On 17 August, the Constitutional Court of Romania partially upheld challenges to the constitutionality of the Law amending and supplementing a number of legislative acts in the field of integrity (Propunere legislativă pentru modificarea şi completarea unor acte normative în domeniul integrităţii).

The Law was adopted by the Senate on 5 August and provides for a comprehensive revision of the rules governing asset and interest declarations, the activities of the National Integrity Agency (Agenția Națională de Integritate – ANI), and the prevention of conflicts of interest.

In particular, under the Law, asset and interest declarations are to be submitted to ANI but are not to be made public. Instead, for certain categories of public officials, the Agency was to automatically generate a special financial interests declaration based on the information submitted and publish it on its website. At the same time, the obligation to submit asset and interest declarations was to be extended, among others, to the spouses of certain public officials, as well as to persons in “relationships similar to those between spouses”.

The Constitutional Court unanimously ruled that extending these requirements to persons in “relationships similar to those between spouses” was unconstitutional, finding that the category was insufficiently precise and that the legislature could not impose legal obligations on individuals on the basis of personal relationships that are not legally recognised by the state.

The provisions requiring ANI to publish financial interests declarations were also found unconstitutional: the decision concerning spouses was unanimous, while the provisions concerning public officials themselves were struck down by a majority vote. The Court referred to its Decision No. 297/2025, according to which mandatory disclosure of such information interferes with the right to private life.

At the same time, the Court upheld the new provisions on the consequences of conflicts of interest or incompatibility.

Where the relevant violation was finally established before the new Law enters into force and the statutory three-year disqualification period* has not yet expired, the office, public function or elected mandate held by the person concerned will terminate 30 days after the Law enters into force.**

Where the violation is finally established after the Law enters into force, the person’s mandate or office will terminate once the ANI report or the relevant court decision becomes final. The Constitutional Court stated that determining sanctions for conflicts of interest falls within the legislature’s margin of discretion and that the application of the transitional provisions does not violate the constitutional principle of non-retroactivity of laws.

The Law also clarifies a number of situations that will not be treated as conflicts of interest for locally elected officials. In particular, no conflict of interest arises when a normative administrative act is adopted or issued. An exception is also provided for certain cases in which an official exercises a non-delegable power that results in their spouse or close relative receiving a benefit provided for by law, the amount of which the official cannot alter.

Since some provisions of the Law have been declared unconstitutional, the document must be reconsidered by Parliament and brought into line with the Constitutional Court’s ruling. Senate President Mircea Abrudean has said that he is prepared to convene another extraordinary session for this purpose.

*Under current Romanian law, a person in respect of whom a conflict of interest or incompatibility has been finally established may not hold the relevant public offices or exercise public functions for three years.

**According to ANI, as of early August, such a disqualification remained in force in respect of 122 individuals. In 75% of the cases, the issue involved a conflict of interest while holding elected office; 47 individuals continued to hold positions requiring them to submit asset and interest declarations.