Previous 9 / 9 Next

CĂLIN GEORGESCU v. ROMANIA DECISION 36. It follows that this part of the application is manifestly ill-founded and must be rejected in accordance with Article 35 §§ 3 a) and 4 of the Convention. For these reasons, the Court, unanimously, Declares the application inadmissible. Done in English and notified in writing on 6 March 2025. Simeon Petrovski Deputy Registrar Jolien Schukking President 9

Select target paragraph3

● ● ●

Călin Georgescu v. Romania

Judgment

Question Presented: Did the Constitutional Court of Romania err in annulling the first round of elections or infringe upon Georgescu's right to a free election?

Alleged Acts: Georgescu is accused of supporting and benefitting from election interference on social media. This interference is in the form of improperly labelled artificial intelligence and bot postings on social media that failed to include the required acknowledgment of Georgescu's presidential candidacy. Georgescu alleges that the Romanian Constitutional Court violated his right to a free and transparent election.

Procedural history: The Romanian Constitutional Court found that the 2024 Presidential Election Annulment was valid due to election interference and improperly labelled bot activity on social media. Georgescu appealed to the European Court of Human Rights.

Summary: In 2024, Georgescu was a candidate for President of Romania who received sufficient votes to make it to the second round of voting. Before this second round of polling took place, the Supreme Council of National Defense (CSAT) issued a press release stating that there had been cyber attacks aimed at influencing the election. The CSAT report noted that one candidate, Georgescu, had benefitted from massive exposure and preferential treatment on the social media platform TikTok. Further investigation revealed that thousands of bot accounts had made comments and posts supporting Georgescu while failing to label him as a Presidential candidate as required under Romanian law. This online activity created momentum and rallied support for Georgescu. As a result, the Constitutional Court annulled the 2024 election results and barred Georgescu from running in that election. Georgescu appealed this Constitutional Court ruling to the European Court of Human Rights.

Conclusion: The European Court of Human Rights affirmed the ruling of the Romanian Constitutional Court and the annulment of the 2024 Presidential Election. The Constitutional Court of Romania and European Court of Human Rights affirm that the voters’ right to create an opinion included the right to obtain accurate information about candidates and to be protected from the unjustified impact on voting behavior caused by unlawful and disproportionate actions. Additionally, the European Court of Human Rights found that Georgescu’s claims of the Constitutional Court violating his rights as a candidate and citizen had insufficient evidence and no basis in the Romanian Constitution.

Legal Issue(s)

Electoral Integrity
Improper Practices
Social Media
Technology

Applicable Law(s): Romanian Constitution; Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms; Romanian Law no. 47/1992

Region: Europe and Eurasia

Country: Romania

Language of Decision

English

Court: Human Rights Court

Election Type: Presidential

Date of decision: Mar 6, 2025

Geolocation

Latitude: 48.59666666666667

Longitude: 7.77416666666667

: Geolocation

Link: European Court of Human Rights Ruling

Primary Documents

CĂLIN GEORGESCU v. ROMANIA.pdf
English
Download View

Election Judgments - IFES

Select target paragraph3

Călin Georgescu v. Romania

Primary Documents

Notifications