100 YEARS OF CONSTITUTIONALITY CONTROL

Abstract

One of the most important guarantees of the rule of law is the constitutionality control of laws (and of the government ordinances). In Romania, we may speak about a real system of control of constitutionality starting with 1912 (just a little over 100 year!). The recognitions as a legal mechanism were made by Romanian Constitution of 1923. During the period of the communist regime, the constitutionality control was reduced to a formality. After the Revolution of 1989, the constitutionality control has been reintroduced into the Romanian constitutional system. But the Romanian Constitution-maker of 1991 gave up the traditional form of the constitutionality control, concentrated, exercised by the supreme court alone, and chose the “European model”, respectively a system where the constitutionality control is exercised by the Constitutional Court, a specialized body, organized only for this purpose, and which is not part of the judiciary power of the State.This paper represents a short review of (a little over) 100 year of constitutionality control in Romania.