The Institution of the Romanian President – Court Ruling (Romania, 2026)

The Romanian Constitutional Court examined the constitutionality of the legal provision in Article 2 Governmental Ordinance no. 7/2025 establishing a register for contagious diseases. The Institution of the President of Romania requested the constitutional check. It argued that the measure went beyond what was necessary because the personal data concerning the health of a person were stored for the entirety of that individual’s life with the express prohibition of erasure. This allegedly breached Article 1(3) Romanian Constitution, Article 26 Romanian Constitution, Article 20 Romanian Constitution, as well as Article 8 European Convention on Human Rights (EHCR), Article 148 Romanian Constitution, Article 7 EU Charter of Fundamental Rights (EUCFR) and Article 8(2) EUCFR. Furthermore, the Institution of the President emphasised that the legal provision fails to provide the necessary safeguards for the protection of the fundamental rights and liberties of the individual. Namely, the legal act failed to specify the liability of the controller and the applicable sanctions for breaches, and to ensure the confidentiality of the personal data processing among other shortcomings. This allegedly breached Article 26 Romanian Constitution, Article 1(5) Romanian Constitution, and Article 147(4) Romanian Constitution. The Constitutional Court held that the legal provision was unconstitutional. It found that the legal act failed to provide the necessary safeguards in relation to controller liability, sanctions, and confidentiality. However, the Court found that the measure of storing personal data concerning health for the entire duration of an individual’s life without the possibility of erasure was not in itself unconstitutional and did not violate the fundamental right to private life. The Court pointed out that the aim of such a legal provision is justified by its scientific or statistical purpose and abides by European legal provisions on health safety.