THE LEGISLATIVE UNIFICATION AND THE CONSTITUTIONAL ROLE OF THE JUDICIARY IN THE DEBATE: THE CASE OF C. N. SCHINA 1919-1920
THE LEGISLATIVE UNIFICATION AND THE CONSTITUTIONAL ROLE OF THE JUDICIARY IN THE DEBATE: THE CASE OF C. N. SCHINA 1919-1920

Summary/Abstract: C. N. Schina was a member of a family of distinguished magistrates. Constantin E. Schina (1838-1913), his father, was the fourth prime president of the Court of Cassation (1838-1913), and his grandfather, Eustațiu Schina, was the president of the Criminal Court (1859). In the period 1919-1920, C. N. Schina was involved in the public debate on the problems of the Romanian society regarding legislative unification and the independence of the magistracy. First, he supported the professional collaboration of lawyers and magistrates, the establishment of a joint legal journal, but also the establishment of an organization of jurists from Greater Romania, with a very ambitious program. On the other hand, he critically presented the difficulties encountered in the judiciary, in particular, in the relationship between judges and the executive power, and he also supported the organization of a union of civil servants. All this could not remain without consequences. First, in December 1919, the report of the ad-interim minister of justice, Ștefan C. Pop, presented several acts committed by C. N. Schina, which affected the prestige and dignity of the magistracy. As a result, the magistrate was suspended from his position for 15 days by the Royal Decree of 23 December 1919. Secondly, in the report of August 1920, it was estimated that the imputed facts were much more serious, and Schina's recidivism required an appropriate sanction. This time, he was sanctioned with the disciplinary penalty of being suspended from the position of president at the Court of Appeal in Bucharest, and the Royal Decree of 10 August 1920 was countersigned by the Minister of Justice M. B. Cantacuzino. What remains over time is the remarkable affirmation, in the first years after 1918, of some principles which will guide all future legislation: freedom of association, freedom of trade union, freedom of speech, protection of private life, separation of powers in the state and, above all, the independence of the judge.

• Details
• Contents