Rule of law in Romania. Recent evolutions and challenges

Abstract

In addressing the issues underlying this study, we will refer to the rule of law as it results from the Constitution, the national doctrine, and case-law, to the dimension of this principle targeting the independence of the judiciary and national judges, the constitutional relationship between domestic and EU law, a framework for the limits of the intervention of the two levelled authorities, and to recent developments in the Court of Justice of the European Union-Constitutional Court of Romania relations, as it results from the relevant case-law of these courts. The conclusions highlight the importance of the rule of law as an integrating principle and as the foundation of the EU constitutional order and of constitutional loyalty as a possible “link” of the legal orders within the EU, still characterized by a significant degree of heterogeneity. From this perspective, we believe that it is necessary to be aware of the need for a consensus (in the light of the same principle) on concepts with a still vague content, such as “national constitutional identity” and “traditions” of Member States, sometimes used  as a counterbalance with populist accents in the face of an alleged “attack” on the sovereignty of the Member States by the EU institutions.