Region: Europe
Year: 2007
Court: Constitutional Court
Health Topics: Health systems and financing
Human Rights: Right to health
Tags: Budget, Health expenditures, Health funding, Health regulation, Health spending
Governmental Emergency Ordinance 120/2006 (hereinafter referred to as “The Ordinance”) transferred the health units established by local councils of cities with less than 5000 people to the county councils, unless the local councils wished to retain the health units at their own expense. The Iasi County Council objected before the Iasi Tribunal-Commercial and Administrative Appeal Section arguing that the Ordinance as violating the constitutional right to health by not providing necessary finances and for being beyond the power of an emergency ordinance. The Iasi Tribunal considered the exception ungrounded and referred the matter to the Court.
The Court sought the views of the Parliament and the Ombudsman before assessing the case. The Parliament viewed the exception as ungrounded as the state has the power to regulate the health care system, including administration and financing. The Ombudsman viewed the ordinance as a measure to reduce the violations of the right to health cause by insufficient resources.
The Court found the Ordinance constitutional.
The Court found that the Ordinance complied with the constitutional right to health as its aim was to create better conditions for exercising the right to health. Likewise, it provided necessary financial regulations to support the cost of the takeovers.
The Court found that the measures were within the scope of an emergency ordinance as the Ordinance states in its preamble and explanatory note that it complies with constitutional requirements and was subsequently approved by law.
“Examining the unconstitutionality exception, the Court finds that the text which forms the object of the exception fully complies with the provisions of Art. 34 of the Constitution, which safeguard the right to the protection of health. The aim of these legal provisions is to create better conditions for exercising this right.
The measure of transferring health units into the administrative and financial responsibility of County Councils is accompanied by financial regulations necessary for supporting the costs involved by the taking over of these medico-social centres. [Art.5, paras.(7) and (8), introduced by Law 95/2007].” (Page 4)