Constitutional Court postpones Communist appeal against 'Soviet Occupation Day' decree

The Constitutional Court today postponed until Monday, July 12, the hearing of the appeal submitted by a group of Communist MPs challenging the constitutionality of the decree by acting President Mihai Ghimpu declaring June 28 to be the Day of Soviet Occupation, Info-Prim Neo reports. In a request to the Court, Mihai Ghimpu asked for a postponement until “a later time”. Asked by Constitutional Court Chair Dumitru Pulbere to be more precise, presidential aide Alexandru Ohotnicov explained President (and concurrently Speaker) Mihai Ghimpu wouldn't be available for court hearings until the parliamentary session closed in September. Deputy Justice Minister Oleg Efrim, Government's representative to the Court, argued Ghimpu's participation in the hearings was crucial because no one would be able to defend the decree better than its author. Sergiu Sirbu, lawyer for the Communist Party, said Ghimpu's request for a postponement was unjustified. “The Parliament's session is not a reason for someone to fail to appear before the Constitutional Court. The Speaker has three deputies who can well preside over the parliamentary meetings in his stead”. “The fact that he attempted to postpone the Court hearings until September demonstrates that he tries to avoid as hard as he can a pronouncement upon this decree, which has had a significant social impact. (...) A delay of two or three months can further worsen the social and economic situation of the country as well as the relations with the foreign partners”, argued Sergiu Sirbu. Mihai Ghimpu recently decreed June 28 to be the Soviet Occupation Day and a day of mourning for the victims of the totalitarian communist regime.