The Balance of Power in the Law-Making Process in Romania between 1990 and 2018: Parliament vs. Government
The Balance of Power in the Law-Making Process in Romania between 1990 and 2018: Parliament vs. Government

Summary/Abstract: The current article demonstrates how during transition from a totalitarian system to democracy in Romania, democracy could be shaken by the fact that the Government takes on Parliament’s attributes regarding its powers to legislate. In other words, the Parliament becomes an “annex” of the Government. Normally, one could assume that, by virtue of the cooperation and solidarity between the Parliament and the Government, the more solid the parliamentary majority is, the less the Government would need to interfere with the law-making process of the Parliament. But the same solid majority in the Parliament could also be a guarantee that an Emergency Ordinance adopted by the government remains in force without even being democratically debated in the Parliament. The ordinances with potential to divide the society are not passed through the Parliament so that they cannot be challenged by the opposition or by the Presidency at the Constitutional Court. Thus, at the 28th anniversary of the transition of Romania from communism to democracy - we can observe an increase in government power in the field of direct regulation. The Parliament is also actively involved in this “game” by not contesting this transfer of duties. The paper analyses and compares the number of Emergency Ordinances and simple Ordinances adopted by the Government and the number of laws adopted by Parliament and the context in which they were passed.

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