AP News, February 1st, 2008
The Constitutional Court has struck down the law that opened Romania's secret police archives, a blow to efforts to further expose the country's communist past.
Many Romanians contend the law had been used for retribution and blackmail. In the eight years since it took effect, many public figures have been exposed as collaborators with the communist-era Securitate secret police.
The court ruling, issued Thursday, effectively forces the Council for the Study of the Securitate Archives to shut down, and makes its previous decisions null.
The Constitutional Court said it found the law to be unconstitutional in allowing the council to act as a court — playing both prosecutor and judge and hearing initial appeals.
Although Romanians found to have collaborated with the Securitate were not prosecuted, they could be barred from public office.
Parliament has 45 days to amend the law.
One council member, Ticu Dumitrescu, called the ruling "immoral and shocking" and said it was issued as the council was studying the files of high-ranking magistrates, some of them Constitutional Court members.
Another council member, Mircea Dinescu, noted the ruling was issued just before elections, and after the council had received the full archive with some 2 million cases for inspection. Previously, the council had some 7,000 cases to review, he said.
"This (decision) has long been dreamed of by some people, who will be able now to have a good night sleep," Dinescu said.
Romania has long debated how best to deal with its communist past, when an estimated 700,000 informers spied on friends and relatives for the secret police.
The council has said some files were destroyed after the 1989 revolution that ended communism in Romania.
More than 20 civil society organizations condemned the court ruling, which they said represented a "return to communist practices."
Others were pleased with the verdict. Sen. Serban Nicolae called the ruling "good, constitutional and useful to Romanian society."
