction. Supported by research by Rondonuwu, et al (2018) that work-life balance affects employee job satisfaction. Research suggests that work-life balance has a positive and significant effect on job satisfaction, burnout has a negative effect on job satisfaction, but the results are not significant. Prianto and Bachtiar (2020) found in their research that burnout has a negative effect on job satisfaction. Gemely and Baharuddin (2020); Khdour (2015); Lu & Gursoy (2013); Mendieta & Cosano-Rivas (2011) explained that burnout has an effect on employee job satisfaction. Bataineh (2019); Irfan, et al (2021); Lely, et al (2022); Metea, et al (2014); Wu, et al (2018); Kurnia and Widigdo (2021) suggest that work-life balance and burnout affect employee performance.

**4.1 Methods**

This research was conducted on the public administration employees of INSTAT. The researchers chose for this research causal research. Causal research is chosen because it aims to test the hypothesis about influence. The population of this study is infinite; this is because there is no collection of objects or individuals that are the subject of the search known limits or measurements of the total number of individuals included in the study can be made. The population in this study were INSTAT employees. In this study, the sampling technique used was non-probability sampling with a purposive sampling technique. The reason for using purposive sampling is that it is hoped that the sample to be taken meets the criteria of the research to be conducted. The sample used in this study was 100 employees. Data analysis is to interpret and draw conclusions from some collected data. This research uses SEM (Structural Equation Model) to process and analyze the research data. Through SEM software, not only the causal relationship (direct and indirect) in the observed variables or constructs can be revealed, but also the components that contribute to the construct itself
can be quantified so that the causal relationship between the variables or constructs becomes more informative, complete and accurate.

## 4.2 Result and Discussion

Based on the results of the feasibility test of the research model, the next analysis is Structural Analysis Equal Modeling (SEM) in a full model. The results of data processing for the full model SEM analysis are explained as follows

<table><caption>Table 1 Research Model Feasibility</caption><thead><tr><td>The Goodness of Fit Index</td><td>Cut off Value</td><td>Result</td><td>Information</td></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Chi-Square</td><td>&lt; 149,885</td><td>113.221</td><td>GOOD</td></tr><tr><td>Probability</td><td>≥ 0,05</td><td>0.113</td><td>GOOD</td></tr><tr><td>CMIN/DF</td><td>≤ 2,00</td><td>1.671</td><td>GOOD</td></tr><tr><td>AGFI</td><td>≥ 0,90</td><td>0.920</td><td>GOOD</td></tr><tr><td>GFI</td><td>≥ 0,90</td><td>0.977</td><td>GOOD</td></tr><tr><td>TLI</td><td>≥ 0,95</td><td>0.912</td><td>GOOD</td></tr><tr><td>CFI</td><td>≥ 0,95</td><td>0.934</td><td>GOOD</td></tr><tr><td>RMSEA</td><td>≤ 0,08</td><td>0.018</td><td>GOOD</td></tr></tbody></table>

Source: Primary Data Processed, 2022

The results of the feasibility test of the model presented in Table 1 show that the overall test criteria are in a good category or meet the required evaluation criteria. In the ChiSquare test, a model will be considered good if the results show the calculated Chi-Square value less than the table Chi-Square value. The largest Chi-Square number, which is less than the value of the Chi-Square table, indicates that the better the model means there is no difference between the population estimate and the tested sample. This research model shows that the calculated Chi-Square value is 113.221, while the critical value / Chi-Square table with df = 123 is 149.885. Because the calculated Chi-Square value in this study is less than the critical value, it means that the research model is not different from the estimated population / the model is considered good (accepted).

## 4.3 Hypothesis Testing

The structural equation model consists of two exogenous variables and one endogenous variable. Table 2 shows that the estimate of standardized effects consists of an estimate of standardized direct effects.
<table><thead><tr><th rowspan="2">HIP</th><th colspan="3">Variable</th><th colspan="2">Regression Coefficient</th></tr><tr><th colspan="3"></th><th colspan="2">Direct Effect</th></tr><tr><th>HO</th><th>Exogen</th><th>Endogen</th><th>→</th><th>Coef</th><th>Prob.</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>H1</td><td>Work-Life Balance</td><td>Job Satisfaction<br>Job</td><td>→</td><td>0.95</td><td>0.000</td></tr><tr><td>H2</td><td>Work-Life</td><td>Job Satisfaction<br>Job</td><td>→</td><td>0.02</td><td>0.025</td></tr><tr><td>H3</td><td>Balance</td><td>Employee<br>Performance</td><td>→</td><td>0.945</td><td>0.000</td></tr><tr><td>H4</td><td>Burnout</td><td>Satisfaction<br>Employee<br>Performance</td><td>→</td><td>0.03</td><td>0.037</td></tr><tr><td>H5</td><td>Job Satisfaction</td><td>Employee<br>Performance</td><td>→</td><td>0.242</td><td>0.039</td></tr></tbody></table>

Source: Primary Data Processed, 2022

Table 2, shows that the analysis results illustrate that all paths in the structural equation model have a significant effect (p-value or probability value <0.05). The direct effect of work-life balance on Job Satisfaction is 0.95; burnout on Job Satisfaction is 0.02; work-life balance on employee performance is 0.945; burnout on employee performance is 0.95 and Job Satisfaction on employee performance is 0.242.

## DISCUSSION

**H1: The Effect of Work Life Balance on Job Satisfaction**

Work life balance has a direct influence on job satisfaction, which means that if employees have balance in their work life, their satisfaction will significantly increase. This study supports the results of research by Pratama & Setiadi (2021); Rondonuwu, et al (2018); Paangemanan, et al (2017) state that work life balance can increase job satisfaction

**H2: The Influence of Burnout on Job Satisfaction**

Burnout has a direct influence on job satisfaction, which means that if employees enjoy their work in the office, their satisfaction will significantly increase. This study supports the results of research by Prianto and Bachtiar (2020); Gemely and Baharuddin (2020); Khdour (2015); Lu & Gursoy (2013); Mendieta & Cosano-Rivas (2011) which state that burnout influence job satisfaction.

**H3: The Influence of Work-Life Balance on Employee Performance**

Work-life balance has a direct influence on employee performance, which means if employee have balance in their work life, their performance will significantly increase. This study supports the results of research by Bataineh (2019); Irfan, et al (2021); Lely, et al (2022); Metea, et al (2014); Wu, et al (2018); Kurnia and Widigdo (2021) which state that work life balance can increase employee performance.

**H4: The Effect of Burnout on Employee Performance**

Burnout has a direct influence on employee performance, which means that if employees enjoy work in the office, their performance will significantly increase. This study supports the results of research by Bataineh (2019); Irfan, et al (2021); Lely, et al (2022); Metea, et al (2014); Wu, et al (2018); Kurnia and Widigdo (2021) which state that burnout influence employee performance.

**H5: The Influence of Job Satisfaction on Employee Performance**

Job Satisfaction has a direct influence on employee performance, which means that if employees enjoy work in the office, their performance will significantly increase. This study supports the results of research by Bataineh (2019); Lely, et al (2022); Metea, et al (2014); Wu, et al
(2018); Kurnia and Widigdo (2021) which state that job satisfactions influence employee performance

## CONCLUSIONS

The results showed that the rise and fall in employee performance and job satisfactions in the organization is influenced by work-life balance and burnout. Based on study of the results, it can be seen that work-life balance has a partial effect on job satisfaction and employee performance, which means that if employees have a balanced work-life ratio, their satisfaction and performance will significantly go up. Also, burnout has an effect on job satisfaction and employee performance, which means that if employees enjoy work in the office, their satisfactions and performance will significantly increase. Job Satisfaction has a direct influence on employee performance, which means that if employees enjoy work in the office, their performance will significantly increase.

## Suggestions and Recommendations

The limitation of this study is that the research only focuses on work-life balance and burnout as factors that affects job satisfaction and employee performance. In fact, the factors that affect job satisfaction and employee performance are not only work-life balance and burnout, but their organizational culture, competence, discipline, and so on.

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