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COMISIA DE LA VENETIA[2013-07-08]Pe 23 aprilie AFR a inregistrat o plangere in Comisia de la Venetia privind superficialitatea procesului de revizuire a Constitutiei si a lipsei de transparenta a Forumului Constitutional. Intelegem ca saptamina aceasta delegati ai Comisiei de la Venetia vor fi la Bucuresti pentru intrevederi. Publicam astazi scrisoarea AFR catre Comisia de la Venetia, ea fiind semnata de dl Petre Costea, Presedinte AFR.April 23, 2013 Mr. Gianni Buquicchio, President, The Venice Commission, Council of Europe, 67075 Strasbourg Cedex, FRANCE, Via electronic delivery (venice@coe.int), facsimile transmission (333 884 137 38), and regular international mail Re.: Romanias Constitutional Revisions and the Rule of Law Dear Mr. Buquicchio: I write on behalf of the Alliance of Romanias Families (Alliance), an apolitical, civic, grassroots movement in Romania with a constituency of hundreds of thousands of citizens. The subject of this correspondence is to express, on the Alliances behalf, serious concerns about the current status of public deliberations regarding the proposed revision of Romanias Constitution. The Alliance promotes pro-family and pro-life policies and positions and also involves itself in the promotion of the rule of law in Romania. Earlier in the year the Romanian Government announced its intent to revise Romanias Constitution. It proclaimed a policy of wide public consultation on topics of interest to various civic groups and organizations in Romania. It stated it wished to engage in a dialog with Romanias civil society to ensure that the electorates voice was being heard and its positions taken into account in the drafting of the final amendments. The Alliance welcomed the Governments declared policy and hoped to make an important contribution to the public debate on the Constitutions revision. To this end, in early February 2012 the Government announced the formation of a Constitutional Forum (Forum), a presumably non-political platform independent of the Government, whose stated objective was to engage the public in a structured dialog on the subject of the constitutional reform. The Forum was appointed a coordinator and a structure was devised to ensure the publics integration in the constitutional debate. The Alliance welcomed this development, believing it to be a good faith effort to feel the publics pulse on the subject. However, there were additional and very good reasons to involve the Alliance in the proposed debates. In 2006 the Alliance launched, in accordance with Romanias Constitution, the only citizens-initiated constitutional revision in the post 1989 period. It gathered and submitted to the Government 650.000 signatures from citizens with the right to vote requesting that the constitutional revision mechanism set forth in the Constitution be set in motion. Our constitutional revision process reached, in due course, Romanias Constitutional Court which rejected the process on technical grounds. Nevertheless, in the course of this gargantuan endeavor the Alliance amassed an enormous amount of positive experience which we believe should be taken into account in the current constitutional debate. Our initiative has been, to our knowledge, the only experience of this sort in Romania. Our experience has detected weaknesses in the Constitution which, we believe, need to be eliminated. Otherwise, the current constitutional provisions for citizens-initiated constitutional amendments will remain impossible to achieve. They set the bar exceedingly high. It was, therefore, with this experience in mind, and as a matter of responsibility toward the 650.000 citizens who entrusted us in 2006 to attempt to modify Romanias Constitution, that we contacted the Forum and requested, respectfully, that we be informed of the time and place of debates, and that we be invited to participate. We also wrote a similar note to the Romanian Government. The Romanian Government has not responded. Nor has the Forum. Details about the composition, contacts, address, procedures, and inner workings of the Forum have not been made known to us. Through different channels, however, we have been able to connect with one of the leading personalities on the Forum. Thus far he has informed us, twice, that he will contact us with the necessary information in due course. The last such communication, received on March, 15 stated: We received your message. We will return when the planning of events is completed. There was no follow-up. In the meanwhile, the Alliance obtained the attached sheet the Forum issued at a date unknown to us which, if accurate, reflects that the purported public consultation is expected to complete in early May. The sheet further indicates planned meetings by the Forum with the Venice Commission on May 8 and 9. Notably, the heading of the sheet explains its rationale: to create a list of possible persons to be invited to the public constitutional debates. We hope you now understand why we are concerned. From our perspective and based on our experience, we are led to believe that the consultation process is a sham, an undignifying exercise incompatible with democracy and the rule of law. A legitimate constitutional process rests on an open, genuine, transparent, and healthy dialog with the public. It is not our intent to be accusatory but only factual. Nevertheless, reasonable conclusions must be drawn given the serious nature of the constitutional process. Accordingly, we seek your assistance as follows. First, please launch an inquiry into the activities of the Forum. Second, if time still allows and the Commission has any leverage, please ensure the Alliance is included in the public constitutional consultation. Third, if representatives of the Venice Commission will visit Bucharest, as the sheet seems to indicate, we respectfully request that the Alliance be informed of the proper time and venue for the meetings and be invited to participate. Please note that there are many other civic organizations in Romania that seek to be included in the public constitutional dialog. We receive frequent correspondence from such groups. Because of the large number of organizations that apparently want to have their voice heard, we believe the consultation process should not be rushed. Press articles indicate that by mid-May the Government hopes to have all proposed amendments completed and in June to launch the parliamentary debates on the amendments. We would urge prudence. Please file this document among the Commissions official papers and acknowledge its receipt. Please also address the notes substance. Very truly yours, Petre Costea RASPUNSUL COMISIEI DE LA VENETIA Pe 7 iunie am primit raspunsul Comisiei de la Venetia, unul pe care noi il calificam ca fiind propagandist si lipsit de sens. Dear Mr. Costea: On behalf of the President of the Venice Commission, Mr Gianni Buquicchio, I thank you for your letter dated April 23, 2013 in which you are informing us of your organisations particular interest in being involved in the consultation activities linked to current constitutional revision process in Romania. The Venice Commission indeed pays particular attention to the openness and inclusiveness of such processes. You are certainly aware that, at the request of the Prime Minister of Romania for assistance in this process, the Venice Commission engaged in dialogue with the main stakeholders involved, including the Constitutional Forum and the Parliaments Constitutional Committee. During the meeting organised in Bucharest on 8-9 May 2013 by the Constitutional Forum, we were informed that proposals formulated by numerous civil society representatives had been gathered during the last months in the context of meetings held in various places of Romania as well as through the specific website opened to the public by the Constitutional Forum. I trust that your organisation took benefit of one of the opportunities above to convey its proposals and expectations. Yours sincerely, Thomas MARKERT, Director, Secretary of the Commission Sursa: www.alianta-familiilor.ro Contor Accesări: 794, Ultimul acces: 2026-07-30 00:14:04
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