Political pluralism and multiparty

• Author: Erhard Niculescu
• Position: Assistant, PhD Student, The Faculty of Law, 'Nicolae Titulescu' University, Bucharest
• Pages: 57-63

LESIJ NO. XXI, VOL. 1/2014

POLITICAL PLURALISM AND MULTIPARTY

Erhard NICULESCU*

Abstract

Political parties have made themselves noticed in histor y by competing for power a nd over time they

have emerged as undeniable and indispensable realities in a political system rega rdless of its form.

The Constitution of Romania r ecognised the role and histor ical importance of pluralism an d political

parties and dedicated them a pla ce of honour in the genera l principles tha t establish our state as a

democratic and social sta te of law. This a rticle analyses the constitutional provisions on political

parties, depicting the evolution of statutory r egulations th ereon over more tha n 100 years, dur ing

various political regimes. Last but not least, it also analyses concepts and points of view of the doctrine

with respect to the subject matter, while also making r eferences to the relevant constitutional

jurisprudence. Finally, as a result of the analysis conducted, we will r eveal any weaknesses of the

legislation and we will make our conclusions.

Keywords: pluralism, political pa rty, Constitution, law, multiparty

1. Introduction*

Longă consideredă theă “engineă ofă theă

politicală life”ă ofă aă society,ă politicală partiesă

are characterised by a fervent activity, in the

forefront of political life. The state has an

acknowledged relatio nship with the c ivil

society, relationship that is lost in the mists

of time. Thus, it is public knowledge now

that civil society works on the state in many

ways, while parties, together with the media

or trade unions stand out as a major player in

rendering the power relations more dynamic.

Many times we, ordinary citizens, have

witnessed the adoption of various legal acts

by the legislative or executive body with the

support of the political parties in power.

The French legal d octrine estimates

that the state performs three basic functions:

a) Enactment of general rules –

legislative function;

* Assistant,ă PhDă Student,ă Theă Facultyă ofă Law,ă “Nicolae Titulescu” University, Bucharest of (e-mail:

erhard.niculescu@yahoo.de).

1

M. Chantebout, Droit constitutionnel et science politique (Constitutional Law and Political Science), Dalloz

Publishing House, Paris, 1982, p.156.

b) Application or enforcement of

these rules – executive function;

c) Settlement of litigations arising in

society – judicial function.

1

In recognition of the role played by the

parties, they have been expressly regulated

in the Constitutions of the states of the

world. But, since t he society has evolved in

a dramatic rhythm, some Constitutions are

required to be revised and adapted to times.

2. Paper content

2.1 Political parties and their

constitutional regulation

On the national political scene, in

addition to traditional political parties, such

as for instance the Peasant Party or the

Liberal Party, a series of alliances operated,

such as the Alliance for Justice and Truth (J