Romania’s Constitutional Court invalidates oncological patients’ right to full withdrawal of private pension portfolio

Ruling on the draft law on the disbursement of privately-managed pensions, namely 2nd and 3rd Pillars, inked by the Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF), promoted by the Romanian government and approved with amendments by the Parliament, the Constitutional Court (CCR) concluded that the capping the single payment granted before the start of the monthly payments to 30% of the portfolio does not represent a disregard for the right to private property.

However, CCR said that the provision on allowing full disbursement in a single payment to those suffering from oncological diseases, “violates the principle of equal rights, as it establishes discrimination that is not based on objective criteria, but, on the contrary, on the subjective criterion of the disease from which the contributing member of a pension fund suffers.”

The provision rejected by CCR was not part of the law as drafted by ASF or promoted by the government, but was added as an amendment in the Senate by the Liberal (PNL) MP Nicoleta Pauliuc, as reported by Economedia.ro.

Neither the High Court (ICCJ) nor the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) objected to the latter issue addressed by CCR, namely the 100% single payment to patients with oncological diseases, but to the first issue seen as breaching the contributors’ right to private property.

Prime minister Ilie Bolojan said that the executive would amend the bill in line with the Constitutional Court’s recommendation and would re-launch it for approval in Parliament.

(Photo source: Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea)