ROMANIA | Advocate of the People removed from office

On 3 July 2012 the Advocate of the People, Dr. Gheorghe Iancu, was removed from office by a joint decision of both the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, (236 votes in favor, 1 negative vote). The procedure was based on Art 9 (2) Act on the Organisation and Functioning of the Institution of the Advocate of the People (Law no. 35 from 1997). Dr. Iancu had been appointed for a term of five years by the Romanian Parliament on 27 September 2011.

Prior to the vote the Standing Bureau of both Chambers of the Romanian Parliament had initiated an extraordinary session aiming at the removal of the Ombudsman. This proposal was based on a joint session of the Legal Affairs Committees of both Chambers of Parliament whose report concluded that the Ombudsman had violated the Constitution and applicable laws. Art 9 Act on the Organisation and Functioning of the Institution of the Advocate of the People (Law no. 35 from 1997) stipulates that the violation of the Constitution and laws is a reason for the removal from office. The removal of the incumbent Advocate of the People was published in the Romanian law gazette immediately after the vote.

The current Deputy Ombudsman Valer Dorneanu was entrusted with the position of Acting Advocate of the People on an interim basis.