The Supreme Court unanimously ruled today that the decision of the Plenary of the House of Representatives, dated 22 April 2021, to call:
1. The Attorney General and the Assistant Attorney General to proceed with the immediate (i.e., unaltered and unedited) publication of the interim report of the Commission of Inquiry into the exceptional naturalizations of foreign investors and businessmen from 2007 to 17 August 2020;
2. The Attorney General and the Assistant Attorney General to refrain from the process of assessing the potential criminal, disciplinary and administrative liability arising from the interim finding and, by extension, the final finding;
3. The Supreme Court to act ex officio "in accordance with the prescribed constitutional procedure" (i.e., for their dismissal) in case of non-compliance with the decision of the House of Representatives.
It is noted that the House of Representatives published this decision in the Official Gazette without following the constitutional procedures, namely, without sending it to the President of the Republic prior to its publication.
Against the decision of the House of Representatives and its publication in the Official Gazette of the Republic, the Attorney General appealed to the Supreme Court of Justice on 14 May 2021, which today unanimously ruled that. There was no merit in the House of Representatives' preliminary objection that the Attorney General was not entitled to register an appeal and/or that it was abusive
2. The House of Representatives' preliminary objection that the impugned decision was a purely political resolution was erroneous. In this regard, the Supreme Court held that the resolution of the House of Representatives was intended "to create rights and obligations, an objective which took on flesh and blood, but also took on the mantle of legal force through its publication" in the Official Gazette of the Republic, even though this publication was made in a constitutional diversion, i.e. without the involvement of the President of the Republic.
3. As having legal force and intended to impose legal obligations, the decision in question violates the constitutionally guaranteed powers of the Attorney General, interferes with his exclusive powers and affects the unaccountability of his authority, which is guaranteed by Articles 112-114 of the Constitution.
Consequently, as the Supreme Court concludes, "the decision of the Chamber of Deputies which is the subject of the appeal is declared void ab initio and without any legal effect whatsoever. Moreover, it is annulled in its entirety."
For the unanimous opinion of the Supreme Court in full, click here.
(MΛ)
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