CCR to discuss on October 3 President Klaus Iohannis' notification about Law on Romania's territory administrative organisation

The Constitutional Court of Romania (CCR) is due to discuss on October 3 President Klaus Iohannis' notification on the amendments to the Law on the Administrative Organization of Romania's territory. 

President Klaus Iohannis sent to the CCR on Monday an unconstitutionality notification on the Law for amending and completing Law 2/1968 on the administrative organization of Romania's territory. 

"By the way it was adopted, as well as by the normative content, the law deduced from the constitutional control contradicts the constitutional provisions of article 1 paragraph (5) and of article 61 paragraph (2) in conjunction with those of article 75," says Iohannis in the notification, recalling that Parliament sent this law to him for promulgation on July 11. 

The President noted the existence of major differences in legal content and a significantly different configuration between the two forms adopted by the two Chambers of Parliament. 

President Iohannis draws attention to the provision that "any change in the territorial boundaries of counties, towns, communes and villages is forbidden, which has the purpose or effect of changing the share of citizens belonging to the national minority in the administrative-territorial unit concerned, as well as affecting the rights and freedoms which derive from the Constitution, the treaties and international conventions to which Romania is a part of." 

He points out that this article introduced in the decision-making Chamber, the Senate respectively, was not discussed by the Chamber of Deputies, nor can it be found in the form of the initiator. 

"Such a substantive change aimed at introducing a prohibition for the legislator to modify the territorial limits of the administrative-territorial units that determine the change of the share of the citizens belonging to the national minorities has no connection with the updating of the names of these territorial-administrative units, nor with the updating of the provisions of Law No. 2/1968 on the administrative organization of Romania's territory," says President Iohannis. 

Iohannis underscores that the rule regulating the prohibition to change the territorial boundaries of territorial-administrative units that have the purpose or effect of changing the share of citizens belonging to the national minority in that unit, as well as the violation of their rights and freedoms, exceeds the regulating object of the criticized law and contravenes the regulations of the legislative technic regarding the uniqueness of regulation in the matter. 

The President also criticizes the provisions amending the legal definition of the city and the municipality. 

"We consider that the terms used and the aspects taken into account in defining these administrative-territorial units are unclear," he said. 

Iohannis points out that the constitutional requirements on territorial organization, sovereignty and local autonomy do not allow the imposition of an interdiction concerning the expression of the citizens' the will in an administrative-territorial unit with regard to changing its territorial boundaries. 

Klaus Iohannis demands that the CCR admit the unconstitutionality notification and find that the Law for amending and completing Law no. 2/1968 on the administrative organization of the territory of Romania is unconstitutional in its entirety.