BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romania's president says a government decree that could invalidate hundreds of corruption cases involving senior officials is "crassly unconstitutional."

President Klaus Iohannis on Tuesday blasted the measure put forward this week by the justice minister, saying the ruling Social Democrats "don't care about Romania; they care about their own politicians with legal problems."

Premier Viorica Dancila is considering the measure, which could lead to the suspension of trials and verdicts and retrials.

Critics say it would be a setback for democracy and weaken efforts to fight high-level graft.

The development came after the Constitutional Court ruled in November that one of five judges on the High Court for Cassation, the nation's highest appeals court, wasn't appointed properly in 2014, opening the way for it to review verdicts issued since 2014.