Court suspends decree prolonging mandate of Romanian Army commander

The Bucharest Court of Appeals decided on January 31 to suspend the decree prolonging the mandate of general Nicolae Ciucă as commander of the Romanian Army, News.ro reported. The decision, which is not final, comes after the Defense Ministry (MApN) appealed in court the decree by which president Klaus Iohannis renewed the mandate of the Romanian Army chief despite MApN’s suggestion for a new candidate. In the last Supreme Defense Council (CSAT) meeting last year, the defense minister came up with a new proposal for the chief of staff of the Army post. Minister Gabriel Leș proposed general Dumitru Scarlat, Romania’s military representative to NATO and to the European Union. President Klaus Iohannis did not agree with this proposal, invoking reasons of legality, and signed a presidential decree extending by one year the mandate of Ciucă. MApN complained that the decree signed by Iohannis breaks current legal provisions. In order for the mandate of Ciucă to be prolonged, the same procedure that is in place in the case of a new appointment should have been followed, the ministry argued. The ministry should have made a proposal, approved by the prime minister. “In this case, there is no proposal from the ministry, and no approval from the prime minister,” MApN said, quoted by News.ro. MApN also quoted a 2019 precedent, when the president extended the mandate of the Army’s chief of staff taking into account the defense minister’s proposal. President Iohannis criticized the litigation involving the mandate of Ciucă. “What will a top representative of the army of an allied country think, if they find out that the defense ministry is contesting their own Army chief in court? Some poorly thought actions, typical of the [Social Democrat Party] PSD,” he said. With Ciucă’s mandate suspended, one of his deputies would take over the post. The announcement regarding the Court’s decision comes as NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg is on a visit to Bucharest on January 31. President extends mandate of current Romanian Army commander (Photo: Mapn.ro) editor@romania-insider.com