The Legal Concept of “State of Emergency”: A Comparison Between Romania and Other European Countries

Abstract

We aim at identifying the characteristics of “state of emergency” in Romanian legislation,
and how it compares in international context. There is important work done on the following related
topics: the state of emergency in Romania, the state of emergency as an international concept, and
comparisons on this matter between different countries. The legal concept of “state of emergency” in
Romania is compared to that from other countries, namely France, Germany, Italy, and Hungary, as
well as put into a wider international context. In order to make this comparison, we study several laws
and the related literature review, and then create country-focused case studies. Romania has a
balanced, rule-of-law approach concerning the state of emergency. The probability for abuse is lower
than in other states. This paper contributes to the understanding of the concept of “state of
emergency” in Romanian law, useful for both researchers, and policy makers This subject is of the
highest relevance in the context of the 2020 state of emergency in Romania, but also because of the
lack of a paper on this topic that puts Romania at the centre of the analysis.