suggested citation: D. Dobre, Esercizio di funzioni pubbliche, esigenze di trasparenza e protezione della vita privata: considerazioni comparatistiche a partire dalla decisione della Corte costituzionale rumena n. 297/2025, lceonline (www.lceonline.eu), 2/2025, II/Rubriche, p. 25 ss.
key words: transparency, private life, Romanian Constitutional Court, techniques of constitutional interpretation, incidental review of legislation, use of comparative law
abstract: The paper examines Decision No.297/2025 of the Romanian Constitutional Court, which found unconstitutional the legal provisions requiring the online publication of public officials’ asset and income declarations under Law No. 176/2010. The ruling grapples with the tension between promoting transparency and integrity in public service and safeguarding the fundamental right to private and family life guaranteed by Article 26 of the Romanian Constitution. Following the application of the proportionality test, the Court deemed the online publication requirement disproportionate – even with partial anonymisation – because it still enabled the identification of sensitive information. The article explores the legislative background and the Constitutional Court’s case-law, highlighting the challenges posed by soft law instruments issued by the National Integrity Agency (ANI) and the selective use of comparative law by constitutional judges, particularly the reasoning of the Italian Constitutional Court in Judgement No. 20/2019. The paper also considers critical aspects of the CCR’s reasoning, which, while emphasising privacy protection, sometimes adopts a paternalistic stance toward the legislature and risks placing excessive constraints on political discretion in decision-making processes related to conflicting legal interests. The analysis offers some reflections on the role of constitutional interpretation, on balancing techniques, and on the use of comparative law arguments iwhen it comes to conflicts between transparency obligations and the protection of private life in contemporary constitutional States.
