CONSTITUTION OF 1923
Article 1 - The Kingdom of Romania is a unitary and indivisible national State.
Contents of the Act
Title I
Article 1
Article 2
Article 3
Article 4
Title II
Title III
Title IV
Title V
Title VI
Title VII
Title VIII
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THE CONSTITUTION OF ROMANIA
ISSUER
PARLIAMENT
Published in the OFFICIAL MONITOR No. 282 of 29 March 1923
Title I ON THE TERRITORY OF ROMANIA
Article 1
The Kingdom of Romania is a unitary and indivisible national State.
Article 2
The territory of Romania shall be inalienable.
The boundaries of the State may not be changed or rectified except by virtue of a law.
Article 3
The territory of Romania may not be colonized by foreign populations.
Article 4
The territory of Romania shall be divided administratively into counties, counties into communes.
Their number, extent and territorial subdivisions shall be determined according to the forms laid down in the laws on administrative organisation.
Title II ON THE RIGHTS OF ROMANIANS
Article 5
Romanians, irrespective of ethnic origin, language or religion, shall enjoy freedom of conscience, freedom of education, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, freedom of association and all freedoms and rights established by law.
Article 6
The Constitution and other laws relating to political rights determine which are, apart from the status of Romany, the necessary conditions for the exercise of these rights.
Special laws, voted by a two-thirds majority, shall determine the conditions under which women may exercise political rights.
The civil rights of women will be established on the basis of full equality of the two sexes.
Article 7
Differences of religious belief and confession, ethnic origin and language shall not constitute in Romania an obstacle to the acquisition and exercise of civil and political rights.
Only naturalisation associates the foreigner with the Romanian for the exercise of political rights.
Naturalization is granted individually by the Council of Ministers, after a commission composed of the First President and the Presidents of the Court of Appeal of the Capital of the Country has found that the applicant meets the legal conditions.
A special law will determine the conditions and procedure by which foreigners acquire naturalisation.
Naturalization does not have retroactive effect. Spouses and minor children take advantage, under the conditions laid down by law, of the naturalisation of their spouse or father.
Article 8
No distinction of birth or social classes shall be admitted in the State.
All Romanians, irrespective of ethnic origin, language or religion, are equal before the law and are obliged to contribute to public duties and tasks without any debt.
Only they are eligible for public, civil and military offices and dignities.
Special laws shall determine the status of civil servants.
Foreigners may not be admitted to public office except in exceptional cases, as established by law.
Article 9
All foreigners living on Romanian soil shall enjoy the protection given by law to persons and property in general.
Article 10
All privileges of any kind, exemptions and class monopolies are forever abolished in the Roman State.
Titles of nobility are and remain inadmissible in the Roman State.
Foreign decorations shall be worn by Romans only with the King's authorization.
Article 11
Individual liberty is guaranteed.
No one may be pursued or searched, except in the cases and according to the forms prescribed by law.
No one may be detained or arrested, except by virtue of a reasoned court warrant, which must be communicated to him at the time of arrest or at the latest within 24 hours after detention or arrest.
In the case of proven guilt, detention or arrest may be effected immediately and the warrant shall be issued within 24 hours and served on him in accordance with the preceding paragraph.
Article 12
No one shall be deprived of his liberty against his will from the jurisdiction of the courts which the law shall provide.
Article 13
Domicile is inviolable.
No visit to the home may be made except by the competent authorities, in the cases specifically provided for by law and according to the forms prescribed by law.
Article 14
No punishment may be imposed or enforced except by law.
Article 15
No law may establish the penalty of confiscation of property.
Article 16
The death penalty may not be reintroduced except in cases provided for in the military penal code in time of war.
Article 17
Property of any kind as well as claims against the State are guaranteed.
The public authority, on the basis of a law, is entitled to use, for the purpose of works of public interest, the basement of any immovable property, with the obligation to compensate for the damage caused to the surface of the existing buildings and works. In the absence of agreement, compensation will be fixed by the courts.
Nobody can be expropriated except for the public utility cause and after a fair and prior compensation established by justice.
A special law will determine the cases of public utility, the procedure and the way of expropriation.
Apart from expropriation for roads, public sanitation, defence of the country and works of military or cultural interest and those imposed by the direct general interests of the State and public administrations, other cases of public utility will have to be established by laws voted by a two-thirds majority.
Existing laws concerning the alignment and widening of streets in municipalities and the banks of waters flowing through or alongside them remain in force throughout the Kingdom.
Article 18
Only Romanians and naturalized Romanians may acquire by any title and own rural real estate in Romania. Foreigners shall be entitled only to the value of such real estate.
Article 19
Mining deposits and all kinds of subsoil wealth are the property of the State. Common rock masses, quarries of building materials and peat deposits shall be excluded, without prejudice to the rights acquired by the State on the basis of the previous laws.
A special mining law shall determine the rules and conditions for the development of these assets, shall fix the royalty to the owner of the surface and shall indicate the extent to which they shall participate in the exploitation of these riches.
Account will be taken of the rights earned, since they correspond to a valuation of the subsoil and according to the distinctions to be made in the special law.
Mining concessions, established or given, according to the laws in force today, will be respected for the duration for which they were granted, and existing mining operations made by the owners only as long as they will exploit them. Perpetual concessions may not be made.
All the concessions and operations provided for in the preceding paragraph shall, however, be subject to rules to be established by law, which shall also provide for the maximum duration of such concessions and operations, which shall not exceed fifty years from the promulgation of this Constitution.
Article 20
Roads, airspace and navigable and floating waters are of public domain.
Waters that can produce motive power and those that can be used in the public interest are public property.
The acquired rights shall be respected or shall be redeemed by expropriation in case of public utility, after a fair and prior compensation.
Special laws will determine the extent to which all the above rights may be left to the owners, the methods of exploitation, and the compensation due for the use of the surface and the installations in place.
Article 21
All factors of production shall enjoy equal protection.
The State may intervene, by law, in the relations between these factors in order to prevent economic or social conflicts.
Freedom of labour shall be protected.
The law shall regulate the social insurance of workers in case of sickness, accidents and other cases.
Article 22
Freedom of conscience is absolute.
The State shall guarantee to all cults equal freedom and protection, since their exercise shall not be prejudicial to public order, morality and the laws of organisation of the State.
The Orthodox Christian Church and the Greek Catholic Church are Romanian churches.
The Romanian Orthodox Church, being the religion of the vast majority of Romanians, is the dominant church in the Romanian State; the Greek Catholic Church is the church of the same denomination as the other denominations.
The Romanian Orthodox Church is and remains unattached to any foreign chiriarchy, while preserving its unity with the ecumenical Church of the East as regards dogmas.
Throughout the Kingdom of Romania the Orthodox Christian Church shall have a unitary organization with the participation of all its constituent elements, clergy and laity.
A special law shall lay down the fundamental principles of this unitary organization, as well as the manner in which the Church shall regulate, conduct and administer, through its own organs and under the control of the State, its religious, cultural, fundamental and epitropic affairs.
The spiritual and canonical matters of the Romanian Orthodox Church shall be regulated by a single central synodal authority.
The metropolitans and bishops of the Romanian Orthodox Church shall be elected according to a single special law.
The relations between the various cults and the State shall be established by law.
Article 23
The acts of civil status shall be governed by civil law.
The drawing up of these acts must always precede religious blessing.
Article 24
Education shall be free under the conditions established by special laws and provided it is not contrary to morality and public order.
Primary education is compulsory. In State schools this education shall be given free of charge.
The State, the counties and the municipalities shall give aid and relief to destitute pupils in all grades of education to the extent and in the manner prescribed by law.
Article 25
The Constitution guarantees everyone the freedom to communicate and publish their ideas and opinions by speech, in writing and in the press, everyone being responsible for the abuse of these freedoms in cases determined by the criminal code, which may in no case restrict the right itself.
No exceptional law may be established in this matter.
Neither censorship nor any other preventive measure for the publication, curing or distribution of any publication may be established.
No prior permission of any authority shall be required for the appearance of any publication.
No bond shall be required of journalists, writers, publishers, printers and lithographers.
The press will not once be placed under a warning regime.
No newspaper or publication may be suspended or suppressed.
Every periodical of any kind shall have a responsible editor and, in his absence, a responsible publisher. The director or editor shall enjoy civil and political rights. The name of the director and the name of the editor shall appear prominently and permanently at the head of the publication.
Before the publication of the periodical, its owner is obliged to declare and register his name with the commercial court.
Penalties for these provisions shall be provided by special laws.
Article 26
In respect of non-periodical publications, the author shall be liable for his writings, in his absence the publisher; the owner of the printing house shall be liable when the author and the publisher have not been discovered.
In the case of periodical publications, the responsibility is borne by the author, the director or the editor in the order of listing.
The owner is in all cases jointly and severally liable for the payment of civil damages.
Press offences shall be tried by juries, except in established cases, which shall be tried by ordinary courts, according to common law:
a) Crimes committed against the Sovereigns of the Country, the Crown Prince, members of the Royal Family and Dynasty, Heads of Foreign States and their representatives;
b) Direct incitement to murder and rebellion, when not followed by execution;
c) Slanders, insults, defamation of private individuals or public officials of any kind, whether in their private life or in their personal honour.
Preventive arrest in press matters is prohibited.
Article 27
Secrecy of letters, telegrams and telephone conversations shall be inviolable.
A special law shall determine the cases in which the judiciary, in the interests of criminal investigation, may make an exception to the provision of the law.
The same law will determine the liability of State agents and private individuals for violating the secrecy of letters, telegrams and telephone conversations.
Article 28
Romanians, irrespective of ethnic origin, language or religion, have the right to assemble peacefully and unarmed, in accordance with the laws regulating the exercise of this right, for the purpose of transacting all kinds of business; no prior authorization is required for this purpose.
Assemblies under the open sky are permitted, except in public squares and streets.
Meetings, processions and demonstrations in public streets and squares are subject to police laws.
Article 29
Romanians, irrespective of ethnic origin, language or religion, have the right to associate, in accordance with the laws governing the exercise of this right.
The right of free association does not in itself imply the right to create legal persons.
The conditions under which legal personality is granted will be laid down by a special law.
Article 30
Everyone shall have the right to petition the public authorities by petitions signed by one or more persons, but he may petition only in the name of the petitioners.
Only constituted authorities shall have the right to petition in collective name.
Article 31
No prior authorisation shall be required for the prosecution of public officials for acts of their administration by injured parties, but the special rules laid down in respect of ministers shall not apply.
The cases and the manner of prosecution shall be regulated by specific law.
Special provisions in the penal code will determine the penalties for the offenders.
Article 32
No Roman may enter the service of a foreign State without the authorization of the Government, without thereby forfeiting his nationality.
The extradition of political refugees is stopped.
Title III ON THE POWERS OF THE STATE
Article 33
All the powers of the State emanate from the nation, which can exercise them only by delegation and according to the principles and rules laid down in the Constitution.
Article 34
Legislative power shall be exercised collectively by the King and the National Representation.
The National Representation is divided into two Assemblies:
The Senate and the Assembly of Deputies.
Any law requires the consent of four branches of the legislature.
No law can be subject to royal sanction until it has been freely discussed and voted on by a majority of both Assemblies.
Article 35
The initiative for laws is given to each of the three branches of the legislative power.
However, any law relating to the income and expenditure of the State or to the army quota must first be voted by the Assembly of Deputies.
Article 36
The interpretation of authoritative laws shall be made only by the legislature.
Article 37
The promulgation of laws, voted by both Assemblies, shall be done by the Ministry of Justice, which shall keep one of the originals of the voted laws, and the second original shall be kept by the State Archives.
The Minister of Justice is also the keeper of the Great State Seal.
Every year the Ministry of Justice will publish the collection of laws and regulations, in which the laws will be inserted bearing the serial number after the date of promulgation.
Article 38
No law or regulation of general, county or municipal administration may be binding until it is published in the manner prescribed by law.
Article 39
Executive power is entrusted to the King, who exercises it in the regular manner by the Constitution.
Article 40
Judicial power shall be exercised by its organs.
Their decisions shall be pronounced by virtue of the law and executed in the name of the King.
Article 41
Exclusively county or communal interests shall be regulated by county or communal councils according to the principles laid down by the Constitution and by special laws.
Chapter 1 On national representation
Article 42
Members of the Assemblies represent the nation.
Article 43
Meetings of the Assemblies shall be public.
Their rules of procedure shall determine when and how such meetings may be declared secret.
Article 44
Each of the Assemblies shall verify the credentials of its members and shall adjudicate on appeals arising therefrom.
No election may be invalidated except by a two-thirds majority of the members present.
Article 45
No person may at the same time be a member of both Assemblies.
Article 46
Deputies and senators appointed by the executive power to a salaried office, which they receive, automatically lose their mandate as representatives of the nation.
This provision shall not apply to Ministers and Undersecretaries of State.
The Electoral Law determines incompatibilities.
Article 47
At the beginning of each legislature and of each ordinary session, the Assembly of Deputies and the Senate elect from among their number the President, Vice-Presidents and members of the bureaux, in accordance with the internal regulations.
Rule 48
All decisions shall be taken by an absolute majority of votes, except in cases where a higher number of votes is required by the Constitution, laws or regulations of the Legislature.
In the event of a tie vote, the proposal under discussion shall be rejected.
Meetings shall be held with half plus one of the number of members on roll call.
Article 49
Votes shall be cast by show of hands, by voice vote or by secret ballot.
A bill may not be adopted until it has been voted on article by article.
Article 50
Each of the Assemblies shall have the right of inquiry.
Article 51
The Assemblies shall have the right to amend and divide proposed articles and amendments into several parts.
Article 52
Each member of the Assemblies shall have the right to address questions to the Ministers, to which they shall be obliged to reply within the time-limit laid down in the Rules of Procedure.
Rule 53
Any person has the right to address petitions to the Assemblies through the intermediary of the Bureau or one of its members.
Each of the Assemblies shall have the right to send petitions addressed to it to the Ministers. The Ministers are obliged to give explanations of their scope whenever the Assembly so requests.
Article 54
No member of either Assembly may be prosecuted or imprisoned for opinions expressed or votes cast by him in the exercise of his mandate.
Article 55
No member of either Assembly may, during its session, be prosecuted or arrested in connection with any repression, except with the authorisation of the Assembly of which he is a member, except in cases of flagrante delicto.
If he has been arrested on remand or prosecuted while the session is closed, the prosecution or arrest must be submitted for the approval of the Assembly of which he is a member immediately after the opening of the session of the Legislature.
The detention or pursuit of a member of either Assembly shall be suspended during the whole session if the Assembly so requests.
Article 56
Each Assembly shall determine, by its Rules of Procedure, the manner in which it shall exercise its functions.
Article 57
Each of the Assemblies shall deliberate and take decisions separately except in cases specifically specified in the Constitution.
Article 58
Any meeting of one of the Legislatures outside the session of the other shall be null and void.
Article 59
Each of the two Assemblies shall have the exclusive right to exercise its own police force through its President, who alone, with the consent of the Assembly, may issue orders to the guard on duty.
Article 60
No armed power may be stationed at or around the doors of either Assembly without its permission.
Article 61
The electoral law lays down all the conditions required to be a voter in the Assembly of Deputies and the Senate, the disabilities and disqualifications as well as the electoral procedure.
Article 62
Members of both legislative bodies are elected for four years.
Article 63
The daily allowances of Deputies and Senators shall be determined by law.
Section I On the Assembly of Deputies
Article 64
The Assembly of Deputies shall be composed of deputies elected by Romanian citizens of full age by universal, equal, direct, compulsory and secret ballot on the basis of minority representation.
Article 65
Members shall be elected by electoral constituencies. The constituency may not be larger than one county.
The electoral law determines the number of deputies to be elected in each constituency in proportion to the population.
Article 66
In order to be eligible to the Assembly of Deputies it is required:
a) To be a Romanian citizen;
b) To exercise civil and political rights;
c) To be at least twenty-five years of age;
d) To be resident in Romania.
The electoral law will determine the disqualifications.
Section II About the Senate
Article 67
The Senate shall consist of elected senators and ex officio senators.
Article 68
All Romanian citizens who have reached the age of 40 elect, in electoral constituencies which may not be larger than the county, by compulsory, equal, direct and secret ballot, a number of senators.
The number of senators to be elected in each constituency, which may not exceed one county, shall be determined by the electoral law in proportion to the population.
Article 69
Elected members of county councils and elected members of urban and rural municipal councils, meeting in a single constituency, shall elect, by compulsory, equal, direct and secret ballot, one senator from each county.
Article 70
The members of the chambers of commerce, industry, labour and agriculture, meeting in separate colleges, shall elect from among their number one senator from each category and for each electoral district. These special constituencies shall be determined by the electoral law, and their number shall not exceed six.
Article 71
Each university shall elect one senator from among its professors by vote of its professors.
Article 72
By virtue of their high position in the State and the Church, the following are ex officio members of the Senate:
(a) the Heir to the Throne from the age of eighteen years; he shall not, however, have a deliberative vote until the age of twenty-five years;
b) The metropolitans of the country;
c) The eparchial bishops of the Romanian Orthodox and Greek Catholic Churches, as elected according to the laws of the country;
d) The heads of the denominations recognized by the State, one of each denomination, insofar as they are elected or appointed according to the laws of the country and represent a number of more than 200,000 believers; as well as the superior religious representative of the Muslims of the Kingdom;
e) The President of the Romanian Academy.
The term of office of these senators shall cease with the capacity or dignity which entitles them to it.
Article 73
They become senators by right:
a) Former Presidents of the Council, insofar as they have four years' seniority as titular Presidents of the Council, and former Ministers having at least six years' seniority in one or more governments;
b) Former Presidents of Legislatures who have served in this capacity for at least eight ordinary sessions;
c) Former Senators and Deputies elected in at least ten legislatures regardless of their length;
d) Former First Presidents of the High Court of Cassation and Justice who have held this office or that of President of the Court of Cassation for five years;
e) Reserve and retired Generals:
1. Who will have exercised command of an army in the face of the enemy, as titular, for at least three months.
2. Who have served as Chief of the General Staff, or Inspector General of the Army (Army Commander), in peacetime, for at least four years.
The number of those in the second category shall not exceed four, taken in order of seniority, from existing vacancies;
f) Former Presidents of the National Assemblies of Chișinău, Cernauti and Alba-Iulia, who declared the Union.
Article 74
The verification of the fulfilment of the conditions of the senators by right shall be carried out by a commission composed of the Presidents of the sections of the High Court of Cassation and Justice, under the chairmanship of the First President of this High Court.
The determination shall be made ex officio, at the request of the President of the Senate or of those entitled to do so.
The President of the Senate shall enrol the senators entitled to be enrolled on the basis of the Committee's conclusion.
The Senate may discuss and report to the Committee, for rectification, errors found in the determination of rights.
Rule 75
In order to be eligible for election to the Senate it is required:
a) To be a Romanian citizen;
b) To exercise civil and political rights;
c) Be at least 40 years of age;
d) To be domiciled in Romania.
These conditions, in addition to age, are also required of ex officio senators.
Section III About the Legislative Council
Article 76
A Legislative Council shall be established, whose purpose shall be to assist in a consultative manner in the making and coordination of laws, whether emanating from the executive power or from parliamentary initiative, and in the drafting of general regulations for the application of laws.
Consultation of the Legislative Council is obligatory for all draft laws, except for those concerning budgetary appropriations; however, if the Legislative Council does not give its opinion within a time limit set by law, the Assemblies may proceed to discuss and approve the bills.
A special law shall determine the organisation and functioning of the Legislative Council.
Chapter 2 On the King and Ministers
Section I About the King
Article 77
The constitutional powers of the King are hereditary in the direct and legitimate line of descent of His Majesty King Charles I of Hohenzollern Sigmaringen, from male to male by order of primogeniture and with the perpetual exclusion of women and their descendants.
His Majesty's descendants will be raised in the Orthodox religion of the Rising.
Article 78
In the absence of descendants in the male line of His Majesty King Charles I of Hohenzollern Sigmaringen, the succession to the Throne shall be due to the eldest of his brothers or their descendants, according to the rules laid down in the preceding article.
If none of the brothers or their descendants should be in life or should declare beforehand that they do not receive the Throne, then the King may indicate the successor or from a sovereign dynasty of Europe with the receipt of the National Representation, given in the form prescribed in Article 79.
If neither one nor the other takes place, the Throne is vacant.
Article 79
In case of vacancy of the Throne, both Assemblies shall at once meet in one Assembly, even without convocation, and not later than eight days after their meeting elect a King from a sovereign dynasty of Western Europe.
The presence of three-fourths of the members composing each of the two Assemblies and a two-thirds majority of the members present shall be necessary to proceed to this election.
In case the Assembly shall not have been held within the time above prescribed, then on the ninth day, at noon, the Assemblies assembled shall proceed to the election whatever may be the number of members present and by an absolute majority of the votes.
If the Assemblies should be dissolved at the time of the vacancy of the Throne, it shall proceed according to the manner prescribed in the following article.
During the vacancy of the Throne, the assembled Assemblies shall appoint a Royal Lieutenant, consisting of three persons, who shall exercise the Royal Powers until the King's accession to the Throne.
In all the above cases the vote shall be secret.
Article 80
On the death of the King, the Assemblies shall meet even without convocation not later than ten days after the declaration of death.
If, by chance, they have been dissolved earlier and their convocation has been decided in the act of dissolution for an era after the ten days, then the old Assemblies shall convene until the meeting of those who are to replace them.
Article 81
From the date of the King's death until the swearing in of his successor to the throne, the constitutional powers of the King shall be exercised, in the name of the Romanian people, by Ministers, meeting in Council and under their responsibility.
Article 82
The King comes of age at the age of eighteen years.
On his accession to the throne, he shall first take the following oath in the assembled Assemblies:
"I swear to uphold the Constitution and the laws of the Romanian people, to maintain their national rights and the integrity of their territory".
Article 83
The King, during his lifetime, may appoint a Regency, composed of three persons, who, after the death of the King, shall exercise the royal powers during the minority of the successor to the Throne. This appointment shall be made with the receipt of the National Representation, given in the form prescribed in Article 79 of the Constitution.
The Regent shall also exercise the guardianship of the successor to the Throne during his minority.
If, on the death of the King, the Regent is not appointed and the successor to the Throne is a minor, both Assemblies assembled shall appoint a Regent, proceeding in the form prescribed in Article 79 of the Constitution.
The members of the Regency shall not take office until they have solemnly sworn the oath prescribed by Article 82 of the Constitution before both Assemblies.
Article 84
If the King is unable to reign, the Ministers, having legally ascertained this impossibility, shall immediately convene the Assemblies.
They elect the Regent, who will also form the guardianship.
Article 85
No amendment may be made to the Constitution during the Regency.
Article 86
The King may not at the same time be Head of another State without the consent of the Assemblies.
None of the Assemblies may deliberate on this subject unless at least two thirds of the members composing them are present, and the decision may be taken only by two thirds of the votes of the members opposite.
Article 87
The person of the King is inviolable. His ministers shall be responsible.
No act of the King shall be valid unless it is countersigned by a minister, who thereby becomes responsible for it.
Article 88
The King appoints and revokes his ministers.
He sanctions and promulgates laws.
He may refuse his sanction.
He has the right of amnesty in political matters.
He has the right to pardon or reduce punishments in criminal matters, apart from what is laid down with regard to ministers.
He may not suspend the course of prosecution or trial, nor interfere in any way in the administration of justice.
He appoints or confirms in public offices according to the laws.
He may not create a new office without a special law.
He makes regulations necessary for the execution of the laws, without ever being able to modify or suspend the laws, and cannot exempt anyone from their execution.
He is the head of the armed power.
He confers military ranks according to law.
He shall confer the Romanian decorations according to a certain law.
He has the right to coin money according to a special law.
He concludes with foreign States the necessary conventions for commerce, navigation and the like; but for these acts to have binding authority, they must first be submitted to and approved by the Legislative Power.
Article 89
The law fixes the civil list for the duration of each of the Lords.
Article 90
On 15 October of each year, the Assembly of Deputies and the Senate shall meet without convocation, unless the King has summoned them beforehand.
The duration of each session is five months.
The King opens the session with a Message, to which the Assemblies make their replies.
The King pronounces the session closed.
He has the right to convene the Assemblies in extraordinary session.
He has the right to dissolve both Assemblies at once or only one of them.
The act of dissolution must contain the convocation of the electors within two months and of the Assemblies within three months.
The King may postpone the Assemblies; however, the postponement may not exceed one month, nor be renewed in the same session without the consent of the Assemblies.
Article 91
The King has no powers other than those given to him by the Constitution.
Chapter 3 On Ministers
Article 92
The Government exercises executive power in the name of the King in the manner laid down by the Constitution.
Article 93
The assembled Ministers shall form the Council of Ministers, which shall be presided over, with the title of President of the Council of Ministers, by the person who has been entrusted by the King with the formation of the Government.
The ministerial departments and sub-secretariats of State may only be abolished by law.
Article 94
Only a person who is Romanian or who has acquired naturalisation may be a Minister.
Article 95
No member of the Royal Family may be a Minister.
Article 96
If ministers are not members of the Assemblies, they may take part in the discussion of laws, but without the right to vote.
The presence of at least one minister is required at Assembly debates.
The Assemblies may require the presence of ministers at their deliberations.
Article 97
In no case may the King's verbal or written order protect a minister from liability.
Article 98
Each of the two Assemblies, as well as the King, shall have the right to demand the prosecution of ministers and to refer them to the High Court of Cassation and Justice, which alone, in united sections, shall have the right to try them, apart from those which shall be established by law with regard to the exercise of civil action by the injured party and with regard to crimes and offences committed by ministers outside the exercise of their office.
Ministers may be prosecuted by the legislature only by a two-thirds majority of its members.
The instruction shall be made by a committee of the High Court of Cassation, composed of five members drawn by lot in united sections. This commission also has the power to qualify the facts and decide whether or not to prosecute.
The prosecution, before the High Court of Cassation and Justice, will be defended by the public prosecutor.
The law on ministerial responsibility determines the cases of liability and the penalties applicable to ministers.
Article 99
Any party aggrieved by a decree or provision signed or countersigned by a minister which violates an express text of the Constitution or of a law may claim from the State, in accordance with common law, monetary compensation for the damage caused.
Either in the course of the trial or after the judgment has been rendered, the minister may, at the request of the State, be called upon, after a vote of one of the legislative bodies, before the ordinary courts, to incur civil liability for the damage alleged or suffered by the State.
The unlawful act of the Minister shall not relieve the countersigning official of joint and several liability unless he has drawn the Minister's attention to it in writing.
Article 100
Sub-Secretariats of State may be established.
Undersecretaries of State may take part in the deliberations of the Legislative Bodies under the responsibility of Ministers.
Chapter 4 On the Judiciary
Article 101
No jurisdiction may be established except under the power of a specific law.
Extraordinary commissions and tribunals may not be created under any appointment and under any word for the purpose of specific trials, whether civil or criminal, or for the purpose of trying specific persons.
Article 102
There shall be one Court of Cassation and Justice for the whole Romanian State.
Article 103
Only the Court of Cassation in united sections has the right to judge the constitutionality of laws and to declare inapplicable those which are contrary to the Constitution. Judgment on the unconstitutionality of laws shall be confined only to the case in question.
The Court of Cassation will rule as in the past on conflicts of jurisdiction.
The right of appeal in cassation is constitutional.
Article 104
Judges are irremovable under special conditions to be determined by law.
Article 105
The jury is established in all criminal matters and for political and press offences, except in cases established by the Constitution.
An action for damages resulting from press offences and crimes may be brought only before the same jurisdiction as that of the offence.
Article 106
Military justice shall be organised by an appropriate law.
Article 107
Special authorities of any kind with administrative jurisdiction may not be established.
Administrative disputes shall fall under the jurisdiction of the judiciary, according to special law.
A person whose rights have been infringed, either by an administrative act of authority, or by an act of management made in violation of laws and regulations, or by the unwillingness of administrative authorities to settle a claim concerning a right, may apply to the courts for recognition of his right.
The judicial authorities may judge whether the act is illegal, annul it or award civil damages up to the date of restoration of the injured right, having also the power to judge the claim for compensation, either against the administrative authority sued or against the guilty official.
The judiciary does not have the power to judge acts of government, as well as acts of command of a military nature.
Chapter 5 On county and municipal institutions
Article 108
County and municipal institutions are regulated by laws.
These laws shall be based on administrative decentralisation.
The members of the county councils and municipal councils shall be elected by the Romanian citizens by universal, equal, direct, secret, compulsory and minority representation vote, according to the forms prescribed by law. By law, they may be joined by ex officio members and co-opted members. Co-opted members may include women of full age.
Title IV ON FINANCE
Article 109
No tax of any kind may be assessed and levied except on the basis of a law.
Article 110
Taxes may be established by law only for the benefit of the State, counties, municipalities and public institutions performing State services.
Article 111
Any county or municipal charge or tax may be imposed only with the permission of the county or municipal councils within the limits established by law.
Article 112
No privileges may be established in tax matters.
No tax exemption or reduction may be established except by law.
Monopolies may be established only by law and exclusively for the benefit of the State, counties and municipalities.
Article 113
No fund for boarding houses or gratuities on the public treasury may be granted except by virtue of a law.
Article 114
Every year the Assembly of Deputies shall close the accounts and vote on the budget.
All income or expenditure of the State must be entered in the budget and in the accounts.
If the budget is not voted in due time, the executive power shall indestructibly allocate the public services after the budget of the previous year, without being able to go with that budget more than one year beyond the year for which it was voted.
Article 115
Preventive and management control of all State revenue and expenditure shall be exercised by the Court of Auditors, which shall submit each year to the Assembly of Deputies a general report summarising the management accounts of the previous budget, while at the same time pointing out irregularities committed by ministers in the implementation of the budget.
The final settlement of accounts must be submitted to the Assembly of Deputies no later than two years after the end of each financial year.
Article 116
There shall be one Court of Accounts for the whole of Romania.
Article 117
All the funds coming from the Special Houses, and of which the Government disposes under different titles, must be included in the general budget of the State revenues.
Article 118
Financial laws shall be published in the Official Gazette like other public administration laws and regulations.
title v on the armed forces
Article 119
All Roma, irrespective of ethnic origin, language or religion, are part of one of the elements of the armed power, according to special laws.
The armed power consists of: the active army with its permanent staff, its reserve and militias.
Article 120
Military ranks, decorations and pensions may be awarded only by virtue of a court sentence and in cases determined by law.
Article 121
The army quota shall be voted on each year by both Legislatures.
Article 122
A High Council for the Defence of the Country shall be set up, which shall be responsible, on a permanent basis, for the measures necessary for the organisation of national defence.
Article 123
No foreign armed troops may be admitted into the service of the State, nor may they enter or pass through the territory of Romania except under the authority of a specific law.
Title VI GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 124
The colours of the flag of Romania shall be Blue, Yellow and Red, placed vertically.
Article 125
The residence of the Government shall be in the capital of the country.
Article 126
The Romanian language is the official language of the Romanian State.
Article 127
No oath may be imposed on any person except in the power of a law, which also determines its wording.
Article 128
The Constitution may not be suspended in whole or in part.
In case of danger to the State, a general or partial state of siege may be established by law.
Title VII ON THE REVIEW OF THE CONSTITUTION
Article 129
The Constitution may be revised in whole or in part on the initiative of the King or of any of the Legislatures.
Following this initiative both Assemblies, meeting separately, shall decide by an absolute majority whether the constitutional provisions should be revised.
As soon as the need for revision has been admitted, both Legislatures shall elect from among themselves a joint committee which shall propose the texts of the Constitution to be revised.
After the report of this committee has been read in each Assembly, twice within fifteen days, both Assemblies meeting together, under the chairmanship of the oldest of the Presidents, in the presence of at least two-thirds of the total membership of the two Assemblies, by a two-thirds majority, shall determine finally which articles shall be subject to revision.
Following this vote, the Assemblies shall be automatically dissolved and the electoral body shall be convened within the period prescribed by the Constitution.
Article 130
The new Assemblies shall proceed in agreement with the King to amend the items subject to revision.
In this case, the Assemblies may not deliberate unless at least two thirds of the members of which they are composed are present, and no change may be adopted unless at least two thirds of the votes are cast.
The Assemblies elected to revise the Constitution have a regular constitutional duration and, apart from amending the Constitution, they also function as ordinary legislative Assemblies.
If the revision Assemblies are unable to fulfil their mission, the new Assemblies will have the same character.
Title VIII TRANSITIONAL AND SUPPLEMENTARY PROVISIONS
Article 131
The provisions of the agrarian laws relating to arable land, forests and ponds expropriable in whole or in part, their legal status, subsoil, valuation, method of payment, etc., as formulated in the following articles of each of the agrarian laws, shall be and remain of a constitutional nature, and such articles, in their entirety, shall form an integral part of this Constitution and as such may not be amended except in the manner provided for the revision of the Constitution, namely:
(a) Art. 1 (one) para. II, Art. 2 (two), 3 (three), par. I, art. 4 (four), 6 (six), 7 (seven), 8 (eight), 9 (nine), 10 (ten), 13 (thirteen), 14 (fourteen), 16 (sixteen), 18 (eighteen), 21 (twenty-one), 23 (twenty-three), 32 (thirty-two), 36 (thirty-six) and 69 (sixty-nine) of the law for the agrarian reform of Oltenia, Muntenia, Moldova and Dobrogea (old Kingdom) of 17 July 1921;
b) Art. 2 (two), 4 (four), 5 (five), 6 (six), 7 (seven), 8 (eight), 9 (nine), 10 (ten), 11 (eleven), 12 (twelve), 13 (thirteen), 16 (sixteen), 45 (forty-five), 46 (forty-six), 47 (forty-seven), 48 (forty-eight), 49 (forty-nine), 50 (fifty) and 53 (fifty-three) of the Bessarabian Agrarian Reform Law of 13 March 1920;
c) Art. 3 (three), 4 (four), 5 (five), 6 (six), 7 (seven), 8 (eight), 9 (nine), 10 (ten), 11 (eleven), 12 (twelve), 13 (thirteen), 14 (fourteen), 16 (sixteen), 18 (eighteen), 22 (twenty-two), 24 (twenty-four), 32 (thirty-two), 50 (fifty) and 85 (eighty-five) of the law for agrarian reform in Transylvania, Banat, Crisana and Maramures of 30 July 1921;
(d) Articles 2 (two), 3 (three), 4 (four), 5 (five)(a)(ii) and (iii) of Regulation (EEC) No 2121/78. I, Art. 6 (six), 7 (seven), 9 (nine), 10 (ten), 12 (twelve), 13 (thirteen), 29 (twenty-nine), 31 (thirty-one) and 55 (fifty-five) of the Bucovina Agrarian Reform Law of 30 July 1921.
Article 132
In order to satisfy the normal needs of the rural population of the former Kingdom, Bessarabia and Bukovina for firewood and building timber, the State is obliged to allocate from its forests in the plains, hills and mountains the necessary areas for this purpose.
In the former Kingdom and in Bucovina, where the State has no forests within a radius of twenty kilometres from the centre of the commune, in order to meet the above-mentioned needs, it shall, by way of derogation from Article 7, paragraph 1, of the Convention, provide that the State shall, within a radius of twenty kilometres from the centre of the commune, provide forests for the purpose of meeting the above-mentioned needs. c and art. 8 lit. a, b and c of the law for agrarian reform in Oltenia, Muntenia, Moldova and Dobrogea of 17 July 1921 and from art. 5, point a, para. IV and art. 6 and 7 of the law for agrarian reform in Bucovina of 30 July 1921, may expropriate from the forests of legal persons, whether public or private, located in this area and only in their absence, shall expropriate proportionally from the forests of all private owners located in this area, but only within the limit of these needs and in all cases with respect to an intangible area of one hundred hectares of each property.
Forests replanted or being replanted are not expropriable, whoever the owner may be.
Contracts for the sale for exploitation of expropriable forests in force at the time of expropriation shall be respected.
The forests thus expropriated shall remain the property of the State and shall be administered and exploited by it in order to satisfy, in accordance with the law and in the first line, the above needs.
The expropriation of these forests shall be made with just and prior compensation fixed by justice.
The manner of expropriation shall be regulated by special law.
Article 133
The decree-laws are ratified: No. 3,902 of 29 December 1918, published in the Official Gazette No. 223 of 30 December 1918, concerning the granting of citizenship rights; No. 2,085 of 22 May 1919, published in the Official Gazette No. 33 of 28 May 1919, and No. 3,464 of 12 August 1919, published in the Official Gazette No. 93 of 13 August 1919, concerning the incetatency of Jews living in the old Kingdom.
It also ratifies all the decrees of individual cessation which were made before the decrees specified above.
The Jews, living in the old Kingdom, who will not have regularized their cessation of citizenship within the term provided for by decree-law No. 3.464 of 12 August 1919, will be able to make declarations of cessation of citizenship according to decree-law No. 2.085 of 22 May 1919, within three months after the promulgation of this Constitution.
Article 134
Until the making of a law organizing the Legislative Council provided for in this Constitution, the presentation of draft laws before the Legislative Bodies shall continue to be made in accordance with the laws and regulations now in force.
Article 135
Until the promulgation of a special law based on the principles of this Constitution, the laws relating to the organization and adjudication of administrative disputes shall remain in force
Article 136
A special law shall fix the civil list of the First King of Romania in its entirety.
Article 137
All existing codicils and laws in the various parts of the Romanian State shall be revised in order to bring them into harmony with the Constitution and ensure legislative unity.
Until then they shall remain in force.
From the day of the promulgation of the Constitution, however, those provisions of laws, decrees, regulations and any other acts contrary to what is enshrined in this Constitution shall be abolished.
Article 138
The present National Assemblies after the promulgation of this Constitution may function until the expiration of their legal mandate.
During this time they shall, on the basis of the principles of this Constitution, make electoral law.
Until this law is made, the electoral decree-laws shall remain in force.
NOTE
The completion of the unitary national state required the adoption of a new Constitution, bearing in mind also that the Council of the Country in Chișinău and the Great National Assembly in Alba Iulia had demanded, in the Declaration and Resolution of Union respectively, the convocation of a Constituent Assembly elected by universal suffrage.
Under these circumstances, the Royal Decree convening the bicameral Parliament resulting from the 1922 elections declared the newly elected Assemblies constituent.
The draft Constitution was drawn up by the National Liberal Party (led by Ion I. C. Bratianu), the party with a majority in the Chamber. The opposition parties, in particular the Romanian National Party (led by Iuliu Maniu) and the Peasant Party (led by Ion Mihalache) declared that they did not recognise the Constituent character of the Parliament and considered the draft Constitution null and void, due to the violations of the constitutional revision procedures established by the Constitution of 1866.
The Constitution was adopted by the National Constituent Assembly of Deputies at its meeting on 26 March 1923 with a majority of 247 votes in favour, 8 against and 2 abstentions out of a total of 369 deputies, a situation certified by the President of the Assembly of Deputies, M. G. Orleanu, and by the Secretary D. Iuca, and by the National Constituent Assembly of the Senate in its meeting of 27 March 1923 with a majority of 137 votes in favour, 2 against and 2 abstentions out of a total of 194 senators, a situation certified by the President of the Senate, M. Pherekyde, and the Secretary I. N. Cosoiu.
The Constitution was sanctioned by King Ferdinand I with Royal Decree no. 1360 of 28 March 1923, countersigned by the President of the Council of Ministers, Ion I. C. Bratianu, and 14 ministers, and was published in the "Monitorul Oficial" no. 282 of 29 March 1923.
In the same issue of the "Monitorul Oficial" were published:
a) Report no. 934 of 28 March 1923 of the Government, presented to M. S. King Ferdinand I for the approval and sanctioning of the Constitution voted by the National Assemblies, signed by the President of the Council of Ministers, Ion I. C. Bratianu, and by 14 ministers;
b) Speech of His Majesty King Ferdinand I on 28 March 1923 on receiving the Report for the sanctioning of the Constitution voted by the Constituent National Assemblies.
The Constitution entered into force on the date of its sanction, i.e. 28 March 1923. It implicitly repeals the Constitution of 1866 with its subsequent amendments, with the exception of Decree-Laws 3902/1918, 2085/1919 and 3464/1919, which implicitly amended the former Constitution and which are ratified by the new Constitution.
As originally drafted, the 1923 Constitution consisted of 138 articles grouped under 8 titles.
The 1923 Constitution was expressly repealed on 27 February 1938 by the 1938 Constitution.
The 1923 Constitution was reinstated in force, in a partial and amended form, by Royal Decree no. 1626 of 31 August 1944 for the establishment of the rights of Romanians within the framework of the Constitution of 1866 and with the amendments to the Constitution of 29 March 1923, signed by King Michael I and published in the "Monitorul Oficial" no. 202 of 2 September 1944. Royal Decree no. 1626/1944 was amended by Royal Decree no. 1849 of 10 October 1944, published in "Monitorul Oficial" no. 235 of 11 October 1944, thus amending the 1923 Constitution.
An express amendment to the 1923 Constitution was made by Royal Decree No 2218 of 13 July 1946 on the exercise of legislative power, published in the Official Gazette No 161 of 15 July 1946. Law No 560 of 15 July 1946 on the election of the Assembly of Deputies, promulgated by Royal Decree No 2219 of 13 July 1946, was also published in the same Official Gazette.
The 1923 Constitution was expressly repealed on 30 December 1947, by Law No 363 of 30 December 1947 for the establishment of the Romanian State in the Romanian People's Republic, promulgated by Decree No 2299 of 30 December 1947, signed by Petru Groza, President of the Council of Ministers, and published in the "Monitorul Oficial" No 300 bis of 30 December 1947.
The text of the 1923 Constitution is reproduced from "Monitorul Oficial" No 282 of 29 March 1923.