Romanian Constitutional Court Rules Out Mandatory Mask

The Romanian Constitutional Court ruled the ordinance regarding the mandatory masks in Romania unconstitutional. The decision was issued on Tuesday, February 15, and it came as a surprise for most political analysts in the country.

According to the legal experts, those fined for not wearing the mask during the emergency state can now contest the sanctions. But the consequences are multiple, and no authority in Romania is yet prepared for what might come.

According to the initial reaction from the Government, the authorities will wait for the motivation of the decision to be issued as well. Only after that, the Government will make a decision. Still, the decision was motivated on short, and it seems that the authorities issued the ordinance without abiding by the law.

In Romania, the state of alert is prolonged every 30 days, and the people were imposed some of the most drastic measures during this pandemic. At one point, the Romanian Government decided to send the military personnel on the streets, in armoured vehicles and with machine guns, just to make sure that Romanians stayed indoors. Also, the Romanian police issued abusive fines of 4,500 EUR in local currency for those who didn’t obey the now illegal ordinance.

The Romanian Ministry of Interior admitted the police officers committed abuses during the pandemic. But this didn’t change the police officers’ behaviours, and the abusive fines were issued constantly. Tens of thousands of Romanians are fined each month for not wearing the masks. All these have solid grounds to contest the harsh decision of the authorities.

The Constitutional Court’s ruling comes when the masks are mandatory indoors and outdoors in Romania, but some disobey this rule. In the following days, it is expected for more and more people to break this illegal ordinance following the Court’s decision.

Interesting enough, on Friday, the Romanian Freedom Convoy arrives in Bucharest. Moreover, on February 27, the Opposition is organizing a big protest in Bucharest against the restrictions. The decision seems to steam off some tension before these events from this perspective.