Constitution of Romania (1965)

by Romania/PMR

The present edition is a translation of the original Romanian text of the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Romania as republished in the Official Bulletin of the Socialist Republic of Romania, Part I, No 167 of December 1974 and amended by Law No. 2 o|18 March 1975, published in the Official Bulletin of the socialist Republic of Romania, Part I, No. 30 of 21 March 1975.

Chapter I: The Socialist Republic of Romania

Article 1. Romania is a Socialist republic. The Socialist Republic of Romania is a sovereign, independent and unitary State of the working people in towns and villages. Its territory is inalienable and indivisible.

Article 2. All power in the Socialist Republic of Romania is vested in the people, free and master of their destiny. People's power is based on the worker-peasant alliance. In close union, the working class — the leading class of society — the peasantry, the intelligentsia and the other categories of working people, regardless of nationality, are building the Socialist system and creating the conditions for the transition to Communism.

Article 3. In the Socialist Republic of Romania, the Romanian Communist Party is the leading political force in the whole of society.

Article 4. As the sovereign holder of power, the people exercise it through the Grand National Assembly and the People's Councils, bodies elected by universal, equal, direct and secret vote. The Grand National Assembly and the People's Councils form the basis of the entire system of State bodies. The Grand National Assembly is the supreme body of State power, under whose direction and control all the other State bodies carry on their activities.

Article 5. The national economy of Romania is a Socialist economy based on Socialist ownership of the means of production.

In the Socialist Republic of Romania, exploitation of man by man has been abolished forever, and the Socialist principle of distribution according to the quantity and quality of work is implemented. Work is a duty of honour for each citizen of the country.

Article 6. Socialist ownership of the means of production is either State ownership — of goods belonging to the whole people or co-operative ownership — of goods belonging to each co-operative organization.

Article 7. The wealth of the subsoil, whatever its nature, the mines, the State-owned lands, the forests, the waters, the sources of natural energy, the factories and plants, the banks, the State agricultural enterprises, the stations for the mechanization of agriculture, the ways of communication, the State-owned means of transport and telecommunications, the State-owned buildings and houses, the material groundwork of the State socio-cul- tural institutions belong to the whole people and are State property.

Article 8. Foreign trade is a State monopoly.

ARTICLE 9. The lands of the agricultural production co-operatives, the livestock, implements, installations and buildings belonging thereto are co-operative property. The plot of land which, according to the Rules of the Agricultural Production Co-operatives is used by the household of the co-operative farmers, is co-operative property. The house and the outbuildings, the land on which they stand and, according to the Rules of the Agricultu ral Production Co-operatives, the production animals and the small agricultural implements are personal property of the co-operative farmers. The tools, machines, installations and buildings of thfl handicraft co-operatives and the consumers co-operatives are co-operative property.

Article 10. The agricultural production co-operatives, a Socialist form of agricultural organization, ensure conditions for intensive cultivation of the land and for the application of advanced science and contribute, by increasing output, to the development of the national economy, to the steady raising of the living standard of the peasantry and of all the people.

The State gives support to the agricultural production co-operatives and protects their property. The State also gives support to the other co-operative organizations and protects their property.

Article 11. In the conditions of co-operativized agriculture, the State guarantees the peasants who cannot associate themselves with agricultural production co-operatives, ownership of the land which they work themselves and with their families, of the implements used for this purpose, as well as ownership of the animals they use for work and production. The handicraftsmen are also guaranteed ownership of their own workshops.

Article 12. Land and buildings may be expropriated only for works of public interest and on payment of appropriate compensation.

Article 13. In the Socialist Republic of Romania, all the activity of the State is aimed at developing the Socialist system and the prosperity of the Socialist nation, steadily raising the people's material and spiritual well-being, and ensuring the freedom and dignity of man, at the many-sided furtherance of human personality. For these purposes, the Romanian Socialist State :

Organizes, plans and manages the national economy ;

Defends Socialist property ;

Guarantees the full exercise of the citizens' rights, assures socialist legality and defends the rule of law ;

Develops education at all levels, provides the conditions for the development of science, the arts and culture, carries out public health protection ;

Ensures the defence of the country and organizes its armed forces ;

Organizes relations with other States.

Article 14. The Socialist Republic of Romania maintains and develops relations of friendship and fraternal collaboration with the Socialist countries, in the spirit of Socialist internationalism, promotes relations of collaboration with countries having other socio-political systems, and is active in international organizations with a view to ensuring peace and understanding among peoples. The foreign relations of the Socialist Republic of Romania are based on the principles of respect for sovereignty and national independence, equal rights and mutual advantage, and non-interference in internal affairs.

Article 15. The territory of the Socialist Republic of Romania is divided into territorial-administrative units: counties, cities and communes. The capital of the Socialist Republic of Romania is Bucharest Municipality, which is divided into districts. The main cities may be organized as municipalities.

Article 16. Romanian citizenship shall be acquired and forfeited according to law.

Chapter II: Basic Rights and Duties of the Citizens

Article 17. The citizens of the Socialist Republic of Romania, irrespective of their nationality, race, sex, or religion, shall have equal rights in all fields of economic, political, juridical, social and cultural life. The State shall guarantee the equal rights of the citizens. No restriction of these rights and no difference in their exercise on the grounds of nationality, race, sex, or religion, shall be permitted. Any attempt at establishing such restrictions, at nationalist-chauvinist propaganda and at fomentation of racial or national hatred shall be punished by law.

Article 18. In the Socialist Republic of Romania, the citizens shall have the right to work. Each citizen shall be given the opportunity to carry on, according to his training, activity in the economic, administrative, social or cultural field and shall be remunerated according to its quantity and quality. For equal work, there shall be equal remuneration. Measures for the protection and safety of labour, as well as special measures for protecting the labour of women and young persons, shall be established by law]

Article 19. The citizens of the Socialist Republic o Romania shall have the right to leisure. The right to leisure shall be guaranteed to those who work by the establishment of the maximum duration of the working day at eight hours, of weekly rest and of annual paid holidays. In the sectors of arduous and very arduous work, the working day shall be reduced to less than eight hours without any reduction in pay.

Article 20. The citizens of the Socialist Republic of Romania shall have the right to material security in case of old age, sickness or incapacity to work. The right to material security shall be implemented for factory and office workers through pensions and sickness benefits paid by the State social insurance system and for the members of the co-operative organizations or of other public organizations through the forms of insurance established by these organizations. The State shall provide medical assistance through its health units. Paid maternity leave shall be guaranteed.

Article 21. The citizens of the Socialist Republic of Romania shall have the right to education. The right to education shall be ensured by compulsory general education, by the fact that education at all levels is free and by the system of State scholarships. Education in the Socialist Republic of Romania shall be State education.

Article 22. In the Socialist Republic of Romania, the co-inhabiting nationalities shall be assured the free use of their mother tongue, as well as books, newspapers, periodicals, theatres and education at all levels in their own languages. In territorial-administrative units also inhabited by a population of non-Romanian nationality, all the bodies and institutions shall use in speech and in writing the language of the nationality concerned and shall appoint officials from its ranks or from among other citizens who know the language and way of life of the local population.

Article 23. In the Socialist Republic of Romania, women shall have equal rights with men.

The State shall protect marriage and the family and shall defend the interests of the mother and child.

Article 24. The Socialist Republic of Romania shall ensure to young people the conditions required for the development of their physical and intellectual aptitudes.

Article 25. The citizens of the Socialist Republic o! Romania shall have the right to elect and be elected to the Grand National Assembly and the People's Councils. The suffrage shall be universal, equal, direct and se cret. All citizens who shall have reached the age o! eighteen years shall have the right to vote. Citizens entitled to vote who shall have reached the age of twenty-three years may be elected deputies to the Grand National Assembly and to the People's Councils; the right to nominate candidates shall be vested in the Socialist Unity Front, the broadest permanent, revolutionary and democratic political body of a representative character, which is the organizational framework for uniting, under the leadership of the Romanian Communist Party, the political and social forces of our socialist nation, of all the mass and public organizations, for the participation of all the people in implementing the foreign and domestic policy of the Party and State, in managing all the fields of activity. Electors shall have the right to recall their deputies at any time, according to the procedure specified by law. The mentally deranged and deficient and persons deprived of these rights for the period established by a court of law in its final sentence shall have no right to elect or to be elected.

Article 26. The most advanced and conscious citizens from among the workers, peasants, intellectuals and other categories of working people unite in the Romanian Communist Party, the highest form of organization of the working class, its vanguard detachment

The Romanian Communist Party expresses anc faithfully serves the aspirations and vital interests of the people, performs the role of leader in all the fields of Socialist construction and directs the work of the mass and public organizations and the State bodies

Article 27. The citizens of the Socialist Republic of Romania shall have the right to associate themselves if trade unions, in co-operative, youth, women's and socio-cultural organizations, in creative unions, scientific-technical and sports associations, and in other public organizations.

The State shall give support to the work of the mass and public organizations, create conditions for the development of the material basis of these organizations and protect their property. The mass and public organizations ensure the broad participation of the popular masses in the political, economic, social and cultural life of the Socialist Republic af Romania and in the exercise of public control — an expression of the democratic character of the Socialist system. Through mass and public organizations, the Romanian Communist Party achieves an organized link with the working class, the peasantry, the intelligentsia and the other categories of working people, mobilizing them in the struggle for the completion of the building of Socialism.

Article 28. The citizens of the Socialist Republic of Romania shall be guaranteed freedom of speech, of the press, of assembly, of meetings and demonstrations.

Article 29. — The freedom of speech, of the Press, of assembly, meeting and demonstration may not be used for purposes hostile to the Socialist system and to the interests of the working people. Any association with a fascist or anti-democratic character shall be prohibited. Participation in such associations and propaganda of a fascist or anti-democratic character shall be punished by law.

Article 30. Freedom of conscience shall be guaranteed to all the citizens of the Socialist Republic of Ro mania. Anybody shall be free to share or not a religious faith. The freedom of exercising a religious cult shall be guaranteed. The religious cults shall organize and function freely. The mode of organization and functioning of the religious cults shall be regulated by law.

The School shall be separated from the Church. No religious denomination, congregation or community may open or maintain any other teaching establishments than special schools for the training of servants of the Church.

Article 31. The citizens of the Socialist Republic of Romania shall be guaranteed inviolability of the person.

No person may be detained or arrested if there are no well-grounded proofs or indications that he or she lias committed a deed listed and punished by law. The organs of inquiry may order the detention of a person for a maximum duration of 24 hours. No one may be arrested except on the basis of a warrant issued by {law-court or a Public Prosecutor. The right of defence shall be guaranteed throughout the lawsuit.

Article 32. The domicile shall be inviolable. No one may enter the home of a person without the latter's consent, except in the cases and conditions specially established by law.

Article 33. The secret of correspondence and of telephone conversations shall be guaranteed. Article

Article 34. The right of petition shall be guaranteed. The State bodies shall have the obligation to resolve the petitions of citizens concerning personal or public rights and interests.

Article 35. Those harmed in a right of theirs by an illegal act of a State body may ask the appropriate authorities, in the conditions specified by law, to annul the act and repair the damage.

Article 36. The right to own personal property shall be protected by law. Incomes and savings derived from work, the dwelling house, the outbuildings and the land on which they stand, as well as the goods of personal use and comfort, may constitute objects of the right to own personal property.

Article 37. The right of inheritance shall be protected by law.

Article 38. The Socialist Republic of Romania shall grant the right of asylum to foreign citizens persecuted for their activity in defence of the interests of the working people, for their participation in the struggle for national liberation or in defence of peace.

Article 39. Every citizen of the Socialist Republic of Romania shall be bound to observe the Constitution and the laws, to defend socialist property, to contribute towards strengthening and developing the Socialist system.

Article 40. Military service in the ranks of the Armed Forces of the Socialist Republic of Romania shall be compulsory and a duty of honour of the citizens of the Socialist Republic of Romania.

Article 41. To defend the homeland is the sacred [uty of every citizen of the Socialist Republic of Roma- da. Violation of the military oath, treason against the homeland, desertion to the enemy and prejudice to the defence capacity of the State are the greatest crimes against the people and shall be punished by law with the utmost severity.

Chapter III: Supreme Bodies of State Power

The Grand National Assembly

Article 42. The Grand National Assembly, the supreme body of State power, shall be the sole legislative body of the Socialist Republic of Romania.

Article 43. The Grand National Assembly shall have the following main powers:

1. to adopt and amend the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Romania ;
2. to regulate the electoral system ;
3. to adopt the single national plan of economic and social development, the State budget and the generalized account of the budgetary exercise;
4. to organize the Council of Ministers; to establish the general rules for the organization and functioning of the ministries and the other central State bodies;
5. to regulate the organization of the law courts and the Public Prosecutor's Office;
6. to issue regulations for the organization and functioning of the People's Councils;
7. to establish the administrative organization of the territory;
8. to grant amnesty ;
9. to ratify and denounce international treaties that imply modification of laws;
10. to elect and recall the President of the Socialist Republic of Romania;
11. to elect and recall the State Council;
12. to elect and recall the Council of Ministers;
13. to elect and recall the Supreme Court and tb Prosecutor General;
14. to exercise general control over the implementation of the Constitution. It is only the Grand Nationa Assembly that shall decide on the constitutionality of the laws;
15. to control the activity of the President of the Socialist Republic of Romania and of the State Council 16. to control the activity of the Council of Ministers of the ministries and of the other central bodies of State administration;
16. to hear reports of the activity of the Supreme Court and to control its prescriptive decisions;
17. to control the activity of the Public Prosecutor's Office;
18. to exercise overall control of the activity of the People's Councils;
19. to establish the general foreign policy line;
20. to proclaim, in the interest of the country's defence, of public order or of State security, the state of emergency in some localities or throughout the country's territory;
21. to declare partial or general mobilization;
22. to declare a state of war. The state of war may be declared only in the event of armed aggression directed against the Socialist Republic of Romania or against another State to which the Socialist Republic

of Romania has mutual defence obligations arising from international treaties, if a situation has emerged for which the obligation of declaring the state of war has been stipulated;

Article 44. The deputies to the Grand National Assembly shall be elected in constituencies with the same number of inhabitants. The constituencies shall be established by decrees of the State Council.

One deputy shall be elected for each constituency; The Grand National Assembly shall consist of three hundred and forty-nine deputies.

Article 45. The Grand National Assembly shall be elected for a term of five years. The mandate of the Grand National Assembly may not cease before the expiry of the term for which it has been elected. If it finds that there are circumstances which prevent the holding of elections, the Grand National Assembly may decide to extend its mandate for the duration of these circumstances.

Article 46. Elections for the Grand National Assembly shall be held on one non-working day in March of the year when the preceding term comes to an end. In the case specified in Article 45, paragraph 3, elections shall be held within two months of the expiry of the term for which the mandate of the Grand National Assembly shall have been extended. The newly-elected Grand National Assembly shall be convened within three months following the expiry of the mandate of the previous Grand National Assembly.

Article 47. The Grand National Assembly shall verify the legality of the election of each deputy, deciding on the validation or annulment of the election. In case of an annulled election, the rights and duties of the deputy shall cease from the moment of annulment.

Article 48. The Grand National Assembly shall adopt standing orders.

Article 49. The Grand National Assembly shall establish its annual budget, which shall be included in the State Budget.

Article 50. The Grand National Assembly shall elect, for the duration of its term, the Bureau of the Grand National Assembly, formed of the Chairman of the Grand National Assembly and four Vice-Chairmen.

Article 51. The Chairman of the Grand National Assembly shall conduct the proceedings of the sessions of the Grand National Assembly.

The Chairman of the Grand National Assembly may designate any one of the four Vice-Chairmen to fulfil some of his functions.

Article 52. The Grand National Assembly shall elect standing committees formed of deputies.

The standing committees shall examine or debate, atthe request of the Grand National Assembly or of the State Council, drafts of laws, decrees, enactments or other documents that are to be adopted, and any other matters. Also, at the request of the Grand National Assembly or the State Council, the standing committees shall, within the ambit of their respective powers, hear reports — periodically or by problems — submitted by the heads of any body of State administration, of the Supreme Court and of the Public Prosecutor's Office on the work of these bodies, as well as reports by the chairmen of the Executive Committees or Executive Bureaus of the People's Councils on the work of these councils, and analyse the way in which the above-mentioned bodies carry out the policy of the Romanian Communist Party and ensure the implementation of the law. The committees shall draw up reports, opinions or proposals concerning all the matters mentioned in paragraphs 2 and 3 and shall submit them to the Grand National Assembly or to the State Council. The Grand National Assembly may elect temporary committees on any matter or field of activity, establishing the terms of reference and mode of activity of each of these committees. All the State bodies and officials shall be obliged to make available to the committees of the Grand National Assembly the information and documents requested.

Article 53 * . In exercising control of the constitutionality of the laws and in making preparations for the adoption of the laws, the Grand National Assembly shall elect a Constitutional and Juridical Committee for the duration of its term. Experts who are not deputies may be elected to the Constitutional and Juridical Committee, though not in excess of one-third of the total membership of the Committee.

• Article 53 has been reproduced as amended by Law No. 2 of 18 March 1975, published in the Official Bulletin, No. 30 of 21 March 1975.

The Committee shall submit to the Grand National Assembly reports and opinions on the constitutionality of the laws. It shall also examine the constitutionality of decrees which contain provisions having the force of law, and of the regulations of the Council of Ministers, according to the Standing Orders of the Grand National Assembly. The provisions of Article 52 shall also apply, in due manner, to the Constitutional and Juridical Committee.

Article 54. The Grand National Assembly shall do business in sessions. Ordinary sessions of the Grand National Assembly shall be convened twice a year at the instance of the Bureau of the Grand National Assembly. The Grand National Assembly shall be convened whenever necessary, in extraordinary sessions, at the initiative of the State Council or of at least one-third of the total number of deputies. The Grand National Assembly shall be convened in session by decree of the State Council.

Article 55. The Grand National Assembly shall perform activity only if at least one-half plus one of the total number of deputies are present.

Article 56. The Grand National Assembly shall pass laws and enactments. The laws and enactments shall be passed by a majority vote of the deputies to the Grand National Assembly.

The Constitution shall be adopted and amended by the vote of at least two-thirds of the total number of deputies to the Grand National Assembly.

The laws and enactments of the Grand National Assembly shall be signed by the Chairman or the Vice-chairman of the Grand National Assembly, who shall have conducted the meeting.

Article 57. After their adoption by the Grand National Assembly, the laws shall be published in the Official Bulletin of the Socialist Republic of Romania within ten days, signed by the President of the Socialist Republic of Romania.

Article 58. Every deputy to the Grand National Assembly shall have the right to put questions and address interpellations to the Council of Ministers or to any of its members. Within the framework of the control exercised by the Grand National Assembly, a deputy may put questions and address interpellations to the President of the Supreme Court and to the Prosecutor General. The person to whom a question of interpellation shall have been addressed shall be obliged to reply orally or in writing within three days, and in any case during the same session.

Article 59. In preparation for the debates of the Grand National Assembly or for interpellations, deputies shall have the right to ask for the necessary information from any State body, applying to this end to the Bureau of the Grand National Assembly.

Article 60. Each deputy shall be obliged to periodically report to his electors on his own activity and on that of the Grand National Assembly.

Article 61. No deputy to the Grand National Assembly may be detained, arrested or arraigned without the previous consent of the Grand National Assembly during the sessions and of the State Council between the sessions. A deputy may be detained without the consent only in case of flagrant offence.

The State Council

Article 62. The State Council of the Socialist Republic of Romania shall be a supreme standing body of State power; it shall be subordinated to the Grand National Assembly.

Article 63. The State Council shall permanently have the following main powers:

1. to establish the date of elections for the Grand National Assembly and the People's Councils;
2. to organize the ministries and the other central State bodies;
3. to ratify and denounce international treaties, with the exception of those whose ratification comes within the competence of the Grand National Assembly;
4. to establish the military ranks ;
5. to create decorations and titles of honour.

Article 64. The State Council shall have, in the intervals between the sessions of the Grand National Assembly, the following main powers:

1. to issue, without being able to change the Constitution, enactments having the force of law. These enactments shall be submitted for debate at the next session of the Grand National Assembly, according to the rules for the passage of laws. The single national plan of economic and social development, the State Budget and the general final account of the budgetary exercise may be adopted by the State Council only when the Grand National Assembly cannot meet due to exceptional circumstances;
2. to appoint and recall the Prime Minister;
3. to appoint and recall the Council of Ministers and the Supreme Court if the Grand National Assembly cannot meet because of exceptional circumstances;
4. to give the laws in force a general and compulsory interpretation;
5. to grant amnesty;
6. to control the implementation of laws and enactments of the Grand National Assembly, the activity of the Council of Ministers, of the ministries and of the other central bodies of State administration, and the activity of the Public Prosecutor's Office; to hear on reports of the Supreme Court and to control its prescriptive rulings; to control the ordinances of the People's Councils;
7. to order, in case of emergency, partial or general mobilization;
8. to declare, in case of emergency, the state of war. The state of war may be declared only in the event of armed aggression directed against the Socialist Republic of Romania or against another State to which the Socialist Republic of Romania has mutual defence obligations, arising from international treaties, if a situation has emerged for which the obligation of declaring a state of war has been stipulated;

The powers specified in this article may be exercised by the State Council also during the sessions of the Grand National Assembly if economic and social necessities should call for immediate adoption of measures and the Grand National Assembly has not met in plenary session; the enactments with the force of law thus issued shall be submitted for debate to the Grand National Assembly, according to the rules for the passage of laws, on the resumption of the plenary session.

Article 65. The State Council shall be elected by the Grand National Assembly from among its members, for the duration of its term, in its first session. The State Council shall function until the election of the new State Council in the next term.

Article 66. The President of the Socialist Republic of Romania shall be President of the State Council.

Article 67. The State Council shall consist of a President, Vice-Presidents and members.

Article 68. The State Council shall conduct its work according to the principle of collective leadership.

Article 69. The State Council shall issue decrees and adopt enactments.

The decrees and enactments shall be signed by the President of the Socialist Republic of Romania. The normative decrees shall be published in the Official Bulletin of the Socialist Republic of Romania.

Article 70. The State Council shall report to the Grand National Assembly on the exercise of its powers and on the observance and implementation in State activity of the laws and enactments of the Grand Natio nal Assembly.

The State Council as a whole and each of its members shall be responsible to the Grand National Assembly for the entire work of the State Council.

The President of the Socialist Republic of Romania

Article 71. The President of the Socialist Republic of Romania shall be the Head of State and shall represent the State power in the domestic and foreign relations of the Socialist Republic of Romania.

Article 72. The President of the Socialist Republic of Romania shall be elected by the Grand National Assembly for the duration of the term, in its first session, and shall remain in office until the election of the President in the next term.

Article 73. On his election, the President of the Socialist Republic of Romania shall take the following oath before the Grand National Assembly:

"I swear to faithfully serve the Homeland, to firmly act in defence of the independence, sovereignty and integrity of the country, for the well-being and happiness of the entire people, for the building of Socialism and Communism in the Socialist Republic of Romania!"

"I swear to observe and defend the Constitution and laws of the country, to do my utmost for the consistent implementation of the principles of Socialist democracy, for asserting the standards of Socialist ethics and equity in the life of society!"

"I swear to unswervingly pursue a foreign policy of friendship and alliance with all the socialist countries, of cooperation with all the nations of the world, irrespective of their social system, on the basis of fully equal rights, of solidarity with the revolutionary, progressive"

forces everywhere, of peace and friendship among peoples!"

"I swear always to do my duty with honour and devotion, for the glory and greatness of our Socialist nation, of the Socialist Republic of Romania!"

Article 74. The President of the Socialist Republic of Romania shall be Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces and Chairman of the Defence Council of the Socialist Republic of Romania.

Article 7S. The President of the Socialist Republic of Romania shall have, in conformity with the Constitution and the laws, the following main prerogatives:

1. to preside over the State Council ;
2. to preside over the meetings of the Council of Ministers when necessary;
3. to appoint and recall, at the suggestion of the Prime Minister, the deputy prime ministers, the ministers and the heads of other central bodies of State administration who are members of the Council of Ministers; to appoint and remove the heads of central State bodies who are not members of the Council of Ministers; to appoint and recall the members of the Supreme Court;
4. to appoint and recall, while the Grand National Assembly is not met in plenary session, the President of the Supreme Court and the Prosecutor General;
5. to confer the ranks of general, admiral and marshal;
6. to award decorations and titles of honour; to authorize the wearing of decorations conferred by other States;
7. to grant pardon;
8. to grant citizenship, to approve renunciation of citizenship and to withdraw Romanian citizenship; to approve the establishment of domicile in Romania by citizens of other States;
9. to grant the right of asylum;
10. to establish the ranks of the diplomatic missions; to accredit and recall the diplomatic representatives of the Socialist Republic of Romania;
11. to receive the letters of credence and recall of the diplomatic representatives of other States;
12. to conclude international treaties on behalf of the Socialist Republic of Romania; to depute, for this purpose, the Prime Minister or members of the Council of Ministers or diplomatic representatives;
13. In the interests of the defence of the Socialist Republic of Romania, of ensuring public order or the security of the State, to proclaim, if necessary, the state of emergency, in some localities or throughout the territory

of the country. In the exercise of his prerogatives, the President of the Socialist Republic of Romania shall issue presidential decrees and decisions.

Article 76. The President of the Socialist Republic of Romania shall be responsible to the Grand National Assembly for all his activity.

The President of the Socialist Republic of Romania shall report periodically to the Grand National Assembly on the exercise of his prerogatives and on the development of the State.

Chapter IV: Central Bodies of State Administration

Article 77. The Council of Ministers shall be the supreme body of State administration. The Council of Ministers shall exercise the general conduct of the executive activity throughout the territory of the country and shall have the following main powers:

1. to establish general measures necessary for the implementation of the domestic and foreign policy;
2. to decide on the measures necessary for organizing and ensuring the implementation of the laws;
3. to direct, coordinate and control the work of the ministries and of the other central bodies of State administration;
4. to work out the draft single national plan of economic and social development, the draft State Budget, and any other bills; to work out draft decrees ;
5. to establish measures for the implementation of the single national plan of economic and social development and of the State Budget; to draw up the general report on the implementation of the single national plan of economic and social development and the general final account of the budgetary exercise.
6. to set up economic organizations, enterprises and state institutions of national interest;
7. to take measures for ensuring public order, defen ding the interests of the State and protecting the rights of the citizens;
8. to take measures, according to the decisions of the Defence Council, for the general organization of the Armed Forces and for establishing the annual contingents of citizens to be called up for military service;
9. to exercise over-all direction in the field of relations with other States and to take measures for the conclu sion of international agreements;
10. to support the work of mass and public organizations;
11. to exercise, as provided by law, its powers of direc tion and control of the work of the Executive Commit tees and Executive Bureaus of the People's Councils.

Article 78. The Council of Ministers shall be elected by the Grand National Assembly, for the duration of the term, in its first session. The Council of Ministers shall function until the election of the new Council of Ministers in the next term.

Article 79. In the exercise of its powers, the Council of Ministers shall adopt decisions on the basis and for the purpose of the implementation of the laws. The decisions of a normative character shall be pu blished in the Official Bulletin of the Socialist Republic of Romania.

Article 80. The Council of Ministers shall consist of the Prime Minister, deputy prime ministers, ministers, ministers, State-secretaries, and heads of other central bodies of State administration specified by law. Members of the Council of Ministers shall also be: the Chairman of the Central Council of the General Trade Union Confederation, the Chairman of the National Union of Agricultural Production Co-operatives, the Pre sident of the National Women's Council and the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Union of Communist Youth.

Article 81. The Council of Ministers shall conduct its work according to the principle of collective leader ship, ensuring the unity of political and administrative action of the ministries and of the other central bodies of State administration.

Article 82. The Council of Ministers as a whole and each of its members shall be responsible to the Grand National Assembly and, in the interval between sessions, to the State council. Each member of the Council of Mi nisters is answerable both for his own work and for all the work of the Council of Ministers.

Article 83. The ministries and the other central bodies of the State administration shall implement the State's policy in the branches or fields of activity for which they have been set up.

They shall manage, direct and control the enterprises, economic organizations and State institutions subordinate to them.

Article 84. The ministers and the heads of the other central bodies of State administration shall issue, on the basis and for the purpose of implementing the laws and the decisions of the Council of Ministers, instructions, orders and other regulations specified by law; their nor mative directions shall be published in the Official Bulle tin of the Socialist Republic of Romania.

Article 85. The ministers and the other heads of central bodies of State administration shall be respon sible to the Council of Ministers for the work of the bo dies in their charge.

Chapter V: Local Bodies of State Powe and Local Bodies of State Administration

Article 86. The People's Councils shall be the local bodies of State power in the territorial-administrative units in which they shall have been elected. The People's Councils shall conduct the local activity, ensuring the economic and socio-cultural development and the physical planning of the territorial-administrative units in which they shall have been elected, the defence of socialist property, the protection of the citizens' rights, socialist legality and the maintenance of public order. The People's Councils shall organize the participation of the citizens in the solution of State and public affairs on the local level.

Article 87. The People's Councils shall have the following main powers:

1. to adopt the local economic plan and budget and to approve the final account of the budgetary year;
2. to elect and recall the Executive Committee or, as the case may be, the Executive Bureau of the People's Council;
3. to set up economic organizations, enterprises and State institutions of local interest;
4. to conduct, direct and control the work of its Executive Committee, or, as the case may be, of its Executive Bureau, of the specialized local bodies of State administration, and of the subordinate economic organizations, enterprises and institutions;
5. to control the ordinances of hierarchically inferior People's Councils;
6. to elect and recall, according to law, the judges, the people's assessors and the Chief Prosecutor of the county or of Bucharest Municipality.

Article 88. The People's Councils shall consist of deputies elected by the constituencies, one deputy being elected for each constituency. The constituencies formed for the election of deputies to a People's Council shall have the same number of inhabitants. The term of the People's Councils shall be of five years for the counties and Bucharest Municipality and of two and one-half years for the municipalities, the districts of Bucharest Municipality, the cities and the communes. The date of elections for the People's Councils shall be set according to law.

Article 89. The People's Councils shall elect, from among their members, standing committees which shall help them in the fulfilment of their tasks.

Article 90. The People's Councils shall perform activity in sessions; the sessions shall be convened by the Executive Committee or, as the case may be, by the Executive Bureau of the People's Council. The People's Councils shall be called in extraordinary sessions whenever necessary, at the initiative of the Executive Committee, or as the case may be, of the Executive Bureau, or of at least one-third of the total membership.

Article 91. The People's Councils shall perform activity with a quorum of at least one half plus one of the total membership.

Article 92. Each deputy must periodically report to his electors on his own activity and on that of the People's Council to which he has been elected.

Article 93. The People's Councils shall adopt ordinances.

An ordinance shall be adopted if it shall have received the vote of the majority of the People's Council members. Ordinances of a normative character shall be communicated to the citizens in the forms specified by law.

Article 94. The Executive Committee of the People's Council and the Executive Bureau of the People's Council shall be local bodies of State administration with overall competence in the territorial-administrative unit in which the People's Council shall have been elected.

Article 95. The Executive Committee of the People's Council and the Executive Bureau of the People's Council shall have the following main powers:

1. to implement the laws, the decrees, as well as the decisions of the Council of Ministers and other enactments of the higher bodies;
2. to carry out the ordinances of the People's Councils which have elected them;
3. to work out the drafts of the economic plan and the local budget;
4. to carry out the economic plan and the local budget and to draw up the report on the fulfilment of the local economic plan and the final account of the budgetary exercise;
5. to conduct, direct and control the work of the specialized local bodies of State administration;
6. to conduct, direct, coordinate and control the work of the subordinated economic organizations, enterprises and institutions;
7. to conduct, direct, and control the work of the Executive Committees, or, as the case may be, the Executive

Bureaus of the People's Councils that are hierarchically inferior to those that elected them; In the intervals between sessions of the People's Council, the Executive Committee, or, as the case may be, the Executive Bureaus shall also fulfil the tasks of the People's Council, except those mentioned in Article 87, points 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 and shall submit the ordinances adopted to the People's Council at its first session.

Article 96. The People's Councils of the counties, of Bucharest Municipality, of the districts of Bucharest Municipality, and of the municipalities shall elect Executive Committees, and the People's Councils of the cities and communes shall elect Executive Bureaus. The Executive Committee or the Executive Bureau shall be elected from among the members of the People's Council, in the first session after the elections, for the duration of the term of that Council. After the expiry of the term of the People's Council, the Executive Committee or, as the case may be, the Executive Bureau shall continue to function until the election of the new Executive Committee or Executive Bureau.

Article 97. The Executive Committee or the Executive Bureau of the People's Council shall consist, according to law, of one chairman, one or more vice-chairmen, and other members.

Article 98. In the exercise of its powers, the Executive Committee, or the Executive Bureau of the People's Council shall issue ordinances on the basis and for the purpose of implementing the law. Ordinances of a normative character shall be communicated to the citizens in the forms specified by law.

Article 99. The Executive Committee and the Executive Bureau shall conduct their work according to the principle of collective leadership. The Executive Committee or the Executive Bureau as a whole and each of its members shall be responsible to the People's Council which shall have elected them, as well as to the Executive Committee, or the Executive Bureau, of the hierarchically superior People's Council and to the Council of Ministers. Each member of the Executive Committee or Executive Bureau shall be responsible for his own activity and for the whole activity of the body the member of which he is.

Article 100. The People's Councils shall organize, according to law, local specialized bodies of State admi nistration under their Executive Committees, or, as the case may be, Executive Bureaus. The local specialized bodies of State administration shall be subordinated both to the People's Council and the Executive Committee or, as the case may be, to the Executive Bureau, as well as to the hierarchically superior local and central bodies of State administration.

Chapter VI: Judicial organs

Article 101. In the Socialist Republic of Romania, justice shall be administered, according to law, by the Supreme Court, the county courts, local courts and by military courts.

Article 102. Through their judiciary activity, the courts shall defend the socialist system and the rights of persons, educating the citizens in a spirit of respect for the law.In applying penal sanctions, the courts shall aim at reforming and re-educating the offenders, and at preventing the commission of new offences.

Article 103. The courts shall try civil, penal and any other cases within their actual competencies. In the cases specified by law, the courts shall exercise control over the decisions of administrative or public bodies having jurisdictional activity.

The courts shall hear the cases brought by persons harmed in their rights by administrative acts, and shall be able, in the conditions specified by law, also to pronounce on the legality of such acts.

Article 104. The Supreme Court shall exercise general control over the judicial activity of all the courts. The mode of exercising this control shall be established by law. With a view to ensuring uniform application of the laws in the judicial activity, the Supreme Court, in its plenum, shall issue prescriptive rulings.

Article 105. The Supreme Court shall be elected by the Grand National Assembly, for the duration of the term, in its first session. The Supreme Court shall function until the election of the new Supreme Court in the next term.

Article 106. The Supreme Court shall be responsible for its activity to the Grand National Assembly and, between sessions, to the State Council.

Article 107. The organization of the courts, their jurisdiction and the judicial procedure shall be established by law.

Cases in the first instance of the courts, county courts and military courts shall be tried with the participation of people's assessors unless otherwise specified by law.

Article 108. Judges and people's assessors shall be elected in accordance with the procedure established by law.

Article 109. In the Socialist Republic of Romania, the judicial procedure shall be conducted in the Romanian language; in the territorial-administrative units which are inhabited also by the population of another nationality than Romanian, the use of the mother tongue of that population shall be assured. The parties who cannot speak the language in which the judicial procedure is conducted shall be enabled to become acquainted with the facts of the case through interpretation and shall have the right to speak in court and to sum up in their native language.

Article 110. Trials shall be held in public sessions unless otherwise prescribed by law.

Article 111. In their judicial activity, the judges and the people's assessors shall be independent and amenable only to the law.

Chapter VII: Organos of the Public Prosecutor's Office

Article 112. The Public Prosecutor's Office of the Socialist Republic of Romania shall supervise the work of the organs of penal prosecution and of execution, and shall watch, as established by law, over the observance of legality, the defence of the Socialist order, of the legitimate interests and rights of the Socialist organizations, of other juristic persons and of the citizens.

Article 113. The Public Prosecutor's Office shall be headed by the Prosecutor General. The organs of the Public Prosecutor's Office shall be the General Prosecutor's Office and the county, local and military prosecutor's offices.

The organs of the Public Prosecutor's Office shall be hierarchically subordinated.

Article 114. The Prosecutor General shall be elected by the Grand National Assembly, for the duration of the term, in its first session, and shall function until the election of the new Prosecutor General in the first session of the next term. The public prosecutors shall be appointed according to law, with the exception of those mentioned in Article 87, point 6. ARTICLE 115. The Prosecutor General shall be responsible to the Grand National Assembly, and, between ses sions, to the State Council, for the work of the Public Prosecutor's Office.

Chapter VIII: Insignia of the Socialist Republic of Romania

Article 116. The Arms of the Socialist Republic of Romania shall represent wooded mountains over which the sun is rising. At the left side of the Arms, there shall be an oil derrick. A wreath of wheat ears shall surround the Arms. A five-pointed star shall surmount the Arms. At the base of the Arms the sheaves shall be wrapped in a tricolour ribbon bearing the words Republica Socialists Romania".

Article 117. The State Seal shall bear the country's Arms with the words: "Republica Socialists Romania" around it.

Article 118. The flag of the Socialist Republic of Ro mania shall bear the colours red, yellow and blue, placed vertically with the blue stripe next to the staff. The Arms of the Socialist Republic of Romania shall be placed in the centre.

Article 119. The Grand National Assembly shall approve the State Anthem of the Socialist Republic of Romania. 31

Chapter IX: Final Provisions

Article 120. The present Constitution shall come into force on the date of its adoption.

Article 121. The Constitution of 24 September 1952 and any provisions of laws, decrees and other enactments contrary to the provisions of the present Constitution shall be abrogated on the same date.

NOTE: The Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Romania was adopted by the Grand National Assembly on 21 August 1965 and was published in the Official Bulletin of the Socialist Republic of Romania, Part I, No. 1 of 21 August 1965. The Constitution was amended and republished as follows:— amended by Law No. 1/1968 (published in the Official Bulletin No. 16 of 16 February 1968) and republished in the Official Bulletin No. 22 of 20 February 1968 ; — amended by Law No. 56/1968 (published in the Official Bulletin No. 168 of 26 December 1968) and by Law No. 1/1969 (published in the Official Bulletin No. 31 of 13 March 1969) and republished in the Official Bulletin No. 34 of 16 March 1969; — amended by Law No. 26/1971 (published in the Official Bulletin No. 157 of 17 December 1971) and by Law No. 1/1972 (published in the Official Bulletin No. 41 of 24 April 1972) and republished in the Official Bulletin No. 44 of 4 May 1972; — amended by Law No. 1/1974 (published in the Official Bulletin No. 45 of 28 March 1974) and republished in the Official Bulletin No. 56 of 8 April 1974 ; — amended by Law No. 66/ 1974 (published in the Official Bulletin No. 161 of 23 December 1974) and republished in the Official Bulletin No. 167 of 27 December 1974 ; — amended by Law No. 2/1975 (published in the Official Built- ■" " *~ of 21 "' — tin No. 30 of 21 March 1975).