Former Constitutional Court Judge Augustin Zegrean warned on Wednesday that the direction things are heading suggests a possible referral to the Court of Justice, given the fifth postponement of the Court’s decision on magistrates’ pension reform, until February 18. “I shy away from making decisions, from issuing verdicts, because things have turned strange in Romania so many times that I can no longer do that. (…) But logic leads in that direction,” he said.
When asked if the short timeframe could indicate an impending decision regarding magistrates’ pensions, Augustin Zegrean, former judge of the Constitutional Court, told Digi24: “But, but I fear that We see almost the decision to refer the case to the Court of Justice.”
Referring to the February 18 deadline, Zegrean explained: “Yes, as things are unfolding, I believe this will be the end, because it was postponed precisely to study what the High Court of Cassation and Justice submitted yesterday. So, the request to refer the case to the Court of Justice, to send a preliminary question.”
When questioned whether it was almost certain that this question would be formulated, the former CCR judge replied: “I shy away from making decisions, from issuing verdicts, because things have turned strange in Romania so many times that I can no longer do that. Years ago, I could say, after a position very close to 100%, what will happen. Now I can’t do that, but logic leads in that direction. Otherwise, what’s the point of postponing today? Why postpone?”
Augustin Zegrean likewise commented on the reasons invoked for the previous postponements.
“In the past, they said one thing or another, but today they had nothing to say. There were 9 judges there. They could have debated, couldn’t they?” he added.
Pension Reform and the Risk of Losing European Funds
In the context of warnings that Romania could lose money from the PNRR due to the delays, the former constitutional judge emphasized that the financial argument should not influence a decision of the Court. The ongoing debate over pension reform highlights the complex interplay between national law and European funding.
“Normally, no, because the issue isn’t framed as money or Constitution, money or respect for the law. No, that’s not how it’s framed. That whole formulation is wrong. They had solutions to resolve the problem without reaching these final situations. How to say, there’s nothing left to choose. Since November, they’ve been telling us that this money will be lost. It’s not a recent story. Who should believe them anymore? It seemed like November 28 was the final deadline, but the Court went ahead and found an intermediate deadline. Now they’re telling us this is the final deadline. No, I can’t believe that. Plus, it’s not great for judges to look at such situations. They must respect and apply the Constitution there. That’s what the Constitutional Court is for. If not, there’s no point in keeping it,” the former judge added.
How Long a CCR Decision Could Take
Zegrean again drew attention to the fact that if the CCR refers to the Court of Justice of the EU, then the process could take years.
“In the practice of Romanian courts, this method is applied. Many referrals are sent to the European Court of Human Rights, because, after accession, Romania is obliged to respect European legislation. If Romanian legislation is contrary to European provisions, the judge is obliged to set aside the law and apply European legislation. If the High Court, You’ll see 120 judges at the High Court. They are presumed to be the strongest and greatest judges in this country. If they believe that what the Government wants to do now, through this emergency ordinance or assumption of responsibility, I don’t even know what it was, because now they adopt packages, laws are no longer adopted, is contrary to European provisions, then they are right to make this request. But they don’t decide whether the case will go to the European Court. That’s decided by those at the Constitutional Court,” he reiterated.
The former judge recalled that the principle of supremacy of European law is provided for in the Fundamental Law itself.
“It is in Article 148 of the Romanian Constitution, it was introduced before joining the EU, in 2003, precisely in view of accession,” Zegrean concluded.
Editor: Ana Petrescu
