The text of the Declaration of Independence prevails over the text of the Constitution

(Complaints No. 8b/2013 and 41b/2013) 

On 5 December 2013 the Constitutional Court delivered the Judgment on the interpretation of Article 13 para. (1) inter-related with the Preamble of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence of the Republic of Moldova (Complaints No. 8b/2013 and 41b/2013).

Circumstances of the case

At the origin of the case lie the complaints filed on 26 March 2013 and, respectively, on 17 September 2013, subsequently supplemented by the MP’s Ana Gutu, Mihai Ghimpu, Valeriu Munteanu, Corina Fusu, Boris Vieru and Gheorghe Brega on the interpretation of the provisions of Article 13, paragraph (1) inter-related to the Preamble of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence of the Republic of Moldova.

The authors of the complaint alleged, in particular, by way of interpretation, to confer to the Declaration of Independence of the Republic of Moldova, adopted on 27 August 1991, the status of a constitutional rule, thereby confirming that the official language of the Republic of Moldova is Romanian, not “Moldovan language based on Latin alphabet”, as formulated in Article 13 of the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova.

In his written opinion, the President of the Republic of Moldova stated that the scientific name of the official language in the Republic of Moldova is a certainty; still it continues to be a political matter.

In the opinion of the President of the Republic of Moldova, Romanian nation is organized in two Romanian states: Romania and Republic of Moldova. In the case of the Republic of Moldova, we are collecting the fruits of an insidious ideology disseminated over decades, based on the concept of “existence of two nations, two languages, and two different histories”.

The President of the Republic of Moldova considers that the issue regarding the name of the official language of the state, determined by the problem of linguistic identity of the titular nation, has caused a deep split in the society. The Republic of Moldova must solve its linguistic problems immediately, the official name of the state’s language must be determined only in terms of scientific truth, with no political interference.

According to the Academy of Sciences of Moldova, the official language of the Republic of Moldova is Romanian and the phrase “Moldovan language, based on Latin alphabet” of the Article 13 para. (1) of the Constitution can be equalized semantically with the Romanian language. At the same time, the Academy has mentioned that the official language of the Republic of Moldova shall operate on the basis of orthographic rules of the Romanian language.

The Constitutional Court ruled on the complaints in the following composition:

Mr Alexandru TĂNASE, President,

Mr Aurel BĂIEŞU,

Mr Igor DOLEA,

Mr Tudor PANŢÂRU,

Mr Victor POPA,

Mr Petru RĂILEAN, judges

Conclusions of the Court

Hearing the reasoning of the parties and examining the case files, the Court held that the Declaration of Independence enshrines the creation of the new independent state and lays the foundations, principles and values ​​of the state organization of the Republic of Moldova.

The Court held that the Declaration of Independence, being integral part of the Preamble of the Constitution, has the value of a constitutional text and is a joined body with the Constitution, being the primary and immutable constitutional text of this Constitutional Block .

The Court held that the Declaration of Independence represents the legal and political foundation of the Constitution, and no provision of the latter can exceed the Declaration of Independence.

Therefore, any constitutional review or interpretation shall take into consideration not only the text of the Constitution, but also the constitutional principles laid down in the Declaration of Independence of the Republic of Moldova.

The Court concluded that, in case of divergence between the text of the Declaration of Independence and the text of the Constitution, the primary constitutional text of the Declaration of Independence prevails.

Judgment of the Court

Starting from the reasoning invoked above, the Constitutional Court ruled that, in the meaning of the Preamble to the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence of the Republic of Moldova is a joined body with the Constitution, being the primary and immutable constitutional text of this Constitutional Block. The Court also held that, in case of divergence between the text of the Declaration of Independence and the text of the Constitution, the primary constitutional text of the Declaration of Independence prevails. The Judgment of the Constitutional Court is final, cannot be appealed, shall enter into force on the date of passing, and shall be published in the Official Journal of the Republic of Moldova.