The explanatory memorandum of the Sovereignty Act: the reason for every article of the draft, from neuro-rights to the demilitarisation of the services and offshore taxation.

The full text of the draft: The Sovereignty Act

Full translation of the memorandum. The Romanian text remains the authoritative one.

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

Section 1 — Title of the draft normative act

“The Sovereignty Act —

The Act for the protection of the higher and sovereign interest of the Romanian people and citizen”

Section 2 — Grounds for issuing the normative act

Description of the present situation

In recent years, and above all in the year and a half following the appearance of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, a series of norms have been adopted in Romanian legislation which contravene, whether individually or taken as a whole, the spirit and the letter of the Constitution of Romania, republished. This state of fact and of law is such as to affect gravely and directly the sovereignty of the Romanian State laid down in article 1 paragraph 1 of the Constitution — sovereignty understood both as the right of the nation to identity and self-determination and as a state of law consistent with the constitutional order.

The reaction to the state of stress to which the Romanian State and citizen were subjected as a result of the pandemic situation, from March 2020 to the present, both economically and socially, revealed a series of dysfunctions at the level of the institutions of the Romanian State, such as to affect national sovereignty directly, fundamentally and irreversibly.

Not least, according to the conclusions of the European Parliament Resolution of 13 November 2020 on the impact of COVID-19 measures on democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights (2020/2790(RSP)), it appears that in Romania too advantage was taken of a lacunary legislation which leaves room for derailments dangerous to the rights and liberties of the Romanian citizen, to sustainable economic and social development, and to the coherence and proper functioning of the security institutions of Romania — with the result that constitutional rights and liberties were breached.

Moreover, in adopting restrictive measures through laws and normative acts for the management of the crisis generated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Romanian authorities never observed the principle of proportionality with the level of gravity forecast or manifested, nor the principle of the non-discriminatory application of those restrictive measures — principles expressly laid down in article 53 paragraph (2) of the Constitution of Romania for the restriction of the exercise of rights or liberties.

In view of the foregoing, the immediate necessity of this legislative initiative for remedying the situation described follows.

The normal and immediate solution is to legislate a single regulation which corrects the state of law described above, by concentrating and implementing targeted measures intended to consolidate the national sovereignty belonging to the Romanian people. The internal and international economic, social and political developments of recent years have had the effect of markedly undermining the sovereignty of the Romanian people.

Popular sovereignty represents the right of the people to decide its own future and to determine the priorities of the State, its organisation and functioning, as well as the right of the people to control the activity of the State.

According to article 2, paragraph (2) of the Constitution of Romania, republished, “National sovereignty belongs to the Romanian people…”

Present reality shows that the rigours of the Constitution are no longer to be found in the quality of life of the citizens of Romania.

The suppression of popular sovereignty and the existing chaos in the relations between the three powers — legislative, executive and judicial — annuls the concept of constitutional democracy and contributes to invalidating the Social Contract existing between the people and its authorities.

Thus, the Romanian people can no longer dispose sovereignly of the natural, material and human resources existing on the territory of the country; the authorities impose abusive medical measures upon their own citizens; the electoral process is systematically vitiated; and the intelligence services are no longer under civilian control.

For these reasons, and not least in order to restore to the people the sovereignty guaranteed by the Constitution, certain legislative amendments have become necessary, as well as the introduction of new legal rules by which sovereignty is regulated and asserted far more explicitly.

1¹. In the case of drafts transposing Community legislation or creating the framework for its direct application, only the Community acts concerned shall be specified, together with their identification elements — No documents were identified in Community legislation in this field.

2. Envisaged changes

The Sovereignty Act has as its sole object of regulation the restoration of sovereignty and of the state of law, as laid down in article 1 paragraph 1 of the Constitution of Romania. The uniqueness of the regulation in the matter of national sovereignty takes shape through amendments to certain rules in connected fields, indispensable to the achievement of the aim pursued.

These amendments constitute the means by which sovereignty and the rule of law in Romania are consolidated. The draft legislation proceeds from the constitutional rigour according to which sovereignty belongs to the Romanian people and rests upon four pillars:

1) strengthening and guaranteeing the rights and liberties of the citizen, as well as the sovereignty and safety of the Romanian State;

2) protecting and ensuring a healthy environment permitting the normal development and life of the citizen;

3) maximising the benefits obtained by the citizen from the natural riches of the country and, in general, from the economic environment, seen as means of socio-economic development; and

4) consolidating the national defence system, a system to be made more efficient and subordinated exclusively to the will of the people, having as its sole purpose the safeguarding of the sovereignty, independence and unity of the State, of the territorial integrity of the country and of constitutional democracy, in compliance with art. 118 of the Constitution of Romania.

Chapter I adopts new rules or legislative amendments aimed at consolidating the rule of law and protecting the higher and sovereign interest of the Romanian people and citizen.

Article 1 excludes the possibility of limiting fundamental human rights and liberties by normative administrative acts, thereby restoring the supremacy of the Constitution and of the rights it establishes for the Romanian citizen, seen as the legitimate beneficiary of constitutional rights and the sole holder of national sovereignty. The possibility is thereby removed of arbitrary limitations of fundamental rights being imposed by administrative entities which have no power to legislate or to establish restrictions of rights and liberties. The aim is to consolidate the principle of the separation of powers in the State and constitutional democracy — principles according to which the Romanian State is organised under article 1 para. 4 of the Constitution. → the text of the article

Article 2 amends, in the sense described above, Emergency Ordinance 1/1999, removing the possibility of restricting the exercise of fundamental rights during the state of siege and the state of emergency. Account was taken of the fact that no situation, however exceptional, can justify the restriction of rights inherent in the human condition and in the status of citizen — a fact confirmed by the wording of art. 15 of the Constitution: “(1) Citizens enjoy the rights and liberties enshrined in the Constitution and in other laws and have the duties provided therein.” Thus, the right to life and to physical and mental integrity, the right of defence, the right to free movement, the right to intimate, family and private life, the inviolability of the domicile, freedom of conscience and freedom of expression may not be limited on any ground whatever, since their restriction cannot have as its hypothetical purpose the exit from an exceptional situation, but rather the deepening of a state of abnormality. → the text of the article

In article 3, for the same reasons set out above, Act 55/2020 is repealed in its entirety, starting from the considerations expressed by the Constitutional Court in Decision 457/2020. In the reasoning of that Decision the Constitutional Court held unequivocally that to “construct” by law a new institution — the “state of alert”, with a regime evidently less restrictive than the state of emergency regulated by the constituent legislature — but which permits the circumvention of the constitutional framework governing legality, the separation of powers in the State and the conditions for restricting the exercise of rights and liberties, contravenes the general requirements of the rule of law as enshrined in the Constitution of Romania. In reaching that conclusion, the Constitutional Court also held that even in a state of public emergency the fundamental principle of the rule of law must prevail; that the rule of law consists of several aspects, all of capital importance, which must be maintained in their entirety — the principle of legality, the separation of powers, the division of powers, human rights, the State monopoly on force, public and independent administration of justice, protection of private life, the right to vote, freedom of access to political power, democratic participation of citizens and their supervision of the decision-making process, transparency of government, freedom of expression, association and assembly, the rights of minorities, and the rule of the majority in political decision-making; and that the rule of law means that governmental agencies must operate within the law and that their actions must be subject to review by independent courts, the legal security of persons being guaranteed. Not least, it is considered that there is no longer any justification for maintaining a regulation of limited applicability adopted as a result of an exceptional situation — the COVID-19 pandemic — all the more so as, at the time of formulating this legislative proposal, the World Health Organization was on the point of declaring the passage from pandemic to a controllable endemic state. Having regard to all these aspects, to the manifestly unconstitutional character of Act 55/2020, and to the need to resume, in conditions of normality, the legislative process for adopting a rule of general applicability for pandemic, endemic and epidemiological situations, the sole solution for returning to a state of legality and constitutionality — as the only ways of exercising national sovereignty — is the full repeal of Act 55/2020. → the text of the article

Article 4 amends the Patients’ Rights Act 46/2003, requiring the patient’s written agreement and consent to be obtained before the administration of medicines, sanitary materials, medical devices and other therapeutic means. The measure is absolutely necessary in order to strengthen the citizen’s right to life and to physical and mental integrity, placed in accordance with freedom of conscience. Each of these is an element indissolubly linked to the sovereignty of the people, seen as the totality of citizens whose rights and liberties must be guaranteed. → the text of the article

For the same reason, paragraph 2 of article 4 also prohibits any discrimination, positive or negative, as a result of accepting or refusing a treatment or a medical device. Any discrimination is contrary to the Constitution, being such as to affect the rights and liberties of a part of the population.

Article 5 pursues the defence of the state of health of the Romanian people, holder of national sovereignty, by amending Act 95/2006 on the reform of the health system so as to prohibit the marketing or use of medicines, vaccines, medical devices and other pharmaceutical products for which the manufacturer offers no guarantees and no demonstrably viable remedies, or for which complete clinical trials have not been carried out. → the text of the article

Likewise, paragraph 2 repeals three sub-points of article 811 of Act 95 of 14 April 2006 which permit certain immoral forms of advertising for medicines with a direct impact upon the state of health of the Romanian people — a fact which endangers national sovereignty.

For the same reasons, paragraph 3 amends art. 813 of Act 95/2006, prohibiting any form of commercial advertising on television, radio and social networks for authorised or unauthorised medicines, vaccines, medical devices and other pharmaceutical products.

For the same considerations, the direct distribution of medicines to the population by manufacturers for promotional purposes has also been prohibited.

Article 6 amends Act 272/2004 on the protection and promotion of the rights of the child, introducing provisions on the defence of the physical and mental integrity of the minor in his capacity as a citizen holding rights. Any form of intervention upon the body of the minor aimed at altering the sexual identity acquired at birth is thus prohibited before the age of 18. At the same time, it is prohibited to make available to children any pornographic materials or materials promoting departure from gender identity, such materials being capable of causing psychological traumas which will mark the whole existence of the citizen. In adopting these amendments, regard is had both to the higher interest of the child and to his right to decide and dispose, in full knowledge, of his own body after reaching psychological maturity, so that any premature influences upon the normal physical and mental development of the Romanian citizen may be removed. Not least, account is taken of the irreversible character of any premature gender modifications, which will have a negative effect upon the development of the minor and a direct influence upon natality in Romania — an aspect which directly affects national sovereignty. → the text of the article

Article 7 supplements article 64 of the Civil Code, establishing new guarantees concerning the individual physical or mental integrity of the person. Account was taken both of the technological developments of recent years and of the latest results of studies by the most advanced research laboratories in the field, all of which create the conditions for possible intrusions at the level of the brain through the use of neuro-technology. Having regard to the potential risks represented by the absence of regulation in a field which may have direct effects upon the Romanian citizen as an individual, and upon communities as a whole — both capable of causing uncontrolled influences upon society and hence, implicitly, upon national sovereignty — the use or holding of any device whose purpose is to access or manipulate neuronal activity, or to diminish the autonomy of the will or the capacity of citizens to take decisions freely, has been prohibited. → the text of the article

Article 8 amends paragraph 3 of art. 5 of Act 159/2016 on the regime of the physical infrastructure of electronic communications networks, granting owners and co-owners of buildings the right to use continuously, uninterruptedly and unconditionally the buildings of which they are owners or co-owners. Account was taken of the fact that permitting, without restriction and without prior authorisation, any legal entities holding electronic communications networks, or the technologies and equipment used within the IT and communications infrastructures of national interest, to install elements of physical infrastructure constitutes an unacceptable limitation of the right of property — which may amount to a grave infringement of the sovereignty of the Romanian people. → the text of the article

Article 9 amends Act no. 286/2009 — the Criminal Code, bringing the legislation in this field into line with the latest decisions of the Constitutional Court and with the legislative amendments introduced by this legislative proposal. → the text of the article

Thus, paragraph 1 introduces a new article into the Criminal Code, article 195¹, with the marginal heading “Disturbance or alteration of physical or mental integrity”, criminalising breaches of the provisions of article 64 of the Civil Code as amended by this draft Act. Punishment is thus provided for “disturbing or altering the individual physical or mental integrity of a person without that person’s written, express, informed and freely expressed consent”, and likewise for holding or using any system or device whose purpose is to access or manipulate neuronal activity, for accessing or manipulating a person’s neuronal activity, and for any intervention upon neuronal connections or intrusion at the level of the brain, whether invasive or non-invasive, in the absence of the person’s written, express, informed and freely expressed consent. The provisions thus introduced into the Criminal Code are necessary for the defence of the social values protected by the civil rule and for the defence of the rights and of the physical and mental integrity of the Romanian citizen, as fundamental elements of national sovereignty.

Paragraph 2 amends Art. 197 of the Criminal Code, headed “Ill-treatment of the minor”, by introducing two new paragraphs, 2 and 3. Paragraph 2 of article 197 criminalises “the act of determining a minor who has not reached the age of 18 to alter his biological sexual identity acquired at birth”, whether or not the perpetrator’s aim was achieved. The reason for criminalising this act lies in the grave mental, psychological and behavioural disturbances which such an act may produce in the minor, even where the minor cannot himself decide upon the actual, physical modification of his sexual identity acquired at birth. Paragraph 3 introduces an aggravated form of the act provided for in paragraph 2, increasing by one third the penalty applied where the perpetrator is a parent, guardian, instructor or teacher, or where the act itself produced physical consequences upon the minor, irrespective of the capacity of the perpetrator.

Paragraph 3 of article 9 amends art. 211 of the Criminal Code, headed “Trafficking in minors”, introducing after paragraph 1 a new paragraph (1¹) criminalising the mediation or promotion of adoptions by persons who are not officials of the General Directorate for Social Assistance and Child Protection or of the National Authority for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Children and Adoptions. The reason for criminalising this act was the situation of recent decades, in which the adoption of children was seen by various natural and legal persons as a veritable commercial act, thousands of children being thereby taken out of the country, losing their citizenship and no longer being capable of protection by the Romanian State — a fact which affects national sovereignty directly and gravely by diminishing the population, the holder of sovereignty.

Paragraph 4 of Article 9 amends paragraph 4 of article 221 of the Criminal Code, raising from 13 to 14 the age from which the act of determining a minor to witness exhibitionist acts, or performances in which sexual acts of any nature are committed, is punished. At the same time, the act of making available to a minor pornographic materials, or materials whose content explicitly describes sexuality, has been criminalised. Account was taken of the need to preserve the innocence and natural development of the minor in accordance with the moral norms generally accepted by society, up to an age at which the acts criminalised lose their dangerousness.

Paragraph 5 of Article 9 introduces a new paragraph into art. 221 of the Criminal Code, headed “Sexual corruption of minors”, and amends paragraph 6 of the same article. Paragraph 5¹ criminalises “the act of making available to children under the age of eighteen any materials promoting departure from biological sexual identity, gender reassignment and homosexuality”, having regard to the medium- and long-term effects upon the development of the minor and to the irreparable psychological traumas which it may cause — acts which directly impair the development of generations healthy and capable of fully exercising their rights and their sovereignty. Paragraph 6 is amended so as to criminalise the attempt at the act thus criminalised, having regard to the importance of the social value protected.

Paragraph 6 amends paragraph 6 of article 221 of the Criminal Code, criminalising also the attempt at the offence newly introduced at paragraph 5¹ of article 221 of the Criminal Code.

Paragraph 7 amends article 297 of the Criminal Code — Abuse of office — bringing it into line with Decisions 405/2016 and 392/2017, and criminalising in paragraph 2 the act of discriminating against any person, of “restricting the exercise of a person’s right or creating for that person a situation of fear, of social exclusion or of inferiority on the ground of accepting or refusing a treatment or a medical device”. The necessity of criminalising this act arises from the recurrence, in the society of recent years, of acts of negative discrimination through the restriction of constitutional rights, in breach of the rights of the patient laid down in Act no. 46 of 21 January 2003 and in the Oviedo Convention, against persons who did not accept certain medical treatments which are optional under the legislation in force. Symmetrically, any act of discrimination as a result of accepting and undergoing medical treatments has also been criminalised.

Paragraph 8 introduces a third paragraph into article 297 of the Criminal Code — Abuse of office — criminalising any act of a public servant or of a person assimilated thereto consisting in the application of norms declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court. The amendment to the criminal law was made in order to strengthen respect for the rights of the Romanian citizen, and also to strengthen the force of the decisions of the Constitutional Court by criminalising any breach thereof — all having as their ultimate purpose the strengthening of the rule of law and of the constitutional regime in Romania, both regarded as the very foundation of national sovereignty.

Paragraph 9 introduces a new letter into article 394 of the Criminal Code, headed Treason — letter e) — criminalising the act of a Romanian citizen of entering into relations with a foreign power or organisation, or with agents thereof, for the purpose of suppressing or impairing the unity and indivisibility, the sovereignty or the independence of the State, through the exercise of an office of public dignity or one involving the exercise of State authority. Account was taken of the fact that the exercise of such an office by the active subject of the offence of treason — namely by a Romanian citizen who has entered into relations with a foreign power or organisation or with agents thereof for the purpose of suppressing or impairing the unity and indivisibility, the sovereignty or the independence of the State — constitutes a danger to national sovereignty and to the safety of the State. The exercise of such an office constitutes a real and imminent state of danger to the constitutional and legal order of Romania, without it being necessary that the means provided for in letters a) to d) of article 394 of the Criminal Code should exist; hence, for the defence of national sovereignty and of economic, financial, sanitary and social safety, the criminalisation of this act is necessary precisely in order to avert the consequences of the criminal actions of citizens who have entered into relations with a foreign power or organisation or with agents thereof — accession to such an office by such persons being the very aim pursued by those foreign powers and organisations. Account was likewise taken of the fact that the offence of High Treason, provided for and punished by article 398 of the Criminal Code, criminalises only acts committed by “the President of Romania or another member of the Supreme Council of National Defence”, leaving outside the criminal sphere acts committed by the other persons exercising offices of public dignity or involving the exercise of State authority.

Paragraph 10 introduces a new paragraph into article 398 of the Criminal Code, headed “High treason” — paragraph 2 — establishing an aggravated form of the offence criminalised in paragraph 1, increasing the penalty limits for the act of entering into relations with a foreign power or organisation, or with agents thereof, for the purpose of suppressing or impairing the unity and indivisibility, the sovereignty or the independence of the State, through economic or political subversion or subversion of the defence capacity of the State, where that act has caused significant damage to the national economy. As the very text of paragraph 1 states, the act criminalised is such as to endanger national sovereignty, the increase in the penalty limits for grave consequences being intended as a means of dissuasion, all the more so since the perpetrators may be persons holding important positions within the Romanian State.

Paragraph 11 introduces a new paragraph into article 398 of the Criminal Code, headed “High treason”, bringing within the sphere of high treason also the act of the President of failing to give effect to the decisions of the Constitutional Court settling conflicts of a constitutional nature within 10 days of the communication of the operative part. The necessity of criminalising this act lies in the importance of the value protected — namely the immediate implementation of the decisions of the Constitutional Court — as well as in the absence of any means of coercion or of any sanction for a President who breaches the constitutional order and ignores the judgments interpreting the Constitution, such acts being capable of fundamentally affecting national sovereignty.

Article 10 amends two articles of Act 135/2010, the Code of Criminal Procedure. → the text of the article

Paragraph 1 amends Article 247 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, establishing by law the need for a connection between the criminal act committed and the state of mental health of the perpetrator. In this way, the measure of provisional medical committal may be taken only if the perpetrator’s condition was determinant for the commission of the act and the measure is necessary in order to remove a concrete and present danger to public safety. The need for the legislative amendment arose from the increasing incidence of interpretations, by the criminal courts, extending their powers into the civil sphere in cases where, although there is no connection between the perpetrator’s state of health and the act allegedly committed, safety measures were taken during the criminal investigation, disregarding the general legal framework laid down by the Civil Code applicable in the matter.

Paragraph 2 of article 10 introduces a new letter g) into paragraph 1 of art. 453 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, adding as a new ground for revision the situation in which “the judgment was founded upon a legal provision which was repealed or amended after the judgment became final, where the criminal provisions are more favourable or the act has been decriminalised.” Account is taken of the fact that the decriminalisation of an act and more favourable criminal rules reflect an expression and an effect of the way in which certain acts are perceived by society, which is why their decriminalisation is the direct effect of the exercise of the sovereign right of the people to legislate in criminal matters. Consequently, decriminalisation or more favourable criminal rules must produce their effects upon all members of society, irrespective of whether, at the date of the legislative change, they have been finally convicted under a criminal rule that has become obsolete — the judgment itself becoming obsolete and contrary to the legal and constitutional order. Not least, account was taken of the fact that revision may be sought at any time, even after the death of the convicted person, by his heirs, which makes it possible to remedy historical judicial errors and abuses committed under the communist or fascist regimes.

Article 11 amends article 18 para. 2 of Act no. 202 of 9 November 1998 (republished) on the organisation of the Official Gazette of Romania, the legislative amendment establishing free and uninterrupted access of Romanian citizens to the Official Gazette and to all documents of public interest communicated through it. The amendment was made following the finding that knowledge of the law and of official acts by their addressees is necessary, as an obligation correlative to the citizen’s duty to know the law, the link established between State and citizen through the law and through knowledge of it being a fundamental element of national sovereignty. → the text of the article

Article 12 governs the relationship between the Romanian citizen and the entities which hold or operate social networks or other virtual environments, Cloud storage environments, online sites or operating systems, the defence of the rights of the Romanian citizen being one of the attributes of the sovereignty of a State. The aim is to protect the right to one’s image, to free expression, and to defend the intellectual property rights of the Romanian citizen in relation to any legal entities, whether or not established in Romania, bringing jurisdiction over possible disputes to the national courts. This measure seeks to bring under Romanian jurisdiction any acts or facts committed in the online environment. Not least, the provision brings national legislation into line with the recommendation of the European Parliament, which emphasised that responsibility for ensuring compliance with the law must rest with the public authorities and that, ultimately, decisions should belong to an independent judicial system and not to a private commercial entity. → the text of the article

Article 13 amends Act no. 208 of 20 July 2015 on the election of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, establishing reductions of the electoral threshold for better parliamentary representation of Romanian citizens. Paragraph 1 repeals paragraphs 3 to 5 of article 92¹, by which, under Act 202/2020, the Special Telecommunications Service acquired extended powers within the electoral process. Similarly, paragraph 4 repeals the amendments made by that same Act 202/2020 to paragraph 103¹, all references to the Special Telecommunications Service and the powers conferred upon it within the electoral process being removed. In paragraphs 5 to 8 the same amendments were made, repealing and amending any legal provisions involving that same Service in the electoral process. The legislative amendments seek to make the electoral process transparent and to remove from it a secret service (militarised at the present date), the measures being necessary in order to return the electoral process in Romania to the civilian sphere, as is the case in all the countries of the European Union. → the text of the article

Paragraphs 2 and 3 amend article 94 of Act 208/2015 by lowering the electoral threshold established for parties and electoral alliances for entry into Parliament — from 5% to 3% for parties and, in the case of electoral alliances, from an increase of 3 percentage points for each member party to 1%, but not more than 5% of the votes cast. It is considered that the benefits of political stability brought by raising the electoral threshold, to the detriment of the representation of political options, have not had the expected effect, the economic and social state of Romania today being the proof of the failure of that manner of representing Romanian citizens. It was considered that, as between political stability and the parliamentary representation of as broad a segment of the population as possible, national sovereignty is more correctly and faithfully expressed by a broad representativeness of Parliament, as a direct application of article 2 paragraph 1 of the Constitution: “(1) National sovereignty belongs to the Romanian people, who exercise it through their representative bodies, constituted by free, periodic and fair elections, as well as by referendum” — the fact that the Constitution speaks of “representativeness” and not of “stability” being the constitutional foundation of the amendment of the electoral threshold.

Chapter II adopts legislative amendments aimed at protecting the environment, seen as a means of sustainable development, and at protecting the higher and sovereign interest of the Romanian people and citizen.

Article 14 amends Act 57/2020 on the sustainable management of Romania’s forests, prohibiting the export, within or outside the Community area, of unprocessed timber, including logs, with or without bark, round wood, sawn timber, beams or railway sleepers, until 1 January 2121. This temporary prohibition is necessary in order to counteract the effects of the massive exports of recent years, which have caused extensive deforestation with disastrous effects upon the environment and neighbouring human communities — floods, landslides, irreversible harm to flora and fauna. The gravity of the situation requires the criminalisation of breaches of the export prohibitions. → the text of the article

In article 15, articles 29 and 108 of Act 46 of 19 March 2008 — the Forestry Code — are amended,

prohibiting, for the same reasons as those set out above, all deforestation and clear-felling on the territory of Romania, including that justified by ecological reconstruction, the regeneration and tending of forests, until 1 January 2121.

Likewise, the act of causing disease in, or infesting with pests, the trees of the forest stock, as well as the breach of the prohibition laid down in art. 29 of the Forestry Code, have been criminalised, all being such as to affect directly the sustainable development of the Romanian nation and the sovereignty of the people.

Article 16 amends article 13 of Act no. 211/2011 on the waste regime, adding paragraph 2, which establishes a total prohibition of any imports of waste of any kind, as the only means of protecting the sovereign interest of the Romanian people. → the text of the article

Chapter III adopts new rules and measures in the economic field for the protection of the interests of the State and of the Romanian citizen.

Article 17 establishes the prohibition of alienating the assets held by the State in national companies and undertakings, in credit institutions, and in any other economic entity in which the State is a shareholder. Just as Act 173/2020, subsequently amended, provided for the prohibition of alienating State assets for a period of two years, it is considered necessary: 1) to establish the prohibition of alienating the shares held by the State in national companies and undertakings, in credit institutions and in any other company in which the State is a shareholder; and 2) to suspend those already commenced, for a period of 100 years, until 1 January 2121, the operations concerning the alienation of the assets or shares of the State, irrespective of the share of capital held. In adopting this measure, regard is had to the protection of the interests of the Romanian State, avoiding the risk of patrimonial losses in the event of alienation of assets held in various national economic entities, in a period of economic instability and structural change. The aim is likewise the conservation of the State’s assets with a view to transmitting them to the following generations and ensuring economic stability permitting the development of human capital. → the text of the article

Article 18 supplements article 307 of the Administrative Code of 3 July 2019 with a new paragraph establishing that the minimum level of the royalty obtained from the concession of goods in public property may not fall below the level of the European Economic Area market and must be proportionate to the benefits obtained from the exploitation of the good by the concessionaire and to the market value of the good concerned. The aim is to make more efficient and more profitable the exploitation of Romania’s natural resources and to increase budgetary revenues as means of consolidating national sovereignty. → the text of the article

Article 19, in paragraph 1, amends art. 30 para. 1 letter a) of Act no. 312 of 28 June 2004 on the Statute of the National Bank of Romania and establishes the obligation for the National Bank to keep the gold reserves held in the treasury exclusively and entirely on the territory of Romania. The possibility, provided for in the present form of the law, of depositing the gold of the National Bank’s treasury abroad is thereby repealed. Paragraph 2 establishes a time limit of 180 days for the full repatriation of the gold deposited outside Romania, and paragraph 3 criminalises the failure to observe the two preceding paragraphs, providing a penalty of up to 20 years’ imprisonment. The measures are intended to ensure the economic and financial stability of Romania through permanent, uninterrupted and unconditional access to its own gold reserves — measures necessary given the marked instability of financial markets and the risk of an imminent global economic crisis. At the same time, the effective holding and treasuring of one’s own reserves of precious metals is a way of asserting, and a guarantee for preserving, national sovereignty. → the text of the article

Article 20 establishes the obligation of full transparency of the contracts concluded with the Romanian State and requires that all such contracts be published in the Official Gazette, Part IV, and on the websites of the contracting institutions. Transparency in the public sector as regards contracts concluded with the Romanian State is an essential element in ensuring a functioning democracy, especially in exceptional circumstances, which may be fertile ground for acts of corruption or circumventions of the law. Likewise, the institutions of the State must not make information accessible only upon request, but must publish contracts of public interest by virtue of this legal provision. → the text of the article

Article 21 criminalises two acts of omission committed by public servants. Paragraph 1 criminalises the intentional omission of a public servant to enforce privatisation or concession contracts in accordance with their clauses, and likewise the omission to bring the legal actions for their enforcement, such acts being punished by imprisonment from 10 to 20 years. Account was taken of the intentional passivity of certain high-ranking public servants in enforcing, or bringing the legal actions required by, the non-performance or partial or defective performance of contracts concluded by various Romanian or foreign entities with the Romanian State. Paragraph 2 establishes a penalty reduced by half for the same acts where committed negligently. In establishing this regulation, account was taken of the situation in which many privatisation or concession contracts were manifestly performed partially or defectively, with clauses whose breach became notorious, in the face of which the authorities of the Romanian State remained passive. The intention is to compel the accountability of the Romanian official in fulfilling his duties in defence of public property, as a means of defending the national patrimony and sovereignty. → the text of the article

Article 22 imposes the prohibition of marketing on the territory of Romania products of a quality inferior to those marketed under the same brand in the country of origin. All citizens of the European Union deserve equal treatment as regards the food and non-food products marketed on the single market, and this article is intended to eliminate the unfair practice in this field, so that the Romanian consumer may no longer be misled abusively and unlawfully. The practice of many foreign producers is well known: selling products of differing quality under the same brand and in the same packaging, some containing a smaller quantity of the main ingredient, others containing ingredients of a quality inferior to that used for producing the original product. → the text of the article

Chapter IV of the Sovereignty Act, entitled “Measures in the field of national safety and defence for the protection of the higher and sovereign interest of the Romanian people and citizen”, provides a series of urgent and necessary measures for strengthening the safety of the Romanian citizen and defending national sovereignty.

Article 23 amends Act 51/1991 on national security — a law predating Romania’s accession to NATO, which contains a series of provisions of Soviet origin, such as those providing for the militarisation of the secret services. → the text of the article

In order to harmonise national legislation with that of Romania’s NATO and European Union allies, the total demilitarisation of the intelligence, counter-intelligence, guard and special telecommunications services and of those assimilated to them was ordered.

In the same sense, any participation whatever of the intelligence, counter-intelligence and assimilated services in the performance of judicial procedural acts has been prohibited, as has the influencing in any way of the prosecutor or judge charged with an investigation. Any act contrary to the provisions of the law, as amended, has been criminalised, attracting a penalty of between 10 and 20 years.

Likewise for the same reasons, and having regard to the imperative need to prohibit any interference by the intelligence, counter-intelligence and assimilated services in public life outside their sector of activity, as well as to the need to return to a fair competitive framework for the business environment in Romania, any participation whatever of those services in political or economic activities has been prohibited, as has the holding of commercial companies directly or indirectly, through their own personnel or through interposed persons, and the carrying out of commercial activities on the territory of Romania or abroad by the intelligence, counter-intelligence and assimilated services.

The measures amending the provisions of laws fundamental to national safety were taken because the very word “secrecy” is repugnant in a free and open society; and we are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths and to secret proceedings. This is the substance of the warning given by John F. Kennedy in his address “The President and the Press” (1961), which the initiators of this draft take as their guide.

Article 24 amends Act no. 14 of 24 February 1992 (updated) on the organisation and functioning of the Romanian Intelligence Service and brings it into line with the provisions of Act 51/1991, as amended.

Article 25 amends Act no. 1 of 6 January 1998 (republished) on the organisation and functioning of the Foreign Intelligence Service and brings it into line with the provisions of Act 51/1991, as amended.

Article 26 amends Act no. 92 of 24 July 1996 on the organisation and functioning of the Special Telecommunications Service and brings it into line with the provisions of Act 51/1991, as amended.

Article 27 amends Act no. 191 of 19 October 1998 on the organisation and functioning of the Protection and Guard Service and brings it into line with the provisions of Act 51/1991, as amended.

Article 28 establishes the National Guard on the principle of the defence of the entire national territory by the entire people on a voluntary basis. The National Guard is an integral part of the national defence system, being subordinated directly to Parliament and composed of volunteers from among the civilian population over the age of 18. → the text of the article

The National Guard is established out of the need to involve the Romanian citizen in the permanent defence of the democracy, integrity and sovereignty of Romania, in conditions marked by the professionalisation of the army, by the decrease in the number of professional soldiers and by the involvement of the army in theatres of operations thousands of kilometres from the country’s borders. For these reasons, the periodic military training of the volunteer Romanian citizen who is not a professional soldier, and the possibility of having a number of citizens permanently in a state of vigilance, is such as to strengthen the defence capacity of the country, constituting an additional guarantee for national sovereignty.

Article 29 introduces the obligation to acquire new military equipment directly from the manufacturer, in compliance with the offset legislation in force, namely Emergency Ordinance 189/2002. This measure became necessary following the acquisition by the Romanian State, in recent years, of obsolete and useless military equipment at exorbitant prices — a fact which is such as to endanger national safety and sovereignty. → the text of the article

Chapter V — Final and transitional provisions — lays down the moment and manner of entry into force of the law.

Article 30 lays down the moment of entry into force of the law and the automatic repeal of any contrary legal provision. → the text of the article

Section 3 — Socio-economic impact of the draft normative act

1. Macroeconomic impact — No

1¹. Impact on the competitive environment and on the field of State aid — Not applicable

2. Impact on the business environment — Not applicable

3. Social impact — Not applicable

4. Environmental impact — Not applicable

5. Other information — Not applicable

Section 4 — Financial impact upon the general consolidated budget, both in the short term, for the current year, and in the long term (5 years).

— thousand lei —

Indicators | Current year | The following 4 years | Average over 5 years

1. Changes in budgetary revenues, plus/minus, of which:

a) State budget, of which:

(i) corporate income tax

(ii) income tax

b) local budgets:

(i) corporate income tax

c) State social insurance budget:

(i) insurance contributions

2. Changes in budgetary expenditure, plus/minus, of which:

a) State budget, of which:

(i) personnel expenditure

(ii) goods and services

b) local budgets

(i) personnel expenditure

(ii) goods and services

c) State social insurance budget:

(i) personnel expenditure

(ii) goods and services

3. Financial impact, plus/minus, of which:

a) State budget

(i) personnel expenditure

b) local budgets

4. Proposals for covering the increase in budgetary expenditure

5. Proposals for compensating the reduction in budgetary revenues

6. Detailed calculations substantiating the changes in budgetary revenues and/or expenditure — We do not have sufficient data.

7. Other information — Any additional budgetary expenditure connected with the application of the provisions of this act.

Section 5 — Effects of this normative act upon the legislation in force

a) normative acts in force which will be amended or repealed as a result of the entry into force of the draft normative act:

Act no. 55/2020 on certain measures for the prevention and combating of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, as subsequently amended and supplemented, will be repealed.

Act no. 46/2003 on the rights of the patient will be amended by adding a second paragraph to article 4 and by introducing a new article, 36². (2 amendments in the text of the law)

Art. 4 of Emergency Ordinance no. 1/1999 on the regime of the state of siege and the state of emergency will be amended. (1 amendment in the text of the law)

Act no. 95/2006 on the reform of the health system will be amended by introducing a new article, art. 704¹, by removing sub-points 5, 6 and 7 of art. 811 para. (1) and by amending art. 813.

Art. 17 of Act no. 148/2020 on advertising will be amended. (1 amendment in the text of the law)

Act no. 286/2009 — the Criminal Code — will be amended (9 amendments in the text of the law)

a new article is introduced after art. 195 — article 195¹

art. 197 will be amended by introducing two new paragraphs;

art. 211 will be amended by introducing a new paragraph (1)¹

art. 221 will be amended by amending paragraph 4, introducing a new paragraph (5)¹ after para. (5) and amending paragraph (6);

Paragraphs 1 and 2 of art. 297 will be amended and a new paragraph (3) will be added after para. (2);

in art. 394 a new letter e) is introduced in paragraph 1, and paragraph 2 is introduced;

paragraph 2 is introduced into art. 398;

Act no. 135/2010 — the Code of Criminal Procedure — will be amended (2 amendments in the text of the law)

paragraphs 1 and 2 of art. 247 will be amended;

a new letter is introduced into para. (1) of art. 453;

Art. 18 para. (2) of Act no. 202/1998 on the organisation of the Official Gazette of Romania will be amended. (1 amendment in the text of the law)

Act no. 208/2015 on the election of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, as well as on the organisation and functioning of the Permanent Electoral Authority, will be amended and supplemented (12 amendments), namely:

amendment of art. 94 para. (2) letters a) and b);

para. (8) of art. 110 is repealed, para. (4) of art. 102¹ is repealed, art. 103¹ is repealed;

art. 110 paragraphs (1), (3) and (4) are amended;

paragraphs (3), (4) and (5) of art. 92¹ of Act no. 202/2020 amending and supplementing certain normative acts in electoral matters are repealed;

Articles 1 and 4 of Act no. 57/2020 on the sustainable management of Romania’s forests will be amended; (2 amendments in the text of the law)

Act no. 46/2008 — the Forestry Code — will be amended and supplemented (7 amendments in the text of the law)

Art. 29 will be amended;

Paragraphs (2)–(5) of art. 29 are repealed;

Three new articles are introduced after art. 109 — 109¹, 109² and 109³;

Art. 13 of Act no. 211/2011 on the waste regime will be amended by introducing a new paragraph (2); (1 amendment in the text of the law)

Emergency Ordinance no. 57/2019 — the Administrative Code — will be amended: in art. 307 a new paragraph is introduced after para. (1) — para. (1)¹; (1 amendment in the text of the law)

Art. 30 para. (1) letter a) of Act no. 312/2004 on the Statute of the National Bank of Romania will be amended; (1 amendment in the text of the law)

Act no. 51/1991 on the national security of Romania will be amended (5 amendments in the text of the law), namely:

amendment of paragraphs (1) and (2) of art. 29;

a new paragraph (4) is introduced into art. 29;

a new article is introduced after art. 33 — art. 33¹;

a new article is introduced after art. 33¹ — art. 33²;

Act no. 14/1992 on the organisation and functioning of the Romanian Intelligence Service will be amended (8 amendments in the text of the law), namely:

amendment of article 9 letter a), art. 10 para. (1), art. 27 para. (1) and art. 42;

art. 9 letter e) is repealed; para. (3) of art. 27, para. (1) of art. 29 and art. 30 are repealed;

Act no. 1/1998 on the organisation and functioning of the Foreign Intelligence Service will be amended (6 amendments in the text of the law), namely:

art. 9 para. (1), art. 10 para. (1), art. 11, art. 13 and art. 14 will be amended;

para. (1)¹ of art. 21 is repealed;

Act no. 92/1996 on the organisation and functioning of the Special Telecommunications Service will be amended (4 amendments in the text of the law), namely:

art. 11 para. (1) letter m), art. 12 para. (1) and art. 14 will be amended;

para. (2) of art. 12 is repealed;

Act no. 191/1998 on the organisation and functioning of the Protection and Guard Service will be amended (10 amendments in the text of the law), namely:

art. 1 para. (2), art. 15 paras. (1) and (3), art. 19 para. (1), art. 29 para. (1) will be amended;

art. 13, art. 14 letters d) and e), art. 16 paras. (1) and (3) are repealed

Arts. 10 and 11 of Act no. 45/1994 — the National Defence Act of Romania — will be amended, and a new article — art. 12¹ — will be introduced after art. 12; (3 amendments in the text of the law)

In summary: 1 law repealed, 19 laws and ordinances amended, 82 articles amended, added or repealed, and 17 newly introduced legal provisions.

b) normative acts to be drawn up following the implementation of the new provisions:

General legislation applicable in pandemic, endemic and epidemic situations.

Legislation regulating the status of public servant with special status for the military employees of the intelligence, counter-intelligence, guard and special telecommunications services and of those assimilated to them.

The law on the organisation and functioning of the National Guard.

1¹. Compatibility of the draft normative act with the legislation in the field of public procurement — Not applicable

2. Conformity of the draft normative act with Community legislation in the case of drafts transposing Community provisions — No documents were identified in Community legislation in this field.

3. Normative measures necessary for the direct application of Community normative acts — Not applicable.

4. Judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union — Not applicable.

5. Other normative acts and/or international documents from which commitments arise — Not applicable.

6. Other information. — Not applicable.

Section 6 — Consultations carried out with a view to drawing up the draft normative act

1. Information concerning the process of consultation with non-governmental organisations, research institutes and other bodies involved

2. Justification of the choice of the organisations consulted, and of the manner in which the activity of those organisations is connected with the subject of the draft normative act

3. Consultations organised with the local public administration authorities, where the draft normative act concerns activities of those authorities, under the conditions of Government Decision no. 521/2005

4. Consultations held within the interministerial councils, in accordance with Government Decision no. 750/2005 on the establishment of permanent interministerial councils

5. Information concerning the opinions issued by:

a) the Legislative Council

b) the Supreme Council of National Defence

c) the Economic and Social Council

d) the Competition Council

e) the Court of Accounts.

Section 7 — Public information activities concerning the drafting and implementation of the draft normative act

1. Informing civil society of the necessity of drawing up the normative act

2. Informing civil society of the possible environmental impact of the implementation of the draft normative act, as well as of the effects on the health and safety of citizens or on biological diversity

3. Other information

Section 8 — Implementing measures

1. Measures for putting the draft normative act into application by the central and/or local public administration authorities — the establishment of new bodies or the extension of the powers of existing institutions

2. Other information