Effects And Limits Of The Constitutional Court Decisions In Criminal Matters

Referring to the provisions contained in the general provisions of Law no. 47/1992 on the organization and functioning of the Constitutional Court, which states that this authority of constitutional jurisdiction, as the guarantor of the supremacy of the Constitution, ensures the control of the constitutionality of the laws, activity in which it decides only on the constitutionality of the acts on which it was notified without being able to amend or supplement the provisions under control and the provisions contained in Art. 31 of the same regulation, stating that the decision establishing the unconstitutionality of a law or ordinance or a provision of a law or an ordinance in force is final and binding, which is a resumption of the provisions found in Art. 143-147 of the Constitution of Romania, the recent practice of the Constitutional Court and the application of its decisions involve certain discussions. On the one hand, it is observed that some decisions of the Constitutional Court, accepting the exceptions of unconstitutionality, interpret the criminal legal norms under control, giving them a new meaning, and on the other hand, it is observed that sometimes, although the Constitutional Court rejeted the objections of unconstitutionality, its arguments are used to interpret the questionable criminal legal rules in judicial practice, although these decisions are not apt to be applied. In such a situation it is necessary to establish in unequivocal terms the extent of the decisions of the Constitutional Court in criminal matters and their conformity or their application with the regulations governing them.