Justice - Supreme Value Consecrated by the Constitution of Romania
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JUSTICE - SUPREME VALUE CONSECRATED BY THE CONSTITUTION
OF ROMANIA
Tudorel TOADER', Maricta SAFTA'
e-mail: ttoaderguaic.ro
Abstract
Justice, as constitutional principle-value, signifies, firstly, a dimension of the Constitution, namely that of being a
righteous law, in the sense of settling the entire constitutional system on a foundation of fair and equitable rules,
designed to eliminate any aspirations to omnipotence and also to protect some fundamental values that, as a whole,
tend to the idea of social justice. Thus, justice is immanent in all constitutional norms and, therefore, landmark of
essence for their interpretation and application. The interpreter of the fundamental law, and moreover the Constitutional
Court, as a guarantor of its supremacy, is called to identify the most fair/equitable meaning and manner of application,
referring his action to the same supreme value - justice. Express recognition of justice as a value/principle in
constitutional review appears as a genuine factor of forming a consciousness of justice, and thereby of
constitutionalization of law in preventive effect.
Key words: justice, general principles, constitutional review, Constitutional Court
At the foundation of the fundamental law of
Romania lie a number of general principles which,
according to its authors' theses, define the
citizen's condition within the national collectivity,
in other words, the vital interests of the nation, as a
whole (A. Jorgovan, The Odyssey of Drafting the
Constitution, Vatra Romineasc6 Publishing House,
Tdrgu Mureq, 1998, p.155). These principles are
reflected in other constitutional norms developed,
in turn, in the infraconstitutional legislation.
MATERIAL AND METHOD
In the early years of the Constitutional Court
and of founding the constitutional review in
Romania, both the court decisions and the separate
opinions offered by the constitutional judges have
expressed concern for establishing the role of
constitutional norms with character of principle
within constitutional review. Thus, it was held,
among others, that the entire constitutional
regulation is subject to some general principles,
illustrating the provisions of Article 1. para. (3) of
the fundamental law, according to which Romania
is a rule of law, democratic and social state, in
which human dignity, the rights and freedoms of
citizens, the free development of human
personality, justice and political pluralism
represent supreme values and are guaranteed. [....]
A law violating not only the text, but also the
principles of the Constitution is unconstitutional.
[....]. It also has been distinguished between the
general principles, expressly regulated in Title I
of the Constitution, and the principles that emanate
from the entire regulation of the fundamental law,
for example that of the separation of powers
(expressly consecrated through the constitutional
revision of 2003) or that of equal opportunities to
political parties (Dan Victor Zldtescu, Separate
Opinion from Decision 73 of 4 June 1996,
published in the Official Journal of Romania, Part
I, no. 255 of 22 October 1996) and which were
both invoked by the Constitutional Court, even if
they did not have a specific regulation.
RESULTS AND CONSIDERATIONS
Examining the case law of the Constitutional
Court in its dynamic evolution, one notices that,
over time, it has often invoked as basis for
establishing unconstitutionality of law, the
principles contained in or deduced from Article 1
of the Constitution, whose sense it explained and
developed, by interpretation in accordance with the
international human rights treaties to which
Romania is a party and with the case law of
international courts called to guarantee them. On
other occasions, we have analyzed constitutional
loyalty (T.Toader, M.Safta, The Principle of
Loyalty in the Case Law of the Constitutional
1 Rector of All. Cuza University in layi, Judge at the Constitutional Court of Romania
2 Titu Maiorescu University in Bucharest, First assistant magistrate at the Constitutional Court of Romania
237](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/univjurid2&div=79&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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Justice - Supreme Value Consecrated by the Constitution of Romania
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