The appeal on points of Law in criminal procedure - an extraordinary or an elusive appeal? Thoughts in relation to the Decision no. 591/2015 of the Romanian Constitutional Court

Abstract

This study contains observations on the restrictive character of the appeal on points of law in criminal procedure, as it is regulated by the new Code of Criminal Procedure, which came into force on February 1st, 2014, the way this statute was modified by the Law no. 255/2013, reflections allowed by the recent Decision no. 591 from October 1st, 2015, of the Constitutional Court, which struck down as unconstitutionnal parts of the provision of article 440 par. 2 of the Code (the phrase "if it is manifestly unfounded").

This occasion allows us to challenge the elusive character of the appeal on points of law in the current statute, which is due both to the limited number and scope of the grounds for appeal and the inequitable character of the preliminary selection procedure of the appeals at the Supreme Court. In this context, we remark the anachronistic character of this provision to restrict access to the highest jurisdiction in the country in criminal matters in a European context and the arguable conformity of the current provision to the Constitution.