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Romania GOVERNMENTAL SYSTEM
Constitutional Development
Since the imposition of full communist control in
December
1947, Romania has had three constitutions. The first,
designating
the country a "people's republic," was adopted by the
Grand
National Assembly
(GNA, see Glossary)
in April 1948, just
four
weeks after the assembly had been reorganized under new
communist
leadership. The second, adopted in September 1952, was
closer to
the Soviet model. The third, ostensibly reflecting
Romania's social
and ideological development, went into effect on August
21, 1965.
In many ways similar to the initial constitutions of
the other
Soviet-dominated states of Eastern Europe, the 1948
constitution
was designed to mark Romania's entry into the first stage
of the
transition from capitalism to
socialism (see Glossary).
There was
no separation of legislative, executive, and judicial
powers. As a
people's democracy, the state was said derive power from
the
people's will, expressed through the GNA. A
nineteen-member
Presidium was elected by and from the GNA membership to
provide
continuity of legislative authority when the assembly
itself was
not in session. The highest executive and administrative
organ was
the Council of Ministers, which functioned under the
direction of
the prime minister. Although not mentioned in the
constitution, the
PCR (see Glossary),
under close Soviet supervision,
functioned as
the supreme decision-making authority over and above the
government. At the ministry level, the most important
decisions
were taken under the supervision of Soviet advisers.
The right of private property ownership was guaranteed,
although the constitution provided that privately held
means of
production, banks, and insurance companies could be
nationalized
when the "general interest" so required. Less than two
months after
the adoption of the constitution, the GNA passed
legislation
nationalizing the main industrial and financial
institutions.
The organs of state power in the regions, counties,
districts,
and communes were designated "people's councils." Formally
established by law in 1949, these bodies were organized
into a
centralized system in which the lower-level councils were
fully
subordinated to the next higher council, and all
functioned under
the direct control of the central government.
Largely patterned after the 1936 constitution of the
Soviet
Union, the 1952 constitution specifically designated the
Romanian
Workers' Party (Partidul Muncitoresc Romān--PMR)--as the
communist
party was known between 1948 and 1965--the country's
leading
political force. The nation's close ties with the Soviet
Union were
strongly emphasized, and the Soviets were described as
great
friends of the Romanian people. Whereas the 1948
constitution
declared that "the Romanian People's Republic was born
amid the
struggle conducted by the people, under the leadership of
the
working class, against fascism, reaction, and
imperialism," the
1952 version asserted that the republic "was born and
consolidated
following the liberation of the country by the armed
forces of the
Soviet Union."
As had its predecessor, the 1952 constitution
guaranteed full
equality to national minority groups, and it also
established an
autonomous administrative unit for the large ethnic
Hungarian
population--the Hungarian Autonomous Region. The region
was given
its own council and local authorities, although these
bodies were
clearly subordinated to the organs of the central
government.
Citizens were guaranteed the right to work for
remuneration;
the right to rest, ensured by the establishment of an
eight-hour
workday and paid annual vacation; the right to material
security
when old, ill, or disabled; and the right to education.
The
constitution stated that full equality in all aspects of
economic,
political, and cultural life was guaranteed to all working
people
regardless of nationality, race, or sex.
The constitution also guaranteed freedom of speech, the
press,
assembly, public demonstration, and worship. Churches,
however,
were forbidden to operate schools except for the training
of
religious personnel. Other provisions guaranteed the
protection of
the person from arbitrary arrest, the inviolability of the
home,
and the secrecy of the mails. Citizens also had the right
to form
public and private organizations, although associations
having a
"fascist or antidemocratic character" were prohibited.
It was the citizens' duty to observe the constitution
and the
laws of the republic, to preserve and develop socialist
property,
to practice work discipline, and to strengthen the "regime
of
people's democracy." Military service and the defense of
the nation
were described as duties of honor for all citizens.
In March 1961, the GNA established a commission to
draft a new
constitution. At the same time, the 1952 constitution was
revised
to transform the Presidium into the State Council. The new
body,
vested with supreme executive authority, consisted of a
president,
three vice presidents, and thirteen members. As was the
case with
the Presidium, the State Council was elected by and from
the GNA
membership and was, in theory, responsible to it.
The State Council had three kinds of powers--permanent
powers,
powers to be exercised between assembly sessions, and
special
powers that could be exercised in exceptional
circumstances. The
permanent powers were exercised by the president, who as
head of
state represented the republic in international relations.
Between
GNA sessions, the State Council was empowered to oversee
the
activity of the Council of Ministers, appoint and recall
members of
the Supreme Court and the commander in chief of the armed
forces,
supervise the functioning of the office of the prosecutor
general, or
Procuratura (see Glossary),
and convene standing
commissions of
the assembly.
The council could also issue decrees having the force
of law,
although, technically, these had to be submitted to the
next GNA
session for ratification. If circumstances prevented the
assembly
from convening, the council was authorized to appoint the
Council
of Ministers, declare war, order mobilization, proclaim a
state of
emergency, approve the budget, and prepare economic plans.
Although the constitution drafted by the 1961
commission was
never adopted, it served as the basis for the work of a
second
commission named in June 1965. Chaired by Ceausescu, the
commission prepared a new draft and submitted it to the
party
congress and the State Council. After approval by these
bodies, the
Constitution was adopted by the GNA on August 21, 1965,
and after
important amendments in 1974, it remained in effect in
late 1989.
With the promulgation of the 1965 Constitution, the
country was
officially renamed the Socialist Republic of Romania. In
adopting
this name, the Romanian leadership was asserting that the
country
had completed the transition from capitalism and had
become a fullfledged socialist state.
The most innovative provision of the 1965 Constitution
is the
stipulation that the leading political force in the entire
country
is the Romanian Communist Party--the only legal party.
Under its
leadership, the working people have the expressed goal of
building
a socialist system to create "the conditions for
transition to
communism."
Whereas the 1952 constitution repeatedly stressed the
country's
close ties to the Soviet Union and the role of the Red
Army in the
liberation of Romania, the 1965 Constitution omits all
references
to the Soviet Union. Instead it refers only to the policy
of
maintaining friendly and fraternal relations with all
socialist
states and, in addition, expresses the intention of
promoting
relations with nonsocialist states.
The 1965 Constitution declares that the basis of the
economy is
socialist ownership of the means of production.
Cooperative
farmers, however, are permitted to own some livestock and
tools,
certain craftsmen are guaranteed ownership of their
workshops, and
peasants not in cooperatives are able to own small parcels
of land
and some farm implements. In the 1980s, however, these
provisions
for private ownership of farmland were violated by a
controversial
plan known as systemization
(see Land
, ch. 3).
In contrast to the 1952 constitution, which provided
for
representation in the GNA at a ratio of one deputy for
every 40,000
persons, the 1965 document fixed the number of deputies at
465 and
required the establishment of that number of electoral
districts of
equal population. A later amendment reduced the number of
deputies
to 369.
The provision of the 1952 constitution establishing the
Hungarian Autonomous Region among the sixteen regional
units was
deleted in the 1965 Constitution, ostensibly in order to
integrate
all minority groups into the Romanian political community.
PCR
spokesmen asserted that while the heritage and political
rights of
the various nationality groups would be respected, the
country
would be united under the leadership of the party. A 1968
territorial reorganization eliminated the sixteen regional
units
and established a system of thirty-nine (subsequently
increased to
forty) judete or counties
(see
fig. 1).
Data as of July 1989
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