CONSACRAREA CONSTITUŢIONALĂ ŞI INFRACONSTITUŢIONALĂ A DREPTULUI DE VOT ŞI A DREPTULUI DE A ALEGE ŞI DE A FI ALES ÎN PARLAMENTUL EUROPEAN
THE CONSTITUTIONAL AND INFRACONSTITUTIONAL ESTABLISHMENT OF THE RIGHT TO VOTE AND THE RIGHT TO ELECT AND BE ELECTED IN THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

Summary/Abstract: The present study was occasioned by the legislative proposal to amend Law no. 115/2015 and article 5 para. (5) of Law no. 33/2007, with the aim of reducing the voting age to 16. After a brief presentation of EU and national provisions (both constitutional and ordinary) in the matter of the right to vote and the right to be elected to the European Parliament, the author examines the statement of reasons and the draft bill as proposed by its initiators. The author disagrees with the initiators’ view that a so-called ‘margin of appreciation’ exists for the lawmaker when it comes to the voting right of people aged between 14 and 18, and argues that no such ‘margin of appreciation’ can be acknowledged in relation to either the primary (Parliament) or delegated (Government) legislator, if this would lead to annihilating the will of the constituant assembly. In other words, organic laws may not derogate from the constitutional regulation. The author evokes the opinion of the late Professor Ioan Muraru, expert in both the original and derived constituant assembly, concerning the interpretation of article 16 para. (4) of the Constitution. The author concludes that, if parliamentarians want to be a voice for the youth supporting a decrease of the voting age to 16, they may act so according to the procedure established in Title VII of the Constitution.

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