DECIDES:

1. For the purposes of Article 80 (4) of the Constitution, the person who has held the office of President of the Republic of Moldova for two consecutive terms may not run for office for a new term if, after exercising the second consecutive term, the vacancy of the position of President of the Republic of Moldova occurred, the interim of this position being ensured by the President of the Parliament or the Prime Minister.

2. This Decision shall be final, shall not be subject to any appeal, shall enter into force on the date of its adoption and shall be published in the "Official Gazette of the Republic of Moldova."

JUDGEMENT
regarding the interpretation of art. 80 paragraph (4) of the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova

On behalf of the Republic of Moldova,

The Constitutional Court composed:

Dumitru PULBERE - president, judge-rapporteur

Petru RAILEAN - judge

Elena SAFALERU - judge

Valeria ŞTERBEŢ - judge

clerk - Dina Musteaţa, with the participation of the deputy in the Parliament Ion Pleşca, the author of the notification, the permanent representatives at the Constitutional Court, of the Government, Gheorghe Susarenco, of the Parliament, Ion Creangă, the representative of the Interim President of the Republic of Moldova, Mariana Secăreanu, guided by art. 135 paragraph (1) letter b) of the Constitution, art. 4 paragraph (1) letter b) of the Law on the Constitutional Court, art. 16 paragraph (1) of the Code of Constitutional Jurisdiction, examined in session plenary session opened the file on the interpretation of art.80 paragraph (4) of the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova.

The notification of the deputy in Parliament Ion Pleşca, submitted on July 16, 2010, in accordance with the provisions of art. 24 and art. 25 of the Law on the Constitutional Court, art. 38 and art. .

By the decision of the Constitutional Court of July 20, 2010, the notification was accepted for substantive examination and included in the agenda.

Examining the materials of the file, hearing the information presented by the judge-rapporteur, the arguments presented by the participants in the trial,

Constitutional Court

found:

1. In the notification submitted to the Constitutional Court, the deputy in the Parliament Ion Pleşca requested the interpretation of art.80 paragraph (4) of the Constitution in correlation with the constitutional provisions of art.90 paragraph (1) regarding the vacancy and art.91 regarding the interim position of President of the Republic of Moldova in the sense of the possibility of holding the position of President of the Republic of Moldova after exercising two consecutive terms if, after the end of the second term, the vacancy occurred, the interim being provided by the President Parliament.

At the same time, the author asked the Constitutional Court to express its opinion regarding the impact of the possible amendment of art.78 of the Constitution for the election of the President of the country by universal, equal, direct, secret and free vote on the applicability of art.80 para. ) of the Constitution.

2. Examining the issues addressed in the referral, the Court notes that the determination of the exact meaning of the constitutional provisions, according to art.135 paragraph (1) letter b) of the Constitution, falls within the exclusive competence of the constitutional jurisdiction authority and aims to resolve differences legal and political issues arising in connection with the perception and appreciation of the norms of the Supreme Law.

In order to elucidate the authentic content of the provision of art.80 paragraph (4) of the Constitution, the Court shall operate with the provisions of art.77, art.78, art.80, art.89, art.90, art.91, art.135 of the Constitution, as well as with its previous jurisprudence, and will use all methods of legal interpretation.

3. According to Article 80 paragraph (4) of the Constitution: "No person may hold the office of President of the Republic of Moldova except for a maximum of two consecutive terms".

The enunciated constitutional norm has an imperative character, limiting the person to exercise successively more than two presidential mandates.

The Court considers that, in the aspect requested in the notification, art.80 paragraph (4) of the Constitution reveals its full meaning only in corroboration with the constitutional provisions regarding the interim position of President of the Republic of Moldova and the mandate of President of the Republic of Moldova.

Art.91 of the Constitution, according to which the interim President exercises his attributions, stipulates: “If the position of President of the Republic of Moldova becomes vacant or if the President is dismissed, or if he is temporarily unable to exercise his attributions, the interim shall ensure , in order, by the President of the Parliament or by the Prime Minister ".

Therefore, the constituent legislator expressly and limitingly stipulated the cases in which the interim position of President of the Republic of Moldova intervenes.

The vacancy of the position of President of the Republic of Moldova, according to art.90 paragraph (1) of the Constitution, occurs in case of expiration of the mandate, resignation, dismissal, final impossibility of exercising the attributions or death.

According to art.135 paragraph (1) letter f) of the Constitution, the Constitutional Court ascertains the circumstances that justify the interim position of President.

The Court notes that the Acting President has a provisional status, his basic function being, as the case may be, the President of Parliament or the Prime Minister. In order to exercise the function of President of the country, he has neither the mandate of the people, nor the mandate of the Parliament. In this context, the Court notes that the establishment of the interim aims to ensure the continuity of the exercise of the duties of the head of state, which, by virtue of their special character, do not allow intermittencies.

According to art. 77 of the Supreme Law, the President of the Republic of Moldova is the head of state, he represents the state and is the guarantor of the sovereignty, national independence, unity and integrity of the country.

The Court emphasizes that the Constituent Legislature has established special conditions for the election of the President of the Republic of Moldova.

Thus, according to art.78 paragraph (1) and paragraph (2) of the Constitution, the President of the Republic of Moldova is elected by the Parliament by secret ballot. The citizen with the right to vote who is 40 years old, has lived or permanently resides on the territory of the Republic of Moldova for not less than 10 years and possesses the state language may be elected President of the Republic of Moldova.

For the person who ensures the interim position of President of the Republic of Moldova, the Constitution did not regulate such conditions, which also denotes the different status of the holder of this position.

Article 80 paragraph (1) of the Constitution provides that the term of office of the President of the Republic of Moldova lasts 4 years and is exercised from the date of taking the oath. Therefore, the mandate of the head of state runs from the date of taking the oath, after the elections under the conditions stipulated by the provisions of art. 78 paragraph (1) - paragraph (4) of the Constitution.

The result of the elections for the position of President, in accordance with the provisions of art. 79 of the Constitution, is validated by the Constitutional Court. The candidate whose election has been validated takes the oath before the Parliament and the Constitutional Court.

The described procedure does not apply in the case of the person who ensures the interim position of President of the Republic of Moldova. Thus, the mandate of the President is exercised as a result of the will of the Parliament, the supreme representative body of the people, and the interim is ensured based on the constitutional provisions contained in art. 91 correlated with art. 90 paragraph (1).

The prohibition to fulfill the position of President of the Republic of Moldova for more than two consecutive terms contained in art. 80 para. (4) of the Constitution concerns the strict meaning of the notion of mandate, as it follows from art. 80 para. (1) and para. (2) in conjunction with Article 78 paragraph (1) - paragraph (4) of the Constitution. The enunciated constitutional provisions exclude the equalization of the mandate of the President of the Republic of Moldova with the interim of this function, which ensures the continuity of the exercise of the attributions of the head of state, but does not start a new presidential mandate.

The Court reveals that the statements presented are in accordance with its previous jurisprudence, through which the provisions of art. 80 par. (1) and paragraph (2), art.90 paragraph (1) and paragraph (2) and art.91 of the Constitution.

In the Decision no.43 of 14.12.2000 „Regarding the interpretation of the provisions of art.80 paragraph (1) and paragraph (2), art.90 and art.91 of the Constitution" the Court revealed that „the establishment of the interim position of President of the Republic Moldova seeks to ensure the continuity of the exercise of the position of head of state ... ".

In Decision no.18 of 27.10.2009 "On the interpretation of the provisions of art.90 paragraph (1) and paragraph (2), art.91 and art.135 paragraph (1) letter f) of the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova" underlined that "the position of Interim President of the Republic of Moldova (exercised by the President of the Parliament or the Prime Minister) is a provisional position ...".

Therefore, the interim position of President is an exception to the general rule on the election and exercise of the mandate of President of the Republic of Moldova.

Establishing in art.80 paragraph (4) of the Constitution restrictions on the successive exercise by a person of more than two terms of office of the President of the Republic of Moldova, the legislator referred to the uninterrupted nature of the term of the two terms. As the interim office does not amount to an effective term of office of the head of state, the person who held two consecutive presidential terms prior to the time when the interim intervened cannot run for a new presidential term.

4. From the above, the Court concludes that, according to the will of the constituent legislator, the President of the Parliament or the Prime Minister does not exercise a mandate as President of the Republic of Moldova, but ensures the interim position. Only the person who was elected in accordance with the provisions of art.78 paragraphs (1) - (4) of the Constitution exercises the mandate of President of the Republic of Moldova, assigned under the conditions of art.79 of the Constitution, after taking the oath.

Thus, the person who held the position of President of the Republic of Moldova for two successive terms cannot exercise this position for a new term if, after the end of the second consecutive term, the vacancy of the position of President of the Republic of Moldova occurred, the interim this position being performed by the President of the Parliament or the Prime Minister.

5. Regarding the execution of the provision of art.80 paragraph (4) of the Constitution in the event of the amendment of art.78 of the Constitution for the election of the President of the country by universal suffrage, the Court will not rule, because it is empowered to interpret only the constitutional norms in force.

For the above reasons, in accordance with the provisions of art.135 paragraph (1) letter b) and art.140 of the Constitution, art.26 of the Law on the Constitutional Court, art.62 letter b) and art.70 par (2) of the Code of Constitutional Jurisdiction,

Constitutional Court

DECIDES:

1. For the purposes of Article 80 (4) of the Constitution, the person who has held the office of President of the Republic of Moldova for two consecutive terms may not run for office for a new term if, after exercising the second consecutive term, the vacancy of the position of President of the Republic of Moldova occurred, the interim of this position being ensured by the President of the Parliament or the Prime Minister.

2. This Decision shall be final, shall not be subject to any appeal, shall enter into force on the date of its adoption and shall be published in the "Official Gazette of the Republic of Moldova."

President                                                                                                                                Dumitru PULBERE

Chisinau,

August 3, 2010, no. 18

File no. 22b / 2010