Chapter IV
Deputy's status
Section 1
Parliamentary immunity
Article 191. - Deputies shall enjoy parliamentary immunity from the date when the certificates attesting to their election are issued, provided they are validated.
Article 192. - Under article 72 of the Constitution of Romania, republished, the Deputies may not be held legally liable for the votes they cast or the political opinions they expressed in the exercise of their mandate.
Article 193. - (1) Under article 72 of the Constitution of Romania, republished, Deputies may be subject to investigation, and may be criminally prosecuted for actions that are not related to the vote they cast or the political opinions they expressed in the exercise of their mandate, but may not be searched, detained or arrested without the consent of the Chamber of Deputies, after having been heard. The investigation and criminal prosecution may be made only by the Public Prosecutor's Office next to the High Court of Cassation and Justice. The High Court of Cassation of Justice shall entertain jurisdiction.
(2) A detaining, arrest, or search petition shall be submitted to the President of the Chamber of Deputies by the Minister of Justice. Subsequent perpetration or discovery of new criminal actions shall lead to the filing of a new petition for detention, arrest or search.
(3) The President of the Chamber shall inform the Deputies of such petition, in a public sitting. Then, he/she shall immediately refer it to the Legal, Discipline and Immunities Committee for examination. In its report, the Committee shall establish whether there are good grounds to approve the petition or not. The Committee's decision shall be adopted no later than five days of its notification, with the vote of a majority of its Members. The vote shall be secret.
(4) The Minister of Justice shall refer to the Legal, Discipline and Immunities Committee all the documents required by the latter; if he/she should refuse to do so, the Committee shall appeal to the Standing Bureau of the Chamber of Deputies, requiring it to rule on such refusal.
(5) The petition stipulated under paragraph (2), along with the Committee's report, shall be forwarded to the Parliamentary Group to which the Deputy in question belongs. The Group shall express their viewpoint on the petition in a written report, within five days of its notification.
(6) Deputies who do not belong to any Parliamentary Group may submit their viewpoint on the petition to the Standing Bureau.
(7) The Committee's report, along with the Parliamentary Group's report shall be referred to the Standing Bureau and submitted to the Chamber of Deputies for debate and approval.
(8) The Chamber of Deputies shall pronounce on the measure to be taken no later than 20 days of its notification, based on the vote by a majority of the Members present.
Article 194. - (1) In the event of a flagrant crime, Deputies may be detained and subject to a search. The Minister of Justice shall be notified of the matter immediately. The Minister of Justice shall inform the President of the Chamber of Deputies without delay of such detention or search. If the Chamber should find there are no grounds for detention, it shall order immediate cancellation of such measure.
(2) The order for cancellation of detention shall be executed at once by the Minister of Justice.
Article 195. - All petitions for waiver of parliamentary immunity shall have precedence on the agenda.
Section 2
Incompatibilities
Article 196. - (1) A Deputy's capacity shall be incompatible with the exercise of any public office of authority, except for that of Member of the Government. It shall be incompatible with the exercise of other positions laid down by the law as well.
(2) The Deputies who are Members of the Government may not hold offices in the Standing Bureau, in the Committee Bureaus, nor be Members in Parliamentary Representations or Parliamentary Group Leaders.
Article 197. - A Deputy's capacity shall be incompatible with the office of President of Romania and with that of a Senator.
Article 198. - A Deputy's mandate shall be incompatible with the status of the persons who, under the law, may not belong to political parties.
Article 199. - It shall be prohibited to use a person's name with a mention of that person's capacity as Deputy in any action advertising a lucrative activity.
Article 200. - (1) A Deputy who finds himself/herself in one of the incompatibility instances stipulated under articles 196-198 shall resign from the positions which are incompatible with the Deputy's mandate, within 30 days of the date when such incompatibility occurred.
(2) After expiry of the time limit stipulated under paragraph (1), the Deputy who continues to find himself/herself in an incompatibility instance shall be deemed resigned from his/her position as Deputy. The resignation shall be notified to the Chamber of Deputies and published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I.
Article 201*. - Such vacancy shall be filled by the immediately next candidate on the list of the political party, political alliance or electoral alliance concerned if the political party, political alliance or electoral alliance for which the candidate stood in the elections acknowledges in writing, by the date of mandate validation, that he/she belongs to it. The Validation Committee shall present to the Chamber of Deputies a report on the lawfulness of that candidate's election.
Article 202. - During the time limit stipulated under article 200, a Deputy shall be under obligation to declare, in writing, to the Standing Bureau any activity he/she will continue to carry out in the future, which falls within the scope of the incompatibilities stipulated under the law.
Article 203. - Any changes occurring in a Deputy's work throughout his/her term of office shall be notified to the Standing Bureau in writing, no later than 30 days of the date of their occurrence.
Article 204. - (1) The incompatibility instances shall be referred to the Legal, Discipline and Immunities Committee of the Chamber of Deputies, for examination. The Committee shall draw up a report. Proposals by the Committee shall be approved by the Chamber based on the vote by a majority of its Members.
(2) If a Deputy has put an end to the incompatibility he/she was subject to, after notification of the Committee, the fact shall be acknowledged in the minutes of the meeting; such cases shall not be mentioned in the Committee report.
Section 3
Exercise of a Deputy's mandate
Article 205. - The Deputies, as representatives of the people, shall exercise their rights and carry out their duties throughout the term of office for which they were elected.
Article 206. - According to the certificates attesting to their election, Deputies shall start exercising their mandates on the date when the Chamber of Deputies lawfully convenes, provided their mandates are validated.
Article 207. - (1) After validation of their mandates, the Deputies shall be issued their passes as Members of the Chamber of Deputies. The passes shall be signed by the President of the Chamber.
(2) Each Deputy shall receive a distinctive badge attesting to his/her capacity as representative of the people, and shall be entitled to wear it throughout his/her term of office.
(3) After expiry of their term of office, Deputies may keep their passes and badges, but shall not be entitled to wear the badges.
(4) The design of the badge shall be established by the Standing Bureau, and the expenditures for its manufacturing shall be covered from the budget of the Chamber of Deputies.
Article 208. - A person's capacity as Deputy shall cease on the date when the newly elected Chamber lawfully convenes, or in the event of his/her resignation, loss of election rights, incompatibility, or death.
Article 209. - (1) Deputies may resign by means of a written request, filed with the President of the Chamber. The President of the Chamber shall subsequently ask that Deputy, in a public sitting, if he/she persists in requesting the resignation. Should the Deputy give an affirmative answer or if he/she should not come before the Chamber to answer, in spite of him/her being notified, the President shall pronounce the seat vacant.
(2) If the resignation request was submitted on the last working day of a session or during parliamentary holidays, the Deputy shall be deemed to have resigned on the date when the request was submitted. The request shall contain a certification of the signature given before a notary, or a certification of the parties' identities by an attorney at law.
Article 210. - Deputies who are Members of the Government shall receive their emoluments and travel allowances from the authorities with which they work.
Article 211. - The deductions from a Deputy's monthly emolument in accordance with article 51, article 141 and article 218 shall be approved by the Standing Bureau based on a monthly review of Deputies' attendance at the Chamber's sittings.
Section 4
Absences and leaves
Article 212. - (1) No Deputy may be absent from the sittings of the Chamber or the meetings of the Committee to which he/she belongs unless he/she has obtained approval for a leave.
(2) Based on approval by the Chamber or the Standing Bureau, the Deputies may participate in other parliamentary activities, in which case they shall not be deemed absent.
(3) The provisions of paragraph (2) shall also apply to the Deputies who are Members of the Government, if their absence was caused by the exercise of the powers pertaining to the position they hold.
(4) A Deputy may be granted a paid leave for personal reasons for a period not to exceed eight days during an entire session, with the consent of the Standing Bureau. Beyond that duration, unpaid leaves may be requested from the Standing Bureau.
(5) The presence of Deputies who are Members of the Government in the plenary sittings of the Chamber of Deputies shall be mandatory at the opening and closure of the session, in the debates on and adoption of draft laws and legislative proposals in their respective fields of competence, during the minister's hour, dedicated to questions and answers to questions, in the debates on interpellations regarding the policy of the ministry they represent, and for the presentation of reports and political statements by the Prime Minister.
Section 5
Sanctions
Article 213. - (1) Breach of the Standing Orders shall entail the following sanctions:
a) warning;
b) call to order;
c) withdrawal of leave to speak;
d) exclusion from the sitting hall;
e) prohibition of attendance at the Chamber sittings for a maximum of 15 days;
f) temporary expulsion.
(2) The sanctions stipulated under paragraph (1) a), b), c) and d) shall be enforced by the Chairman, and those stipulated under paragraph (1) e) and f) - by the Chamber, following a proposal by the Standing Bureau.
(3) With a view to enforcing the sanctions stipulated under paragraph (1) e) and f), the case shall be referred to the Legal, Discipline and Immunities Committee, which shall present a report on the enquiry conducted.
Article 214. - On the first breach of the Standing Orders, the Chairman of the Chamber shall warn the Deputy at fault and invite him/her to abide by the Standing Orders.
Article 215. - (1) The Deputies who will disregard the Chairman's warning and invitation and continue to breach the Standing Orders, as well as those who, although for the first time, seriously breach the provisions of the Standing Orders, shall be called to order.
(2) The call to order shall be mentioned in the verbatim report.
Article 216. - (1) Before calling a Deputy to order, the Chairman of the Chamber shall invite him/her to either withdraw or explain the phrase that has caused disturbance and might justify the enforcement of the sanction.
(2) If the Deputy withdraws the phrase or expresses his/her regret for having used it, or if the explanations he/she offers are deemed satisfactory by the Chairman, the sanction shall not be enforced.
Article 217. - If, even after having been called to order, a Deputy should continue to breach the Standing Orders, the Chairman shall withdraw his/her floor, and if he/she should persist in his/her breach, the Chairman shall have him/her excluded from the hall.
Article 218. - (1) In the event of serious breaches, repeatedly committed by a Deputy, or of extremely serious breaches, the Chamber may enforce the sanction of prohibiting the Deputy from attending its sittings for a period not to exceed 15 days, or, following a proposal by the Standing Bureau, may decide temporary expulsion of the Deputy at fault.
(2) The seriousness of the breaches shall be assessed by the Legal, Discipline and Immunities Committee within 7 days.
Article 219. - (1) A temporary expulsion may cover from one sitting to a maximum of 30 sittings in a session.
(2) Enforcement of a temporary expulsion shall have the following consequences:
a) suspension of the monthly emolument for the time of expulsion;
b) suspension of the rights pertaining to the capacity as Deputy, except for immunity;
c) prohibition to attend the sittings of the Chamber and the Committee meetings.
Article 220. - Expulsion shall be enforced by the Quaestor and, if opposition should be met, by means of the public security force made available to the President of the Chamber.
Article 221. - (1) In order to maintain order in the Committee meetings, the Chairmen thereof may enforce the sanctions stipulated under article 213 (1) a), b) and c).
(2) If a Deputy should commit extremely serious breaches, the Chairman shall suspend the meeting and notify the case to the Vice-President of the Chamber who is in charge of the Committee in question, who shall submit it to the Chamber of Deputies with a view to enforcing the sanctions stipulated under the Standing Orders.
Article 222. - The sanctions enforced by the Chamber of Deputies shall be published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part II, and posted on the web site of the Chamber of Deputies.
