site.btaRomania's Constitutional Court Rules Unconstitutional Abolition of MPs' Special Pensions

Romania's Constitutional Court has ruled that the abolition of MPs' special pensions is unconstitutional, reports Digi24. The magistrates argued that the integrity of an acquired legal right is affected by the legal abolition of the age limit allowance.

In 2021, MPs in Romania once again voted to abolish special pensions for senators and deputies. A year later, more than 70 former parliamentarians sued Parliament and the Constitutional Court declared the law unconstitutional. The magistrates justified their decision by the fact that the parliamentarians had acted "quickly" and "hastily" in adopting the law, even though no discussion had been requested under the urgent procedure.

On June 22, the bill on the abolition of special pensions for MPs in Romania received approval in the Committee on the Status of MPs. Four days later, the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of Romania adopted it in a joint session. At the beginning of August, Romania's Constitutional Court sent it back to Parliament for revision after declaring some of the law's articles unconstitutional.

Over 800 former MPs in Romania receive special pensions that are not based on their pension contributions. The value of the special pensions for MPs and senators amounts to more than 53 million lei (BGN 21,200,000) a year.