LUXEMBOURG (CN) — Romanian judges should be free to look into whether national laws comply with European Union regulations, the bloc’s top court found on Tuesday.
The European Court of Justice ruled that a Romanian Constitutional Court decision barring lower court judges from investigating if laws on the books in the southeastern European country adhere to EU law violates the bloc's rules.
The question was referred to the Luxembourg-based court by the Craiova Court of Appeal last year and arose from a 2020 complaint about the impartiality of judges in a criminal case. The defendant in that case, referred to as RS in court documents, was convicted of unspecified criminal charges. He alleged that witnesses who testified against him had lied as part of a conspiracy with a public prosecutor and two judges.
To rule on the case, the Court of Appeal felt that it had to assess Romanian legislation which created a special prosecutors office to investigate judges and prosecutors accused of crimes. The Treaty on European Union - one of the foundational documents of the EU - stipulates that investigations into courts must not be political or curtail the independence of the judiciary. However, a 2021 ruling by the Romanian Constitutional Court forbade lower court judges from ruling on questions of whether Romanian law complies with EU regulations.
Refusing to let member states' courts rule on compliance would “undermine the effectiveness of the cooperation between the Court of Justice and the national courts” the EU court's Grand Chamber wrote, since it would likely preclude national courts from referring questions to the Luxembourg court. Romanian lower court judges have said they were penalized for questioning the Constitutional Court’s ruling over issues of EU law.
Last year, the Court of Justice held that a series of controversial judicial reforms in Romania passed between 2017 and 2019 failed to meet EU standards. Protests broke out around the country in response, with thousands accusing the government of stacking the Constitutional Court with sympathizers.
Just before Christmas, the Romanian court ruled that the country’s constitution trumps EU law, in a decision reminiscent of one made by Poland's constitutional court in October.
According to EU treaties, the Court of Justice has final authority over questions of EU law. Poland is being fined 1 million euros a day unless it rescinds controversial judicial reforms, and in a landmark decision last week, the Court of Justice gave Brussels the go-ahead to cut off funding if countries don’t adhere to rule-of-law standards.
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