Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index

Romanian Constitution

The Romanian Constitution is the fundamental law that establishes the structure of the government of Romania, the rights and obligations of the country's citizens, and its mode of passing laws. It stands as the basis of the legitimacy of the Romanian government.

The constitution was most recently revised by a national referendum on October 18-19, 2003. The new constitution, which took effect October 29, 2003, follows the structure of the Constitution of 1991, but makes significant revisions.

Table of contents
1 Structure
2 History
3 The Referendum of October 18-19, 2003
4 External links

Structure

The Constitution of 1991 contains 152 articles, divided into 7 major sections or "Titles":

History

The first constitution of the United Principality (later Kingdom) of Romania was adopted July 1, 1866. After the extension of national territory in 1918, a new constitution was approved March 29, 1923. In the communist period, the constitution was modified in 1948, 1952, and 1965. After the Revolution of 1989, a new constitution was adopted in 1991.

The Referendum of October 18-19, 2003

The Romanian parliament put forth a constitutional referendum for October 18-19, 2003. 55.7%, of eligible voters turned out, with 89.7% of those voting in favor of the changes. The new constitution took effect October 29, 2003.

More than half of the articles of the constitution underwent changes, large and small. The most important changes were:

External links