On the 7th of April 2021, the Constitutional Court of Romania admitted an exception of unconstitutionality of some provisions of the Criminal procedure code, regarding the time when the court decision is to be drafted.
So far, according to articles 400 par. (1) and 406 par. (1) and (2), the outcome of the deliberations was recorded in the minutes (of the decision) and the decision was submitted in writing within a term of 30 days from the date of the judgement. The Constitutional Court found that these provisions infringe the right of access to a court and the right to a fair trial and ruled that the decision must be submitted in writing and motivated on the same date of the judgement and not within the time limit set by the Criminal procedure code.
Through this decision, CCR aims to address many practical issues that occur along the legal proceedings, the most important one being the long period of time in which some decisions are being motivated. However, as the Supreme Court of Romania has also pointed out, the case of overloaded judicial courts is not fully taken into account. Therefore, a possible effect of this CCR decision will be to postpone the date of the judgment until the moment when the decision can also be submitted in writing and motivated.
BCH LAW TEAM
BUCHAREST 16/04/2021