{"id":131702,"date":"2023-06-05T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-06-05T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/devrri.freshlemon.ro\/news-and-current-affairs\/newsflash\/the-centenary-of-the-1923-constitution-131702.html"},"modified":"2024-02-19T13:39:58","modified_gmt":"2024-02-19T11:39:58","slug":"the-centenary-of-the-1923-constitution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rri.ro\/en\/features-and-reports\/the-history-show\/the-centenary-of-the-1923-constitution-id131702.html","title":{"rendered":"The centenary of the 1923 Constitution"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

The
\nWWI victory of the Entente, a coalition of nations that Romania joined in 1916,
\nled to the union with the Kingdom of Romania of territories with a majority
\nRomanian population in Tsarist Russia and Austro-Hungary. In March 1918,
\nBessarabia or the eastern Moldavian land between the rivers Prut
\nand Dniester that had been annexed by Russia in 1812 joined Romania, followed
\nin November and December by Banat, Bukovina and Transylvania. The Kingdom of
\nGreater Romania thus created was a brand new and much more diverse
\nentity than what had existed before. <\/span><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n

Romania’s 125-year-old
\nconstitutional history began in 1866, with the coronation of Carol
\nof Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen and the adoption of the first founding
\nact of the Romanian state. To date, Romania has had no fewer than seven
\nconstitutions, each reflecting a different type of political regime. The 1866 Constitution
\nwas the founding constitution, that of 1923 was the constitution of the unification,
\nthat of 1938 was the expression of Carol II’s authoritarian regime, while the
\nnext three constitutions were adopted during the communist regime, in 1948,
\n1952 and 1965. The final one, which is still in force today, was adopted in 1991
\nand reinstated the values of democracy after the overthrow of the communist
\nregime in 1989.<\/span><\/p>\n


\n \n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The
\nConstitution of 1923, which was published in the Official Gazette on 29th March,
\nrepresented the most refined expression of Romanian constitutional law.
\nThe anniversary of 100 years since its adoption is an opportunity to remember
\nthe biggest Romanian democratic state that was created in the aftermath of WWI
\nand for which around half a million Romanians sacrificed their lives, at a time
\nwhen the country was led by King Ferdinand and Queen Marie. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The Romanian
\nAcademy and the Italian Embassy in Bucharest celebrated together the
\nanniversary of the 100 years that have since passed. The president of the
\nRomanian Academy, the historian Ioan-Aurel Pop, outlined the most important
\nmoments in Romania’s constitutional history and discussed the 19th century
\nRomanian legislation that helped lay the foundations of the future Romanian
\nstate:<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Romania had already had a
\nconstitution from 1866, but the general view was that it was no longer fit for
\npurpose after 1918. Many said the Romanians drafted their constitution very
\nlate. In fact, they did so at the right time, together with most modern states
\nin Europe. Italy had its own constitution in 1861 after the unification,
\nincorporating the 1848 constitution created after the revolution in Palermo.<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

The history of the period prior to the Romanian
\nConstitution in the 19th century is fascinating. We can see the old
\ncustoms disappearing, only to make room for other modern values replacing them.
\nOne such value was the importance of the popular vote. <\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The historian Ioan-Aurel Pop:<\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n

Just as we learned in school, the
\nConstitution was the fundamental law of the states. I should add of the modern
\nstates, there were no constitutions in the Middle Ages, much as some pundits
\nwould like to push things back in the past. In the Romanian space, the Organic
\nRegulations of 1831-1832 for Wallachia and Moldavia or the Leopoldine Diploma
\nof 1691 for Transylvania had been imposed under foreign domination, having a mere
\nconstitutional value, without, however, being the democratic expressions of the
\nRomanian people’s elected personalities. The Constitution of 1866 was the first such genuine act, written following an advanced European model, the Belgian
\nmodel, and tailored to suit the Romanian realities, in a state that had barely
\nbecome a constitutional monarchy. <\/span><\/p>\n

The 19th
\ncentury ended properly in the 1920s of the 20th century, after
\nthe great world clash of the 1914 -1918. Everything changed yet again, while the
\nnew circumstances of the newly-emerging state of Greater Romania lead up to the
\nbirth of a new Constitution. <\/span><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n

Ioan-Aurel Pop:<\/span><\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In 1918, Romania doubled its population and enlarged its territory, to
\nbe optimistic, not twice but almost three times as much. Therefore, a
\nunification was needed and a uniformization, primarily a legislative one. And
\nthat, only the Constitution could accomplish. Our Constitution of 1923, adopted
\nby Parliament, was a democratic one, considering the level of democracy at that
\ntime, and I’d like to add, the level of democracy in the South-east European
\nstates. The document declared Romania a national, unitary and indivisible
\nstate, with an inalienable territory. It was dubbed the Constitution of the
\nunion and was rather short-lived. <\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the Constitution of 1923 fell
\nprey to both totalitarian regimes, fascism and communism. In 1938, it fell
\napart under the blows of fascist ideas, while in 1948, when it was barely
\nreinstated, it was dismantled by the regime of the Communist Party. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The historian Ioan-Aurel
\nPop:<\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

After less than two decades of being in force, in 1938, Romania had another constitution. Then,
\nafter World War Two, the one of 1923 had been officially reinstated and was in force until the official instatement of the communist regime in 1947. A little over four decades of communism followed, while the present constitution of
\nRomania, adopted after 1989, with all the ensuing changes, owes a lot to the
\ncontent of the old constitution of 1923. It was a document that was elaborated
\nafter a long period of reflection, it symbolized the formation, from a domestic
\nlegislative point of view, of unified Romania, also proving its perennial dimension. <\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The Constitution of 1923 re-emerged in 1989 as a
\nre-founding document of democracy. Its centenary today proves it still is a
\nlandmark of the heritage of Romanian judicial thought. <\/p>\n


\n
\n
\n
\n
\n <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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