Some particular aspects of the legal status of local administration in the Romanian and French Constitution

• Author: Elena Sferlea
• Position: PhD. in Law, Paris XII University, Assistant Professor, Agora University of Oradea
• Pages: 50-54

AGORA International Journal of Juridical Sciences, www.juridicalj ournal.univagora.ro

ISSN 1843-570X, E-ISSN 2067-7677

No. 3(2014), pp. 50-54

50

SOME PARTICULAR ASPECTS OF THE LEGAL STATUS OF LOCAL

ADMINISTRATION IN THE ROMANIAN AND FRENCH CONSTITUTION

Elena Sferlea

Elena Sferlea

PhD. in Law, Paris XII University

Assistant Professor, Agora University of Oradea

ileanamarcu@gmail.com

Abstract :

Part of a wider comparative research focused on the evolution of local government in

Romania and France during the last twenty years and, in particular, on the progress made by

the two countries in their common way towards decentralization, this study takes into account

the relatively recent changes in the Constitution relating to local law and wants to emphasize

the sometimes different approaches of legislators as reflected in the specifics of constitutional

status in each country, especially the coordinating role assigned to the County Council, under

Romanian law, and to the Senate as a national forum of local communities, under French

law.

Key words : local government, Constitution, local authority, decentralization, County

Council, Senate, local status, territorial communities

Introduction

The main differences between the legal status of local administration in the two

countries relate to the specific coordination tasks assigned to the County Council and the use

of the languages of national minorities in public administration, in the Romanian Constitution,

and the significant presence of the overseas territories, in the French Constitution. The

European issue and that relating to the representation of local communities in the French

Senate can also be treated as particular elements in the Constitution. This comparative study

will provide a brief presentation of the special role given in the Constitution to the County

Council, under Romanian law, and to the Senate, under French law.

The coordinating role of the romanian county council

The two paragraphs of article 122 of the Romanian Constitution are devoted to the

County Council (the so-called "Jude"). The origin of the departmental (county) system in

Romania dates back to the 1923 Constitution and the Law on Administrative Unification of

1925. It was maintained until 1938, when the so-called "inuturi" were created, which were

larger territorial areas than the counties. This was the beginning of a period marked by a lack

of local autonomy that the creation of the Regions in 1950 would perpetuate until 1968

1

.

Currently, the Romanian County is the single intermediate authority between the local

authority and national government, unlike the administrative organization of France which

has three territorial levels. As for the local authority, the County provides a framework for

both decentralization and devolved administration

2

.

1 A. Iorgovan in M. Constantinescu, A. Iorgovan, I. Muraru, E.S. Tnsescu, Constituia României revizuit -

comentarii i explicaii - (The revised Constitution of Romania - comments and explanations -), All Beck,

Bucharest, 2004, pp. 258-259.

2 In French «administration déconcentrée».