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The Constitutional Court of Romania (CCR) found on Tuesday the unconstitutionality of Government Emergency Ordinance 192/2020, which established, among other things, the obligation to wear a protective mask in public spaces, commercial spaces, public transport and the workplace.
According to a press release of the CCR sent to AGERPRES, in Tuesday's session, the Constitutional Court, within the framework of the law control following promulgation, unanimously admitted the exception of unconstitutionality and found that the Government Emergency Ordinance 192/2020 for the amendment and completion of Law 55/2020 on some measures to prevent and combat the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as for the amendment of letter a) of art. 7 of Law 81/2018 on the regulation of telework activity is unconstitutional.
The Court found the overall unconstitutionality of the Government Emergency Ordinance 192/2020 as it was adopted in violation of the constitutional provisions of Article 1 paragraph (3) and (5) and Article 79 paragraph (1), regarding the approval of draft normative acts by the Legislative Council.
According to the CCR, the normative acts previous and subsequent to OUG 192/2020 remain in force.
The Court states that, as a result of this decision, only the provisions contained in Government Emergency Ordinance 192/2020 are removed from the active body of the legislation, under the conditions of Article 147 paragraphs (1) and (4) of the Constitution, while all the other normative texts from Law 55/2020 on some measures to prevent and combat the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and from Law 81/2018 on the regulation of telework activity remain in force, Agerpres.ro informs.
OUG 192 of 2020 also provided, inter alia, that:
* during the state of alert, employers order work at home or in teleworking conditions, wherever the specifics of the activity allow, in compliance with the provisions of Law 53/2003 - Labor Code, republished, with subsequent amendments and completions, and Law 81/2018 on the regulation of telework activity.
* during the alert state, by derogation from the provisions of art. 118 para. (1) of Law no. 53/2003 - Labor Code, republished, with subsequent amendments and completions, employers in the private system, central and local public authorities and institutions, regardless of the method of financing and subordination, as well as autonomous utility companies, national companies, national societies and companies in which the share capital is wholly or mainly owned by the state or by an administrative-territorial unit, with a number of more than 50 employees, organizes the work schedule so that the staff is divided into groups to start, respectively to finish the activity at a difference for at least an hour.
