Fundamental Rights Freedoms and Duties

- Constitution of Romania

TITLE II: Fundamental Rights, Liberties and Duties of the Citizens

CHAPTER I - Common provisions

ARTICLE 15 - Universality

(1) All citizens enjoy the rights and freedoms granted to them by the Constitution and other laws, and have the duties laid down thereby.

(2) The law shall only act for the future, except for the more favourable criminal or administrative law.

ARTICLE 16 - Equality of rights

(1) Citizens are equal before the law and public authorities, without any privilege or discrimination.

(2) No one is above the law.

(3) Access to public, civil, or military positions or dignities may be granted, according to the law, to persons whose citizenship is Romanian and whose domicile is in Romania. The Romanian State shall guarantee equal opportunities for men and women to occupy such positions and dignities.

(4) After Romania's accession to the European Union, the Union's citizens who comply with the requirements of the organic law have the right to elect and be elected to the local public administration bodies.

ARTICLE 17 - Romanian citizens while abroad Romanian citizens while abroad shall enjoy the protection of the Romanian State and shall be bound to fulfil their duties, with theexception of those incompatible with their absence from the country.

ARTICLE 18 - Aliens and stateless persons

(1) Aliens and stateless persons living in Romania shall enjoy general protection of persons and assets, as guaranteed by the Constitution and other laws.

(2) The right of asylum shall be granted and withdrawn under the provisions of the law, in compliance with the international treaties and conventions Romania is a party to.

ARTICLE 19 - Extradition and expulsion

(1) No Romanian citizen shall be extradited or expelled from Romania.

(2) By exemption from the provisions of paragraph

(1), Romanian citizens can be extradited based on the international agreements Romania is a party to, according to the law and on a mutual basis.

(3) Aliens and stateless persons may be extradited only in compliance with an international convention or in terms of reciprocity.

(4) Expulsion or extradition shall be ruled by the court.

ARTICLE 20 - International treaties on human rights

(1) Constitutional provisions concerning the citizens' rights and liberties shall be interpreted and enforced in conformity with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, with the convenants and other treaties Romania is a party to.

(2) Where any inconsistencies exist between the covenants and treaties on the fundamental human rights Romania is a party to, and the national laws, the international regulations shall take precedence, unless the Constitution or national laws comprise more favourable provisions.

ARTICLE 21 - Free access to justice

(1) Every person is entitled to bring cases before the courts for the defence of his legitimate rights, liberties and interests.

(2) The exercise of this right shall not be restricted by any law.

(3) All parties shall be entitled to a fair trial and a solution of their cases within a reasonable term.

(4) Administrative special jurisdiction is optional and free of charge.

CHAPTER II - Fundamental rights and freedoms

ARTICLE 22 - Right to life, to physical and mental integrity

(1) The right to life, as well as the right to physical and mental integrity of person are guaranteed.

(2) No one may be subjected to torture or to any kind of inhuman or degrading punishment or treatment.

(3) The death penalty is prohibited.

ARTICLE 23 - Individual freedom

(1) Individual freedom and security of a person are inviolable.

(2) Search, detainment, or arrest of a person shall be permitted only in the cases and under the procedure provided by law.

(3) Detention shall not exceed twenty-four hours.

(4) Preventive custody shall be ordered by a judge and only in the course of criminal proceedings.

(5) During the criminal proceedings, the preventive custody may only be ordered for 30 days at the most and extended for 30 days at the most each, without the overall length exceeding a reasonable term, and no longer than i80 days.

(6) After the lawsuit has begun, the court is bound, according to the law, to check, on a regular basis and no later than 60 days, the lawfulness and grounds of the preventive custody, and to order at once the release of the defendant if the grounds for the preventive custody have ceased to exist or if the court finds there are no new grounds justifying the continuance of the custody.

(7) The decisions by a court of law on preventive custody may be subject to the legal proceedings stipulated by the law.

(8) Any person detained or arrested shall be promptly informed, in a language he understands, of the grounds for his detention or arrest, and notified of the charges against him, as soon as practicable; the notification of the charges shall be made only in the presence of a lawyer of his own choosing or appointed ex officio.

(9) The release of a detained or arrested person shall be mandatory if the reasons for such steps have ceased to exist, as well as under other circumstances stipulated by the law.

(10) A person under preventive custody shall have the right to apply for provisional release, under judicial control or on bail.

(11) Any person shall be presumed innocent till found guilty by a final decision of the court.

(12) Penalties shall be established or applied only in accordance with and on the grounds of the law.

(13) The freedom deprivation sanction can only be based on criminal grounds.

ARTICLE 24 - Right to defence

(1) The right to defence is guaranteed.

(2) All throughout the trial, the parties shall have the right to be assisted by a lawyer of their own choosing or appointed ex officio.

ARTICLE 25 - Freedom of movement

(1) The right of free movement within the national territory and abroad is guaranteed. The law shall lay down the conditions for the exercise of this right.

(2) Every citizen is guaranteed the right to establish his domicile or residence anywhere in the country, to emigrate, and to return to his country.

ARTICLE 26 - Personal and family privacy

(1) The public authorities shall respect and protect the intimate, family and private life.

(2) Any natural person has the right to freely dispose of himself unless by this he infringes on the rights and freedoms of others, on public order or morals.

ARTICLE 27 - Inviolability of domicile

(1) The domicile and the residence are inviolable. No one shall enter or remain in the domicile or residence of a person without his consent.

(2) An exemption from the provisions of paragraph

(1) can operate, according to the law, for the following instances: a) carrying into execution a warrant for arrest or a court decree; b) removing a risk to someone's life, physical integrity, or a person's assets; c) defending national security or public order; d) preventing the spread of an epidemic.

(3) Searches shall only be ordered by a judge and carried out under the terms and forms stipulated by the law.

(4) Searches during the night shall be forbidden, except for crimes in flagrante delicto.

ARTICLE 28 - Secrecy of correspondence Secrecy of the letters, telegrams and other postal communications, of telephone conversations, and of any other legal means of communication is inviolable.

ARTICLE 29 - Freedom of conscience

(1) Freedom of thought, opinion, and religious beliefs shall not be restricted in any form whatsoever. No one shall be compelled to embrace an opinion or religion contrary to his own convictions.

(2) Freedom of conscience is guaranteed; it must be manifested in a spirit of tolerance and mutual respect.

(3) All religions shall be free and organized in accordance with their own statutes, under the terms laid down by law.

(4) Any forms, means, acts or actions of religious enmity shall be prohibited in the relationships among the cults.

(5) Religious cults shall be autonomous from the State and shall enjoy support from it, including the facilitation of religious assistance in the army, in hospitals, prisons, homes and orphanages.

(6) Parents or legal tutors have the right to ensure, in accordance with their own convictions, the education of the minor children whose responsibility devolves on them.

ARTICLE 30 - Freedom of expression

(1) Freedom of expression of thoughts, opinions, or beliefs, and freedom of any creation, by words, in writing, in pictures, by sounds or other means of communication in public are inviolable.

(2) Any censorship shall be prohibited.

(3) Freedom of the press also involves the free setting up of publications.

(4) No publication shall be suppressed.

(5) The law may impose upon the mass media the obligation to make public their financing source.

(6) Freedom of expression shall not be prejudicial to the dignity, honour, privacy of a person, and to the right to one's own image.

(7) Any defamation of the country and the nation, any instigation to a war of aggression, to national, racial, class or religious hatred, any incitement to discrimination, territorial separatism, or public violence, as well as any obscene conduct contrary to morality shall be prohibited by law.

(8) Civil liability for any information or creation made public falls upon the publisher or producer, the author, the producer of the artistic performance, the owner of the copying facilities, radio or television station, under the terms laid down by law. Indictable offences of the press shall be established by law.

ARTICLE 31 - Right to information

(1) A person's right of access to any information of public interest shall not be restricted.

(2) The public authorities, according to their competence, shall be bound to provide correct information to the citizens in public affairs and matters of personal interest.

(3) The right to information shall not be prejudicial to the measures of protection of young people or national security.

(4) Public and private media shall be bound to provide correct information to the public opinion.

(5) Public radio and television services shall be autonomous. They must guarantee any important social and political group the exercise of the right to broadcasting time. The organization of these services and the parliamentary control over their activity shall be regulated by an organic law.

ARTICLE 32 - Right to education

(1) The right to education is provided by the compulsory general education, by education in high schools and vocational schools, by higher education, as well as other forms of instruction and postgraduate improvement.

(2) Education at all levels shall be carried out in Romanian. Education may also be carried out in a foreign language of international use, under the terms laid down by law.

(3) The right of persons belonging to national minorities to learn their mother tongue, and their right to be educated in this language are guaranteed; the ways to exercise these rights shall be regulated by law.

(4) State education shall be free, according to the law. The State shall grant social scholarships to children or young people coming from disadvantaged families and to those institutionalized, as stipulated by the law.

(5) Education at all levels shall take place in state, private, or confessional institutions, according to the law.

(6) The autonomy of the Universities is guaranteed.

(7) The State shall ensure the freedom of religious education, in accordance with the specific requirements of each religious cult. In public schools, religious education is organized and guaranteed by law.

ARTICLE 33 - Access to culture

(1) The access to culture is guaranteed under the law.

(2) A person's freedom to develop his/her spirituality and to get access to the values of national and universal culture shall not be limited.

(3) The State must make sure that spiritual identity is preserved, national culture is supported, arts are stimulated, cultural legacy is protected and preserved, contemporary creativity is developed, and Romania's cultural and artistic values are promoted throughout the world.

ARTICLE 34 - Right to protection of health

(1) The right to the protection of health is guaranteed.

(2) The State shall be bound to take measures to ensure public hygiene and health.

(3) The organization of the medical care and social security system in case of sickness, accidents, maternity and recovery, the control over the exercise of medical professions and paramedical activities, as well as other measures to protect physical and mental health of a person shall be established according to the law.

ARTICLE 35 - Right to a healthyenvironment

(1) The State shall acknowledge the right of every person to a healthy, well preserved and balanced environment.

(2) The State shall provide the legislative framework for the exercise of such right.

(3) Natural and legal entities shall be bound to protect and improve the environment.

ARTICLE 36 - Right to vote

(1) Every citizen having turned eighteen up to or on the election day shall have the right to vote.

(2) The mentally deficient or alienated persons, laid under interdiction, as well as the persons disenfranchised by a final decision of the court cannot vote.

ARTICLE 37 - Right to be elected

(1) Eligibility is granted to all citizens having the right to vote, who meet the requirements in Article 16

(3), unless they are forbidden to join a political party, in accordance with Article 40

(3).

(2) Candidates must have turned, up to or on the election day, at least twenty-three in order to be elected to the Chamber of Deputies or the bodies of local public administration, at least thirty-three in order to be elected to the Senate, and at least thirty-five in order to be elected to the office of President of Romania.

ARTICLE 38 - Right to be elected to the European Parliament After Romania's accession to the European Union, Romanian citizens shall have the right to elect and be elected to the European Parliament.

ARTICLE 39 - Freedom of assembly Public meetings, processions, demonstrations or any other assembly shall be free and may be organized and held only peacefully, without arms of any kind whatsoever.

ARTICLE 40 - Right of association

(1) Citizens may freely associate into political parties, trade unions, employers' associations, and other forms of association.

(2) The political parties or organizations which, by their aims or activity, militate against political pluralism, the principles of a State governed by the rule of law, or against the sovereignty, integrity or independence of Romania shall be unconstitutional.

(3) Judges of the Constitutional Court, the advocates of the people, magistrates, active members of the Armed Forces, policemen and other categories of civil servants, established by an organic law, shall not join political parties.

(4) Secret associations are prohibited.

ARTICLE 41 - Labour and social protection of labour

(1) The right to work shall not be restricted. Everyone has a freechoice of his/her profession, trade or occupation, as well as work place.

(2) All employees have the right to measures of social protection. These concern employees' safety and health, working conditions for women and young people, the setting up of a minimum gross salary per economy, weekends, paid rest leave, work performed under difficult and special conditions, as well as other specific conditions, as stipulated by the law.

(3) The normal duration of a working day is of maximum eight hours, on the average.

(4) On equal work with men, women shall get equal wages.

(5) The right to collective labour bargaining and the binding force of collective agreements shall be guaranteed.

ARTICLE 42 - Prohibition of forced labour

(1) Forced labour is prohibited.

(2) Forced labour does not include: a) activities of doing the military service, as well as activities performed in lieu thereof, according to the law, due to religious or conscience-related reasons; b) the work of a sentenced person, carried out under normal conditions, during detention or conditional release; c) any services required to deal with a calamity or any other danger, as well as those which are part of normal civil obligations as established by law.

ARTICLE 43 - Right to strike

(1) The employees have the right to strike in the defence of their professional, economic and social interests.

(2) The law shall regulate the conditions and limits governing the exercise of this right, as well as the guarantees necessary to ensure the essential services for the society.

ARTICLE 44 - Right of private property

(1) The right of property, as well as the debts incurring on the State are guaranteed. The content and limitations of these rights shall be established by law.

(2) Private property shall be equally guaranteed and protected by the law, irrespective of its owner. Foreign citizens and stateless persons shall only acquire the right to private property of land under the terms resulting from Romania's accession to the European Union and other international treaties Romania is a party to, on a mutual basis, under the terms stipulated by an organic law, as well as a result of lawful inheritance.

(3) No one shall be expropriated, except on grounds of public utility, established according to the law, against just compensation paid in advance.

(4) The nationalization or any other measures of forcible transfer of assets to public property based on the owners' social, ethnic, religious, political, or other discriminatory features.

(5) For projects of general interest, the public authorities are entitled to use the subsoil of any real estate with the obligation to pay compensation to its owner for the damages caused to the soil, plantations or buildings, as well as for other damages imputable to these authorities.

(6) Compensation provided under paragraphs

(3) and

(5) shall be agreed upon with the owner, or by the decision of the court when a settlement cannot be reached.

(7) The right of property compels to the observance of duties relating to environmental protection and ensurance of neighbourliness, as well as of other duties incumbent upon the owner, in accordance with the law or custom.

(8) Legally acquired assets shall not be confiscated. Legality of acquirement shall be presumed.

(9) Any goods intended for, used or resulting from a criminal or minor offence may be confiscated only in accordance with the provisions of the law.

ARTICLE 45 - Economic freedom

Free access of persons to an economic activity, free enterprise, and their exercise under the law shall be guaranteed.

ARTICLE 46 - Right of inheritance

The right of inheritance is guaranteed.

ARTICLE 47 - Living standard

(1) The State shall be bound to take measures of economic development and social protection, of a nature to ensure a decent living standard for its citizens.

(2) Citizens have the right to pensions, paid maternity leave, medical care in public health centres, unemployment benefits, and other forms of public or private social securities, as stipulated by the law. Citizens have the right to social assistance, according to the law.

ARTICLE 48 - Living standard

(1) The family is founded on the freely consented marriage of the spouses, their full equality, as well as the right and duty of the parents to ensure the upbringing, education and instruction of their children.

(2) The terms for entering into marriage dissolution and nullity of marriage shall be established by law. Religious wedding may be celebrated only after the civil marriage.

(3) Children born out of wedlock are equal before the law with those born in wedlock.

ARTICLE 49 - Protection of children and young people

(1) Children and young people shall enjoy special protection and assistance in the pursuit of their rights.

(2) The State shall grant allowances for children and benefits for the care of ill or disabled children. Other forms of social protection for children and young people shall be established by law.

(3) The exploitation of minors, their employment in activities that might be harmful to their health, or morals, or might endanger their life and normal development are prohibited.

(4) Minors under the age of fifteen may not be employed for anypaid labour.

(5) The public authorities are bound to contribute to secure the conditions for the free participation of young people in the political, social, economic, cultural and sporting life of the country.

ARTICLE 50 - Protection of disabled persons

Disabled persons shall enjoy special protection. The State shall provide the accomplishment of a national policy of equal opportunities, disability prevention and treatment, so that disabled persons can effectively participate in community life, while observing the rights and duties of their parents or legal guardians.

ARTICLE 51 -

(1) Citizens have the right to address the public authorities by petitions formulated only in the name of the signatories.

(2) Legally established organizations have the right to forward petitions, exclusively on behalf of the collective body they represent.

(3) The exercise of the right of petition shall be exempt from tax.

(4) The public authorities are bound to answer to petitions within the time limits and under the conditions established by law.

ARTICLE 52 - Right of a person aggrieved by a public authority

(1) Any person aggrieved in his/her legitimate rights or interests by a public authority, by means of an administrative act or by the failure of a public authority to solve his/her application within the lawful time limit, is entitled to the acknowledgement of his/her claimed right or legitimate interest, the annulment of the act and reparation for the damage.

(2) The conditions and limits on the exercise of this right shall be regulated by an organic law.

(3) The State shall bear patrimony liability for any prejudice caused as a result of judicial errors. The State liability shall be assessed according to the law and shall not eliminate the liability of the magistrates having exercised their mandate in ill will or grave negligence.

ARTICLE 53 - Restriction on theexercise of certain rights or freedoms

(1) The exercise of certain rights or freedoms may only be restricted by law, and only if necessary, as the case may be, for: the defence of national security, of public order, health, or morals, of the citizens' rights and freedoms; conducting a criminal investigation; preventing the consequences of a natural calamity, disaster, or an extremely severe catastrophe.

(2) Such restriction shall only be ordered if necessary in a democratic society. The measure shall be proportional to the situation having caused it, applied without discrimination, and without infringing on the existence of such right or freedom.

CHAPTER III - Fundamental duties

ARTICLE 54 - Faithfulness towards the country

(1) Faithfulness towards the country is sacred.

(2) Citizens holding public offices, as well as the military are liable for the loyal fulfilment of the obligations they are bound to, and shall, for this purpose, take the oath as requested by law.

ARTICLE 55 - Defence of the country

(1) Citizens have the right and duty to defend Romania.

(2) The terms for doing the military service shall be set up in an organic law.

(3) Citizens may be conscripted from the age of 20 and up to the age of 35, except for volunteers, under the terms of the applicable organic law.

ARTICLE 56 - Financial contributions

(1) Citizens are under the obligation to contribute to public expenditure, by taxes and duties.

(2) The legal taxation system must ensure a fair distribution of the tax burden.

(3) Any other dues shall be prohibited, except those determined by law, under exceptional circumstances.

ARTICLE 57 - Exercise of rights and freedoms Romanian citizens, foreign citizens, and stateless persons shall exercise their constitutional rights and freedoms in good faith, without any infringement of the rights and liberties of others.

CHAPTER IV - Advocate of the People

ARTICLE 58 - Appointment and role

(1) The Advocate of the People shall be appointed for a term of office of 5 years, in order to defend the natural persons' rights and freedoms. The Advocate of the People's deputies shall be specialized per fields of activity.

(2) The Advocate of the People and his/her deputies shall not perform any other public or private office, except for teaching positions in higher education.

(3) The organization and functioning of the Advocate of the People institution shall be regulated by an organic law.

ARTICLE 59 - Exercise of powers

(1) The Advocate of the People shall exercise his powers ex officio or at the request of persons aggrieved in their rights and freedoms, within the limits established by law.

(2) It is binding upon the public authorities to give the Advocate of the People the necessary support in the exercise of his powers.

ARTICLE 60 - Report before Parliament

The Advocate of the People shall report before the two Parliament Chambers, annually or at the request thereof. The reports my contain recommendations on legislation or measures of any other nature for the defence of the citizens' rights and freedoms.