The Constitutional Court declared unconstitutional the law of December 2020 by which the law on the issuing of state bonds of 2016, the so-called “billion law”, was abrogated following a challenge filed by MPs Andrian Candu and Vladimir Cebotari, IPN reports.

The law of 2016 regulated the issuing of state bonds for executing the state guarantees provided to the National Bank of Moldova by the Ministry of Finance for guaranteeing the emergency loans for Banca de Economii, Banca Socială and Unibank. In December 2020, on the initiative of the Party of Socialists, the law was abrogated.

The Court held that the budget impact of the law of December 16, 2020 is evident. According to the Court, in the case of a bill that has a budget impact, Parliament must ask for the Government’s appraisal, while the executive is obliged to approve the bill submitted by the legislative body. There is no such an appraisal in the relevant section of the Parliament’s website. Consequently, the Court reached the conclusion that Parliament adopted the law in the absence of this appraisal.

The CC also held that under Article 131 par. (4) of the Constitution, there is the Parliament’s direct decisional dependence on the Government whose acceptance is required for amendments or legislative proposals that envisions the increase or reduction of costs, incomes or loans and the legislature cannot derogate from this imperative condition.

The Court’s judgment is definitive, cannot be appealed, takes effect when it is adopted and is published in the Official Gazette.

In a news conference held after the judgment was pronounced, Socialist MP Petru Burduja said their parliamentary group initiated a new bill by which the so-called “billion law” is repealed.