Defence of property rights. Summaries of Constitutional Court case law

JURISPRUDENȚA CURȚII CONSTITUȚIONALE A ROMÂNIEI

Abstract

In this case law section we have selected a number of cases in which the Constitutional Court of Romania (hereinafter CCR) has ruled with reference to the legal institution of property, which is widely regulated at constitutional level.

Moreover, in a study front lined in the Journal of Constitutional Law I expressed the view that the regulation of property rights (in particular private property rights) is one of the original features of the 1991 Constitution, an expression of the Commission members' endeavour to enshrine in the body of the fundamental law guarantees to prevent the repetition of profound injustices of the past. The experience of the communist period, during which the right to private property was almost devoid of content, meant that one of the main points of debate in the Constituent Assembly on the Theses of the draft Constitution was the regulation of the guarantees of this fundamental right. One of these guarantees is the presumption of lawful acquisition of wealth. As the constituent legislator expressly stated, the reason for its establishment by the very provisions of the Constitution was to ensure the legal security of the right to property; this concept was approached by the legislator in opposition to the provisions of Law No 18/1968, therefore, in its sense aimed at protecting citizens, their rights, as a guarantee against the adoption of regulations similar to those which, in the previous period, allowed abuses and flagrant violations of the right to property. Given the novel nature of the regulation at the constitutional level of the aforementioned presumption, as well as its interpretation which gives expression to an interesting jurisprudential development in the context of "accommodation" with the standards imposed by Romania's accession to the European Union, we will refer to the reference cases on the subject at the very beginning of the case law selection. We will then continue with some relevant jurisprudential landmarks, underlining the fact that, given the very large volume of case law in this area, our approach is more an invitation to explore the constitutional guarantees of property rights and how they are reflected in the case law of the Romanian constitutional court.

Keywords: right to property, defence, constitutionality, guarantees, limits, conditions, compensation, legitimate aim