Romanian court says amendment to law sanctioning corruption is unconstitutional

The Constitutional Court (CCR) ruled on Tuesday, September 25, that an amendment to the law on sanctioning corruption offenses, which passed the Parliament vote in July, is unconstitutional. The amendment provided that certain acts of corruption should be punished only if the ones committing them get personal benefits, and not if someone else is the beneficiary, and only if the goods and benefits are exclusively "material,” local Mediafax reported. The CCR explained in a press release that "the act of corruption must be sanctioned regardless of the beneficiary of the undue benefit". “The Court ruled that a requirement of the rule of law is to combat the phenomenon of corruption,” CCR said. “Also, given the international obligations assumed by Romania by ratifying the United Nations Convention against Corruption and the Criminal Law Convention on Corruption, the Court held that the way to criminalize corruption offenses must comply with the express requirements established by these international instruments.” The Chamber of Deputies gave the final vote on this amendment in early-July this year. Later the same month, president Klaus Iohannis notified the CCR. Irina Marica, irina.marica@romania-insider.com