CÂTEVA COMENTARII PE MARGINEA ART. 83 DIN CONSTITUȚIA ROMÂNIEI REVIZUITĂ ÎN 2003. O PROBLEMĂ CONTROVERSATĂ PRIVIND DURATA MANDATULUI DE PREȘEDINTE AL ROMÂNIEI

In this article the author analyzes the constitutional text (Article 83 of the Basic Law) which sets the duration of the term of office of the President of Romania. The problem of setting the duration of the term of office of the President of Republic is both a legal problem and a political one, whereas, in terms of electing the President of Romania by direct universal vote, it has a legitimacy equal to that of the Parliament, which confers it the vocation to aspire to an enhanced executive power, in which case it may enter into cohabitation relations with the Government supported by a parliamentary majority hostile to the President of Republic. The author brings into discussion for the first time in the specialised literature and on the basis of the documents of the Constituent Assembly, existing in the Archive of the Senate of Romania, the duration of the five-year term of office of the President, forecast by the Commission for drafting of the Constitution and included in the original form of the Theses suggested by the Commission to the Constituent Assembly. Following the parliamentary debate, the constituent legislators reduced the five-year term of office of the President of Romania to four years. Following the constitutional revision in 2003, the five-year presidential term of office is restored starting from 2009.