Regardless of the criticism leveled at the Constitutional Court and no matter what the position of so-called political leaders is, the Court’s decision that Parliament can be dissolved should be strictly obeyed. When the moment is suitable, the President of the Republic of Moldova will issue the decree on the dissolution of Parliament and snap elections will be held within 90 days. Any other interpretation will be a serious violation not only of the CC’s decision, but also of the Constitution. The CC is the only guarantor of the supremacy of the Constitution, Nicolae Osmochescu, ex-judge of the Constitutional Court, stated in IPN’s public debate “Constitutional Court’s judgment: what happened and what will happen in Moldova?”.
The former CC judge noted that absolutely all the aspects, including the political ones, are examined when the Court is asked to pronounce on an issue. But the Court has limited powers and it can provide solutions only on legal issues. While examining the President’s request, the representatives of Parliament provided primarily political arguments and made unjustified reference to alleged decisions of international institutions, including the Venice Commission, which are recommendatory in character. The Council of Europe, in its response to Zinaida Grechanyi, said that it cannot formulate relevant recommendations as this is the duty of the Constitutional Court. Those who go to the CC and the citizens too should realize this.
Nicolae Osmochescu noted that when it goes to the credibility of the CC, regardless of the procedure and process by which constitutional judges are selected, the decision to confirm them is ultimately taken by the political class. Two years ago, the CC was an element of the state capture. Now the court has a high level of credibility among the population. Surely, the persons with political and public posts will assess the Court’s decision differently, but the appraisal of society is more important.
According to the ex-judge, regardless of individual assessments, everyone – the President, the MPs, the political parties – should realize that the CC’s decisions are irrevocable and mandatory for everyone. “Any attempt not to obey them, to violate them, to disagree with them and to act against the CC judgment can be regarded as an act of revolt, attempted coup. The unfounded statements made by irresponsible politicians bring only discord in society. One should get used to the idea that to solve any problem, there are legal and political procedures that should be conducted in accordance with the law,” stated Nicolae Osmochescu.
He also said that the CC’s credibility depends first of all on the quality of the adopted decisions. “Even if there is a separate or dissident opinion, if the CC’s decision is adopted by a majority of votes, it is mandatory. One should not apply selective principles. Regardless of yesterday’s decision, the CC’s credibility has increased.”
The public debate “Constitutional Court’s judgment: what happened and what will happen in Moldova?” is the 183rd installment of IPN’s project “Developing Political Culture through Public Debates” that is supported by Germany’s Hanns Seidel Foundation.
