Lecture: A critical overview on the tension between rule of law and populism in Romania by Prof. Elena-Simina Tănăsescu

The Constitutionalism and Politics Working Group had the pleasure to organize the talk: A critical overview on the tension between rule of law and populism in Romania by Elena-Simina Tănăsescu (Professor of Constitutional Law and EU Law, University of Bucharest and adviser on constitutional reform of the President of Romania)

On Wednesday, 31st of May, 3-5 pm in Seminar Room 2, Badia Fiesolana

Abstract: Amid iterative failed attempts to revise the Constitution in order to set the balance of powers differently, Romania has recently discovered a highly active civil society as the ultimate guardian of the rule of law. Indeed, mass protests in February and May 2017 have asked public authorities and officials to abide by the rule of law and respect democracy, while peacefully and smartly rejecting populist attempts to damage an all-encompassing fight against corruption that started to deliver results only during the past few years. Against this background, the Constitutional Court has de facto become the ultimate arbiter not only in matters referring to the validity of laws or protection of fundamental rights, but also on institutional disputes between powers of the state and even in public policy issues such as the approach to be taken with regard to combating criminal conduct. This last evolution does not come void of any concern, since an answer still needs to be found to the classical question qui custodiet custodies?

Bio of the speaker: Elena Simina Tănăsescu is Professor of constitutional law and EU law at the Law Faculty of the University of Bucharest and Director of the Centre for Constitutional Law and Political Institutions (www.cdcip.ro). She is a member of the Group of Independent Experts on the European Charter of Local Self Government at the Council of Europe and President of the Romanian Association of Constitutional Law and of the Franco-Romanian Association of Lawyers. Since 2016 she serves as adviser on constitutional reform of the Romanian President. During the constitutional crisis of February 2017, she represented the President before the Constitutional Court of Romania in a case concerning an alleged conflict of a constitutional nature between the state authorities.

In preparation for the event we recommended the following materials written by Prof. Tănăsescu:

• Analysis: Criminal policy or criminal politics?
• „The Romanian Constitutional Judge: Lost in Transition”, Constitutional Review and Democracy, (ed.) Miodrag JOVANOVIC, Eleven International Publishing, The Hague, 2015, p.223-252
• „Constitutional Agenda of Romania”, Journal of Constitutional Law (Turkey), n°3/2014, p.271-279
• „Conflicting revisions of the Romanian Constitution give rise to questions about semi-presidentialism”, Romanian Journal of Comparative Law n°1/2014, p.35-59

The event was chaired by: Elena Brodeală (EUI, Law department)

Thank you everyone who attend this event! We hope you enjoyed it!