President Klaus Iohannis notified the Constitutional Court of Romania (CCR) on Wednesday as to the unconstitutionality of the Law regulating the possibility that, in the event a mayor cannot exercise his term and the local council is dissolved and the unit secretary’s position is vacant, the county prefect might name another person by order and secondment, to exercise the tasks of the secretary of the concerned administrative-territorial unit with a view to resolving its current problems, until the National Civil Servants Agency organises a contest to fill in the position of secretary of the concerned administrative-territorial unit.
The reasons behind the notification target the violation of the provisions of the Romanian Constitution’s Article 115, para. (6) and Article 120-122, the President’s Office explained.
According to it, by the fact the decision to select the civil servants and the contract-based staff who are to be employed by the local public authorities (local councils and mayors and county councils and county council chairs respectively) should rest with them, not with the representative of the state’s central executive authority — i.e. the county prefect—, the instructions of the law deducted to the control of constitutionality break the provisions of the Constitution’s Article 120. Moreover, by the fact the tasks are carried out by appointment, rather than by contest, the Law on the approval of the Government’s Urgent Order no. 14/2015 deviates from the principles of the transparency of taking up a public position and the integrity of exercising it.
The unconstitutionality notification further says that according to the Constitution’s Article 121, para. (2), the local councils and mayors resolve the public affairs of the towns and rural communities in exercising local autonomy. More…