One of the guarantees of independence is the irremovabilty of the judges of the Constitutional Court. Article 137 of the Constitution provides that the CC judges cannot be removed, are independent and obey only the Constitution. The immovability implies the impossibility of removing, recalling or replacing, CC president Domnica Manole stated after the Court declared the Parliament decisions to annul her appointment and to name Boris Lupașcu in her place as unconstitutional, IPN reports.
“The ban on revoking the mandate of the constitutional judge is absolute in the case of authorities that delegate constitutional judges. Therefore, the two challenged Parliament decisions encroach upon the essence of the Constitution, reconfiguring the system of separation and control of powers,“ Domnica Manole stated in a press briefing.
The Court noted that the two decisions refer to a public post of constitutional rank. In its decision of May 20, 2020, the CC held that it is competent to exercise control if Parliament decisions or the President’s decrees on public post of constitutional rank are challenged. These posts are specified in the Constitution and play a fundamental role in ensuring constitutional legal order.
In a decision in which it analyzed the organization and functioning of the Constitutional Court, the Court specified the independence is not a goal and does not represent a personal privilege, but aims to ensure the protection of judges so as to guarantee their role of protectors of the human rights and freedoms.
In another decision, the CC held that it represents a pillar of democracy and preeminence of the law and contributes to the proper functioning of the public authorities within the constitutional relations of separation, balancing, cooperation and control of state powers. To ensure the supremacy of the Constitution and separation of powers, the Court must be able to fulfill its duties independently from any other public authority.
