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Romania Grand National Assembly
The Grand National Assembly was nominally the supreme
organ of
state power and supervised and controlled the functions of
all
other state organs. It consisted of 369 deputies elected
by
universal adult suffrage from an equal number of electoral
districts for a five-year term of office. In accordance
with a 1974
constitutional amendment, the GNA met in regular session
twice a
year, and special sessions could be called by the State
Council,
the Bureau of the GNA, or, in theory, by one-third of the
total
number of deputies. If circumstances prevented the holding
of
elections, the GNA was empowered to extend its term of
office for
as long as necessary.
The GNA had the constitutional authority to elect,
supervise,
and recall the president of the republic, the State
Council, the
Council of Ministers, the Supreme Court, and the attorney
general.
The GNA had ultimate authority for regulating the
electoral system,
debating and approving the national economic plan and the
state
budget, and overseeing the organization and functioning of
the
people's councils.
The GNA was empowered to establish the general line of
the
country's foreign policy and had ultimate responsibility
for the
maintenance of public order and national defense. The
Constitution
gave it the authority to declare war, but only in the
event of
aggression against Romania or an ally with which Romania
had a
mutual-defense treaty. A state of war could also be
declared by the
State Council.
Other GNA powers included adopting and amending the
Constitution and controlling its implementation. Empowered
to
interpret the Constitution and to determine the
constitutionality
of laws, the GNA was in effect its own constitutional
court. To
exercise its authority as interpreter of laws, the GNA
elected the
Constitution and Legal Affairs Commission, which
functioned for the
duration of a legislative term. The 1965 Constitution
specified
that up to one-third of the commission members could be
persons who
were not GNA deputies. The 1974 amended text, however,
omitted this
provision. The primary duty of the commission was to
provide the
assembly with reports and opinions on constitutional
questions.
The GNA elected a chairman to preside over sessions and
direct
activities. The chairman and four elected vice chairmen,
who formed
the Bureau of the GNA, were assisted in their duties by a
panel of
six executive secretaries. In addition to the Constitution
and
Legal Affairs Commission, there were eight other GNA
standing
commissions: the Agriculture, Forestry, and Water
Administration
Commission; the Credentials Commission; the Defense
Problems
Commission; the Education, Science, and Culture
Commission; the
Foreign Policy and International Economic Cooperation
Commission;
the Health, Labor, Social Welfare, and Environmental
Protection
Commission; the Industry and Economic and Financial
Activity
Commission; and the People's Councils and State
Administration
Commission. Their functions and responsibilities were
substantially
increased during the 1970s and 1980s. Reports, bills, or
other
legislative matters were submitted to the standing
commissions by
the GNA chairman for study and for recommendations on
further
action.
To conduct business, the GNA required a quorum of
one-half of
the deputies plus one. Laws and decisions were adopted by
simple
majority vote with the exception of an amendment to the
Constitution, which required a two-thirds majority of the
full
assembly. Laws were signed by the president of the
republic and
published within ten days after adoption.
Until the early 1970s, election to the GNA and to the
organs of
local government was based on the Soviet model, with one
candidate
for each seat. A 1972 decree stated that thereafter more
than one
candidate could be nominated for a deputy seat in the GNA
or in the
people's councils. In 1975, of 349 seats in the GNA, 139
were open
to "multiple candidacy," and in 1980 the ratio was even
higher--190
of 369. A total of 594 candidates were nominated by the
Socialist
Democracy and Unity Front for the 369 GNA seats in the
1985
election. But the front emphasized that the introduction
of
multiple candidacies was never intended to offer the
electorate a
choice of political platforms.
Data as of July 1989
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