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GHEORGHE VLDUESCU (Romanian Academy), ALEXANDRU BOBOC (RomanianAcademy), FLORIN CONSTANTINIU (Romanian Academy), CRISTIAN PREDA (University

of Bucharest), LAURENTIU VLAD (University of Bucharest), VLADIMIR OSIAC (Universityof Craiova), CTLIN BORDEIANU (Petre Andrei University of Iai)

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Aurel PIURC, Andra BREZNICEANU, Quality assurance Major requirementof the Romanian higher education

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Irina Olivia POPESCU, Romanian Justice Reform under CVMs rule. Innovative

vision of the New Civil Code in matters of property rights13

Andreea Mihaela NI, Veronica ION, Employment policies in the context ofthe Labour Code amendments in 2011

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Mihai GHIULESCU, Politics without Institutions. A Brief Outline of Modern andContemporary Romanian Administrative History

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Ionu RDUIC, Negative Freedom and Its Evolution 36Ionu ERBAN, The Greek and Latin cultures reflected in modern Romanianculture

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Mihai Ovidiu CERCEL, Organizational Incentives in the Globalization Process 46Maria Ctlina GEORGESCU, Stereotypes, migrants and the media: ananalysis of the Romanian press on migration

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Cristinel TRANDAFIR, Communities vs. societies and their function in border

regions66

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Zuhdi JASSER,Americanism vs. Islamism: A Personal Perspective 82

David FORTE, Islams Trajectory 92

Anca Parmena OLIMID, The politics of self-identity in the Balkans. The role ofchurch-state relations in forming a new com-union101

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Mihai COSTESCU, The Young Test to evaluate the action of the systematic

causes upon the data in the survey. Applicative Program111

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Anca Ceauescu, Aezrile rurale din Cmpia Biletiului (cu elemente deetnografie) (Loredana Maria Grozoiu)

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Aurel PIURC,Andra BREZNICEANU

Quality assurance Major requirement of the

Romanian higher education

Aurel PIURC

University of Craiova, Faculty of Social Sciences,Political Sciences Specialization, Craiova, Romania.

Email: [email protected]

Andra BREZNICEANU

University of Craiova, Faculty of Law and Administrative SciencesNicolae Titulescu, Craiova, Romania


Abstract: In the study conducted, starting from the changes and

transformations that took place in social, economic, spiritual and

political Romanian society after 1990, we intend to approach theproblem of ensuring the education in Romanian higher education. To

demonstrate the need and desirability of this process, we analyzed thefactors which by their action required of the educational quality

assurance. Also, we had to acts which have set up quality assurance,

stages its accomplishments, the institutions called upon to put into

practice.

Keywords: national minorities, inter-ethnic relations, education system,

confessional education, Romanianization, Hungarianization.


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he quality of Romanianeducation, especially the highereducation management can not

be understood only in close touch

with the changes andtransformations that took place inpost-revolutionary Romania.

Following this event the entireRomanian society has undergone amajor interest and reforming,restructuring and social renewal. Hewas normal and necessary because itmade the transition from a closedsocial system, anti-democratic, the

other newly opened developmentsystem based on new principles andvalues, quite opposite the other. The need to depoliticize and non

ideology education. Educationpromoted by the communistsystem was strongly implanted incommunist politics and ideology,is used as an effective tool incounterpower spiritual and

political indoctrination andsubordination of society and itsmembers. In a democratic societythat was to be achieved, such ateaching does not take place,conflicts with its new principlesand values, the expected socialideal;

Transformations suffered by thesocial, political, cultural,

translation to a market economyrequire new specialists andspecializations, the old systemwas lacking in here;

Restoring the social and politicaldemocracy also requires theRomanian education reform,which would provide a minimumof socio-political knowledge thatwill allow citizens to know and

understand the new political

phenomena and to ensure theirconscious, active and responsibleparticipation to the new politics;

The emergence and expansion ofprivate education, especially itssuperior form as an alternative tothe public. This imposes anordering, selection, qualityassessment of minimumconditions which were observedin all situations;

Connecting the Romanianeducation system at European andinternational level, a process that

will be even more a necessity afterJanuary 2007, when Romaniajoined the European Union.All these factors claimed

Romanian education reform andrestructuring of all its views,especially of its quality assurancewith a high accent of the superiorone. This required the creation of aninstitution, authority to conduct

quality assessment process, which tobe independent from the ministry oranother institution and to have aEuropean recognition. Qualitativeassessment of higher educationneeds to be multidimensional, to beachieved in stages - draft permit andaccreditation function, to be based oncriteria, standards, minimumindicators for performance and

reference. In this context,accreditation of academic andinstitutional studies as the final stepwas to take an important place inquality assurance. This was thespring that prompted us to choosethis theme. To this has been addedthe experience as an expert appraiserand member of the Committee ofSocial and Political Sciences.

T


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Methodology

In compiling this article we usedas information sources from

Romanian and foreign literature. Tohighlight some papers, articles andstudies used: Antonescu L."University Management" Polirom,Bucharest 2000; Atanasiu.GM"international management andquality assurance of highereducation", Economic PublishingHouse, Bucharest 2005;Bratianu.C "Guide to Quality in

Higher Education," UniversityPublishing House, Bucharest 2004;Charle.C, Verger.I, "History ofUniversities" (translation), EuropeanInstitute, Iasi 2009; Dragulescu.N"Standards for evaluating the qualityof higher education in Romania" UPB,Bucharest, 2003; Mili Caesar,"Designing and implementing aquality assurance system of higher

education economy" (doctoraldissertation), Bucharest, 2005.

I was especially looking to thelaw 88/1993, which lays thefoundation of the quality assuranceprocess in the Romanianhigher educationinstitution and establish the NationalCouncil for Academic Evaluation andAccreditation (CNEAA). An important

place in the legislative informationsystem for the quality of Romanianeducation was the OUG 75/2005, andsubsequently adopted legislation.This ordinance establishes thecurrent institution for evaluation andaccreditation of quality assurance ofhigher education in Romanian,Romanian Agency for HigherEducation Quality Assurance

(ARACIS).

In our study we used thestatistical comparison method, boththe synchronic and diachronic. It wasmeant to highlight the evolution of

standards, criteria and indicators forassessing the old authority CNEAA tothe ARACIS today. Our experience asan expert appraiser and member ofthe permanently committee ARACISof Social and Political Sciences, was amajor support in this endeavor.

Debates

3.1 One of the issues debated inacademic circles live is the quality ofuniversity education. The quality ofeducational interest to allparticipants: students, parents,government, society, who are itsbeneficiaries, but also faculty andacademic staff, i.e. those who create,provide and ensure the quality ofeducation.

Introduced in the sixth decade ofthe 20th century in the U.S., theconcept of quality in education hasexpanded. The term "quality" refersto "performance that anorganization providing servants canachieve and the contribution arisingfrom all activities directly orindirectly related to the conceptionand development service" [1]. The

importance of quality educationprocess, made that, between 1994-1995, the European Commission toinitiate and fund a pilot projectinvolving 47 higher educationinstitutions in 17 Member States,with the objective ofexperimentation and thedevelopment Evaluation of a modelunit for higher education. Based

upon experience gained from the ap


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plication of that pilot project in1998, the European Council issued arecommendation to Member Statesto promote higher education in

national systems of comparablequality assurance systems tofacilitate sharing and recognition ofstudies among membercountries. Bologna Declaration, inturn, imposed a new framework forquality assurance in highereducation. Education Ministers ofthe European Higher Education Areahave been engaged in meetings in

Prague 2001, Berlin 2003, Bergen2005, to support implementation ofquality assurance at institutional,national and European level. Incountries like England, Germany,France, Denmark, Norway, Sweden,they have created quality assurancesystems of higher education. In thesesocieties, the application of qualityassurance at national and European

level is already a reality. Processwith European valences, ensuringthe quality concerned the Romanianauthorities and institutions as wellin the field, in principle, his ministryand university centers.

3.2 A first step in the Romanianhigher education quality assuranceand accreditation in higher educationinstitutions, and recognition of

diplomas, was the issuance of Law88/1993.

According to article 3 of theinstitutions of higher accreditationprocess includes two phases: a) theinterim operating authorizationgranted the right to organize andconduct the admission process ofeducation, b) the accreditationgranted the right to hold the license

exam, diploma or After the event,

graduation and the issuing ofdiplomas recognized by the Ministryof National Education [2].

For the first time in a legislative

act references were made aboutensuring the quality of education thatwould be done periodically and takeinto consideration the evaluation ofacademic specialization andinstitutional structures.

According to article 4 of the samelaw for the assessment andaccreditation of higher educationinstitutions to provide quality

educational process, is establishedNational Council for AcademicEvaluation and Accreditation, underparliamentary control. Councilassessment committee has territorialdomains, profiles, and / orspecialization. "[3]

At 18, "Chapter II" was defined,based on the situation and the realityof the Romanian higher education,

academic assessment criteria andstandards and accreditation. For theaccreditation of the institution, had tohave every faculty, colleges andspecializations, at least 50% of thetotal full-time faculty positions orpost basic reserved tenured in highereducation according to the law and ofthese 20% is teachers and universitylecturers, that is under current

standards. Under current standardsfor accreditation were still otherindicators such be using at least 25%to 30% of these standards, therevenue for its own infrastructure, or50% of the area of education, - 70% -to present be owned by theinstitution subject to accreditation.

Article 29 of Law 88/1993 - soclearly stipulate that "subsidiaries

faculty institutions, colleges and


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specializations are consideredseparate units. They are subject toseparate academic evaluation andaccreditation procedure stipulated in

this Law "[4], was interpretedaccording to the particular interestsof some private educationalinstitutions, meaning that if there is auniversity or a provisional licensedor accredited specialization levelCentral, you can open branches inother locations, without incurringlegal running them for approval oraccreditation assessment, which gave

birth to live dispute between theMinistry, and those concernedARACIS.

3.3 Perspective of Romania's EUaccession, integration of highereducation in the European educationspace, but also taking into accountthe need to ensure quality educationby establishing a legislativeframework and the fact that Romania

is among the few European countrieswhich lacked a mechanism governedof quality education, it issues anemergency decree number 75/2005,filled with other regulations. New lawbrings new elements, defines thenotion of providing education that is"an educational institution, an NGOor a company, which under state lawcarries out activities or programs

authorized by continuing training."[5] The same law subsequentlybecame law 87/2006, defined inArticle 3, quality of education that is"all the characteristics of a studyprogram and its provider, throughwhich expectations of beneficiaries'satisfaction, and quality standards [6].

Accreditation organizationsproviding education and programs of

study are part of quality assurance.

All same legislation and accreditationwas defined as "a means of qualityassurance which certifies compliancewith predetermined standards for

establishment and operation oforganizations providing educationand their curricula [7]. Becoming apermanent priority for anyinstitution, organization or schoolunit, the policies promoted by theMinistry of Education, had legislativeact establishing a nationalindependent institution with legalpersonality and its own budget of

income and expenses - RomanianAgency Insurance Quality in HigherEducation (ARACIS). The law set upstandards for quality assurancemethodology, criteria, standards andreference standards, performanceindicators, qualifications.

At 9, the criterion is defined as "afundamental aspect of theorganization and functioning of an

organization providing education,"the standard for "describingrequirements in terms of rules andoutcomes that define the minimumlevel required to achieve aneducation activities", the referencestandard defines the requirements toachieve optimal educational activity,performance indicator "is a tool formeasuring the degree of realization

of an activity of an organizationproviding education, by reference tostandards, standards that reference"and classification which is "the resultobtained by reading and learning thecompletion of a vocational oruniversity program of study" [8].

Providing quality education was toachieve both internally by eachorganization that was providing

education to establish committees for


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evaluation and accreditation as wellas externally that was to be done forhigher education ARACIS.

Notes:[1] Mili C (2005) "Designing and imple

menting a quality assurance systemof higher education economy"(doctoral dissertation), Bucharest,pp. 330

[2] Law number 88 of 17 December1993, Official Gazette of Romania,Part I, number 307 of December 27,1993

[3] Ibid.[4] Ibid.[5] Government Ordinance 75/2005

published in Official Gazette, Part I,

number 642/20.07/2005[6] Ibid.[7] Ibid.[8] Ibid.


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Irina Olivia POPESCU

Romanian Justice Reform under CVMs rule.

Innovative vision of the New Civil Code in

matters of property rights

Irina Olivia POPESCU

University of Craiova, Faculty of Law and Administrative SciencesNicolae Titulescu, Craiova, Romania.


Abstract: The New Romanian Civil Code, in force as of the 1st ofOctober 2011, has new provisions related to how a person can

obtain the property of goods, either immobile or mobile. The

acquisitive prescription is described in articles 930 940 of the NCC,

using old legal provisions of the Decree-law no. 115/1938. The mainpoint of interest in this new ruling is the accent on using the land

books for most of all legal operations concerning land in particular

and immobile goods in general. Seen as the most useful way for apossessor of goods to become proprietor of goods, the acquisitiveprescription poses a great interest also for generating property

rights also for mobile goods, since this situation had poor details in

the old civil code.

Keywords: New Civil Code, acquisitive prescription, land book,property right,goods.


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cquiring property right

and other real rights byusurpation

Acquisitive prescription, orusurpation, is defined in doctrine asthe original way of acquiringproperty or other real rights overimmovable property by possessionby a person under the conditions andin the time prescribed by law1.

As we shall see in the NCC system,we observe fundamental differencesin the scope of this mode of acquiring

the property right2.In the old Civil Code system,

usurpation was of two kinds:usurpation of 30 years, governed byart. 1890 Civil Code and usurpationof 10 up to 20 years, governed by art.1895 Civil Code3.

NCC governs the acquisition ofreal rights by usurpation in ChapterIII, entitled Effects of possession, in

Title VIII Possession, using a legalsystem fully consistent with that ofthe land books. According to art. 928NCC "under this chapter, the possessormay acquire ownership of the

possessed property or, where

appropriate, the fruit produced by it".

Also, art. 929 states that "No goodscan be subject to usurpation, which,

before or after taking possession, were

declared legally inalienable.These first two articles in the

chapter on the effects of possessionin the New Civil Code, albeit in arelatively concise manner, regulatethe usurpation institution as a meansof acquiring the property right over agood or over the fruit produced by hegood in question, as the effect ofpossession exercised on that track.

The New Civil Code defines in art.929 the types of goods that can beacquired by usurpation, using as

scope of this institution onlyinalienable goods category.

Thus, goods that cannot be subjectto usurpation are either inalienableproperty belonging to the publicsector or private goods declaredinalienable by law.

Using the extensive interpretationand also per a contrario of theseprovisions, it appears undeniable

that the property right over all othercategories of goods may be acquiredby usurpation, only stating that thegoods in question are subject to belegally possessed.

According to art. 916 par. (1) NCC,possession is the factual exercise theprerogatives of ownership by theperson who possesses a good andbehaves towards it as an owner4.

According to legal regulations, can besubject to possession only thecorporal individually determinedgoods, which are in the civil circuit.Consequently, the inapplicability ofusurpation extends both toinalienable goods and to the genericgoods and the universalities of suchgoods.

In the scope of usurpation cannot

be included the use of real rights suchas free use and the lease rightestablished under private propertyrights belonging to the state oradministrative-territorial units.

It should be noted that the birth ofthese rights is subject to a regime ofpublic law and as such makes itincompatible with the acquisition byusurpation5.

A


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In the NCC system, a notabledifference from the provisions of theold Civil Code is the introduction ofmobile goods usurpation, together

with the well-known, real estateusurpation.

Regulation for the first time on amovable property acquisition byusurpation is an alternative in casethe conditions for acquiring mobilegoods as a result of possession ingood faith are not fulfilled.

In the NCC is taking over the realstate usurpation classification used in

the Decree-Law no. 115/1938 on theapplication of acquisitive prescriptionin Transilvania and Bucovina. Aretaken over in this way the tabular andthe extra-tabular usurpation, the onlydifference between the two legalsystems being the time intervalrequired for acquisition, decreasedconsiderably in NCC.

Extra-tabular real estateusurpation

Usurpation regulated by the text ofart. 930 par. (1) NCC is called extra-tabular because it operates outside theentries of the land books. Thisstatement should not be understoodlike the registration of usurpation inthe land books is not required, but likethis is a way of acquiring property by a

person not registered as proprietor inthe land book.

According to the legislators will, theextra-tabular usurpation is applicableonly regarding the property right andits respectively dismemberments suchas usufruct, use, habitation andservitude. Extra-tabular usurpationdoes not serve the other real rights, aslisted in art. 551 NCC.

According to art. 930 par. (1) NCC"The property right over a immobilegood and its dismemberments may be

registered in the land book by effect of

usurpation, for the benefit of the onewho possessed it for 10 years if:

a) the proprietor registered in

the land book has died or, where

appropriate, has ceased to exist;

b) was registered in the landbook the declaration of

renunciation for the property ;

c) the immobile good was notregistered in any land registry.

Also in par. (2) of the same legaltext is stated that: "In all cases, theusurpator can only acquire theproperty right if he has made

application for registration in the land

book before a third party has

registered its request for registrationof rights in its favor based on a

legitimate cause, during or even after

expiry of the usurpation term."

From the very term that definesthis kind of usurpation, its scope isclear, namely the lack of registrationof ownership or other real rights inthe land books, for the reasons listedin par.1 of art. 930.

It is noted that the legislatorconsidered both the situation wherethe good desired to be usurpated wasnever registered in the land book and

practical cases in which entries in theland books no longer conform toreality (if the owner registered in theland book no longer exists and thereisnt a new entry to its successors oracquirers in private - art. 930paragraph 1 letter a) or if theproperty owner registers in the landregister an authentic declarationrenouncing his right to ownership of

that good (as provided by art. 930


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paragraph 1 letter. b, which is in facta way of ending the property rightcovered by art. 562 par. 2 NCC and asituation of loss of possession

regulated by art. 921 NCC).A situation that was not foreseen

in the old Civil Code, concerning thecase where a legal person is theowner of the property is nowconsidered in the provisions of art.930 paragraph 1 letter. a, where itrefers also to the termination of thelegal person, in addition to thepremise of individuals death as a

cause of registration of property rightby the effect of extra-tabularusurpation.

As regards the time withinproperty can be acquired by extra-tabular usurpation, legislatorsestablished a period of 10 years,reduced to half of the 20-year periodprovided for in Decree-Law no.115/1938 for the same kind of

usurpation.The time from when acquisitive

prescription begins to run varies bysituation-premise on which therequest for registration of property isfounded, starting either from the dateof death or closure of the owner ofthe property or from the date ofregistration in the land book of thedeclaration of renunciation of

property, or, in the absence of entriesin the land books, since the actualpossession of the usurpator beginson the immobile good.

This means that within these 10years, the exercised possession of theusurpator is meant to be useful,according to art. 922 NCC. Notaffecting its usefulness requirespossession free of vices -

discontinuity, secretly or by violence,

the existence of a period duringwhich possession was flawed leadingto suspending the usucapion termand, by default deducting it from the

10 years term.Acquisition of ownership or its

dismemberments by extra-tabularusurpation is achieved through themeans of an application by which theusurpator seeks registration in theland book of his property rights or adismemberment of ownership right,prior fulfilling one of the conditionsand provided by art. 930 par. 1 letter.

a-c. the usurpator must apply hisrequest before another application isbrought by a third party, makingirrelevant the situation that the thirdparty submitted his applicationduring the flow period of 10 years orafter its fulfillment.

However, it is necessary to notethat any application of the third partymust have a fair basis for acquiring

title to property that is subject toextra-tabular usurpation; if the thirdparty does not have such a legitimatetitle, registration in the land book ofthe usurpator is to be made withouttaking into account the request madeby a third party without meetinglegal requirements.

After the expiration of the legalterm for extra-tabular usurpation,

the usurpator does not automaticallyacquire immovable property inquestion, but this expirationproduces only the birth of a right ofoption for the usurpator, in thepurposes of formulating or not theapplication for registration in theland book of his usurpation.

The acquisition of property rightor of one of its dismemberments by

extra-tabular usurpation occurs by


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the effect of the registration in theland book.

The rights-constituent effect of theland book registration title is also a

way of acquiring ownership,according to art. 557 par. 4 NCC.

Tabular usurpation, taking overthe contents of Decree-Law no.115/1938, is based on entries in theland books, but they are restricted tothose registrations made without alegitimate cause, so without a valid title.

Tabular usurpation, governed bythe provisions of art. NCC 931,

operates in favor of the person who isregistered in the land book, notagainst the person who alreadyenjoys the presumption born from anexisting land book registration6.

According to art. 931 par. (1) NCC:"Rights of the one that was registered,without legitimate cause, in the land

book, as the owner of a property or

other real right holder, cannot be

disputed when the person registered ingood faith for the property possessed

the immobile good for 5 years after

the time of filing the application, if hispossession was uncorrupted." Alsothe legislator is showing that: "It isenough that good faith exists at the

time of filing the registrationapplication and at the time of entry

into possession"7.

Unlike extra-tabular usurpation,for the tabular one, the pre-existenceof registration of usurpators right inthe land book is a prerequisite, butnot with the title that was the basisfor registration being valid. Invalidityof the title may come either as acause of nullity of the legal act (voidof form or substance) or as a legal actwas concluded with a non-

proprietary (the acquirer believes

that the real owner shall forward hisownership of the property, but theseller is not the legitimate owner andtherefore the contract is null).

For either of these two cases ofinvalidity of the title, there is an explicitrequirement of the law for the thirdparty acquirer as to invoking tabularusurpation: good faith.

If the purchaser was aware at thetime of concluding the contract of itscauses of inefficiency, then he ispurchaser in bad faith and art. 931par. 1 is not satisfied.

However, the par. 2 of the articlemakes clear two points when goodfaith from the usurpator must exist:at the start of possession over theproperty (so at the start of flowperiod of) and at the time ofapplication for registration in theland book (after reaching tabularusurpation legal term).

There is clear, however, that

between the two moments is foundthe entire time flow of usurpation; asa consequence, it appears that if,during the term flow, the usurpatorknows its title is flawed, regardless ofreason, good faith ceases and thestipulation of its existence at the timethe request for registration in theland book was made is no longersatisfied.

The period prescribed by law forpossession of the property to beconverted into tabular usurpation is5 years, during which the usurpatorspossession must be uncorrupted, souseful.

As in extra-tabular usurpation,corrupted possession suspends theterm for acquisitive prescription; theaffected period of the time is not


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taken into account for the statutoryperiod of five years.

The special effect of usurpation isthe validation of the original invalid

title under which registration in theland book was made.

Also, this effect appears as apunishment for lack of interest ofpeople that could be prejudiced oraffected by the invalid act would haveinterest to use legal means to fightthe effects of such an unjust act.

The acquirer of the good would nothave interest to invoke the illegality of

the title, since its establishmentinvalidates his registration of the landbook and restores previous situationfor the parties, facts that make him loseboth the possession of immobile goodand the right to invoke tabularusurpation.

For both types of propertyusurpation, the provisions of the oldcode apply also in the NCC in terms of

possessions junction. In the currentregulation, possessions junction isfound in art. 933.

Thus, the legislator states that:"Every holder is deemed to start inhis person a new possession, whetherthe property has been transmitted asuniversal or particular"8.

Also, NCC takes over the CivilCodes conception that possessions

junction9 will operate only if there isa legal relationship between thepossessor and his author10.Possessions junction involves the

addition to the term of actual (own)possession of the time the good waspossessed by his author.

It is however noted that the

legislator does not specify in the NCCthe time until the usurpations effectsare retroactive11.

Notes:1 For more details on Constitutionaldispositions concerning fundamentalrights and liberties (as revised in 2003)see Anca Parmena Olimid, Politicaromneasc dup 1989, Aius PublishingHouse, Craiova, 2009, pp. 63-652 Ibidem3 For more details see C. Brsan, op. cit., p.316 and following; I. P. Filipescu, A. I.Filipescu, op. cit., p. 314 and following.4 For a detailed approach on possessionsee D. Gherasim, Teoria general aposesiei, Ed. A.R.S. Romnia, Bucureti,19865 R. Peptan, Uzucapiunean Noul Cod civil,in Dreptul Magazine no. 8/2010, p. 136 V. Stoica, Drept civil. Drepturile realeprincipale, vol. 2, Ed. Humanitas,Bucureti, 2006, p. 4657 Art. 931 alin. (2) NCC8 Art. 933 alin. (1) NCC9 Possesion consists of two elements, amaterial one corpus and an intentionalone animus, to see, D. Gherasim, op. cit.,p. 20 and following.10 According to art. 933 alin. (2) NCC:Although, to invoke usurpation, theactual possessor may unite hispossession with his authors one11 R. Peptan, op. cit., p. 39.


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Andreea-Mihaela NI, Veronica ION

Employment policies in the context of

the Labour Code amendments in 2011

Andreea Mihaela NI

University of Craiova, Faculty of Social SciencesSociology Specialization, Craiova, Romania.


Veronica ION

University of Craiova, Faculty of Social SciencesSociology Specialization, Craiova, Romania.


Abstract: The global economic crisis has affected Romania labor

market, changing social policies and regulations on labour and

employment. To encourage competition and to allow employers to

adapt more easily to the rapid changes of economy, in 2011, there havebeen recent changes to the Labour Code, the act which governs all

relationships to individual and collective employment in Romania.

These changes include rules on individual labour contract, working

hours and rest time, remuneration, health and safety at work,vocational training, social dialogue, collective bargaining agreements,

labor conflicts, labour inspection, labour jurisdiction and legal liability.

Keywords: employment policies, labour code, labour market, Lisbon

strategy, social policies.


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uropean Union employmentpolicy is an integral part of allthe complementary policies

which have evolved continuously

with the socio-economicdevelopment models. The Treaty ofRome (1957) had maybe the firstprovisions on the free movement ofworkers and equality concerning thepayment of wages rights. Regardingthe created instruments, theEuropean Social Fund is the first onewhich aims to provide support forthe achievement of social policy and

employment.Following the creation of the

single market, as a result of the SingleEuropean Act, in 1986 were made thesteps towards ensuring health atwork, relieving and preventinghazards that certain substances, usedat work, produce. The most difficultwas to achieve a balance betweeneconomic development as its

"engine" and the social andemployment policy.

The social dialogue promoted bythe Single European Act ensured acontinuous process of negotiationbetween the various member states,through organizations such as:

ETUC- European Trade UnionConfederation;

EUNICE - Union ofIndustrialists andentrepreneurs from Europe;

UEAPME-Association of Smalland Medium Enterprises;

CEEP-European Centre ofEnterprises with PublicParticipation.

These organizations have beentrying to defend, argue or claim therights of those they represented, but

also the general economic interest.

Year 2000 represented a majormoment in the evolution of socialpolicy through the development ofthe Lisbon Strategy, which is based on

the ten-year objective of theEuropean Union, namely "to becomethe most competitive and dynamiceconomy in the world based onknowledge, capable of a sustainableeconomic growth, with more andbetter jobs and a greater socialcohesion".

Later, the European Council hasdecided that it has to create the

necessary conditions for employmentof labour force and established a highlevel of employment rate of 70%, anda female employment rate of 60%,targets which had to be touched by2010. The Lisbon strategy wascreated to help the European Unionto regain the total occupancycondition of employment and toenforce the social cohesion by 2010.

The objectives of the Lisbonstrategy in terms of the labouremployment policy were:

qualitative and quantitativegrowth of employment;

anticipation and thecapitalization of labor marketchanges by creating a newbalance between flexibilityand security;

the fight against poverty andall forms of social exclusionand discrimination;

modernization of socialsecurity services;

the promotion of equalitybetween genders;

increasing the importance ofsocial aspects of enlargementand the European Union'sexternal relations.

E


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The provisions impact of theLisbon strategy on employmentpolicy in Romania was favorable onone hand and less favorable on the

other. The main conclusions thatwere split off from the researchreview of the labour market in thecontext of European enlargementwere:

enhancing the substantial export ofcapital (investment) from WestEuropean countries to those inCentral and Eastern Europe,because production costs are lower,

the workforce is cheaper, therebystrengthening the competitivenessof the European market;

emphasizing the considerable taskof the training process to increasethe skill of working for employees;

the adaptation of the labour marketpolicies to specific culturalparticularities;

implementing the structural funds,in particular the European SocialFund, which has led to aconsiderable development of thelabour market;

the contribution to the economicdevelopment gap between memberstates, to enhance thecompetitiveness of products, toincrease competition on theEuropean market, which ought to

overall lead to increase thecompetitiveness of the EuropeansUnion economy.

Unfortunately, the globaleconomic crisis has affected Romaniaand customized changes in socialpolicies and regulations on labor andemployment. The development ofmember states evolution fromEuropean Union has passed severalstages of maturity for its concepts

and models up to create the modelcalled the european social model.

The main areas of activity ofnational social policy are the labour

market (unemployment) and wagepolicy, pensions and other socialinsurance rights, social assistanceand family policies, labour relations,safety and health at work.

Employment issue is approachedby two types of social policies,throughpassive policies consisting inthe provision of financialmanagement of the individual in case

of unemployment and through activepolicies which usually rely oninitiatives and actions of individual,group or community, and which areusually supported by a publicauthority at local and/or nationallevel with the declared goal ofemployment growth to the level ofadministrative territorial unit.

Active programs include four

general categories: the mobilizationof labour supply consists of:programs that improve the chancesof employing the persons who posedifficult problems of placement andwhich, in the absence of suchmeasures would probably remaininactive, granting subsidies tosupport the employment of thecurrent workforce in the private

sector and to assist persons wholaunch into business on their own,development of work skills, which aremainly the responsibility ofemployers and of the national systemof education and training of theworkforce. This fact approvestraining programs for adults,regardless of their occupationalstatus, period of apprenticeship and

other related forms of general


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vocational training for young people,promoting the spirit of active search aims to support the processes bywhich those who are looking for a job

are put in touch with potentialemployers, direct jobs creation,involving either temporarily work orin some cases permanent work in thepublic sector or under organizationunits. Employment policies are adistinct domain within theframework of social policies, theirobjective being to maintain andincrease employment, through direct

or indirect actions, designed toensure jobs for young people who areentering the labour market, for theunemployed or others who want toengage as employed persons. Thishappen because of anotherphenomenon unemployment- with

which the European Union memberstates face during the crisis, affectingtens of thousands of people. Thus, atthe end of 2009, the unemployment

rate in the European Union was 8.9%,representing an increase of 1.9 percent compared with theunemployment rate in 2008.

Unemployment is also rising inRomania, peaking in April 2010, at arate of 8.07%, similar to thatspecified in the European Union.According to the Employment reportin Europe 2010, the total active

population of Romania, respectively9488 of thousands of people, 967 ofthousands were BIM unemployed, amatter which is affecting the labourmarket, and at the same time theeconomy of the country.

Population labor force participation in Romania since 1997 to 20101997 1999 2001 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

TotalPopulation

22328 22346 22326 21686 21638 21609 21575 21551 21517 21484 21462

PopulationAges 15-64

15158 15189 15277 14933 14964 15021 15035 15046 15042 15028 18210

ActivePopulation

11756 11566 11151 9915 9957 9851 9562 9479 9944 10226 9965

TotalEmployed

Population

.... .... .... 9569 9410 9267 9331 9365 9369 9175 9240

TotalEmployed

Population

Ages 15-64

9912 9598 9529 8602 8635 8651 8838 8843 8842 8805 9428

BIMs

Unemployed

706 790 750 692 800 704 728 641 576 681 725

Source: European Commission, Report: Employment in Europe 2010, p. 188

Unemployment is a complex socialphenomenon with multiple psycho-social effects which currently has avery large scale. Increasing thenumber of unemployed people in the

world has focused attention on the

problems of the European Union. Inthis respect, the European Councilhas regularly addressed the issue ofemployment, defining a Europeanstrategy for employment.


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On 26 March 2010 in Brussels, theEuropean Council discussed the newstrategy for employment andeconomic growth of the European

Union - "Europe 2020: a new strategyfor jobs and growth". The Councilagreed on key elements, includingkey objectives that will guide theimplementation and the methods ofmonitoring and improving strategy. Itwas agreed that the main objective,namely to arrive at the rate ofemployment of the workforce of 75%for women and men between the

ages of 20 and 64 years, includingincreased participation of youngpeople, older workers and the lessskilled and better integration forlegal migrants.

Employment policy work coversvast domains, but closely linked tothe related ones. These areas mayinclude: the labour law and workingconditions, equal opportunities

between men and women, socialprotection, labour protection,elimination of social exclusion andstruggle against discrimination, thecreation of a functional system ofsocial dialogue both at enterprise,industry, national and communitylevels, to ensure the consultation ofsocial partners in making the mostimportant social and economic

decisions. The compatibility mode ofRomanian law with the Communityacquis legislation is determined asthe ratio between the amount ofRomanian laws transposing theacquis.

To adapt Romanian legislation inthe field of work to Communitylegislation and the major changesfollowing the macro-economic crisis,

in 2011, the Labour Code has

changed for the fifth time in the last60 years the act which governs allrelationships to individual andcollective employment in Romania.

The first Labour Code adopted on8 June 1950 found employment forall employees, including civilservants, without distinctionbetween to those specific categoriesof public officials and other servantsof the Romanian public sector, whichexcluded in any form, the possibilityof employees and enterprises tonegotiate individually or collectively

the working conditions.On 1 March 1973 was adopted, in

accordance with the basic rules ofinternational law of labour, a newLabour Code which was in spite ofthe stresses of propaganda the mostadvanced legislation in the matter ofemployment relationships fromamong the former socialist countries.The code could not reflect something

other than the spirit of the workconcept and society in theconsolidation of socialism: theregulation of matters relating toemployment relationships; the role ofextremely low trade unions andcollective agreements, to settle theright to strike.

Since 1989, Romania hascome a complex and difficult process

of transition to the economy marketso that the labour code has becomeinapplicable, except the IndividualLabour Contract without whichemployment relationships could notexist.

The Labour Code adopted by lawNo. 53/2003 opens a new stage in theevolution of labour law in Romania.To the labour code of 1973, the new

code brings modern rules, adapted to


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the labour market in Europe, whichprotects employees and give themgreater security of employment, forwhich it attracted criticism but also

the reputation of " essentially tradeunion code " ( 2003 version of presshas identified a number of rights, 246304 in the favour of employees andonly 58 in favour of employers).

Changing the Labour Code inSeptember 2006 reflected thecriticism received by Romania onbehalf of the European Commissionwithin the meaning of the 53/2003

Law which does not fully complywith the Community regulations, inparticular in the areas of the workingtime organization and the proceduresfor such redundancies.

To encourage competition and toallow employers to adapt more easilyto the rapid changes of economy, in2011, there have been recent changesto the Labour Code, the act which

deals with all employmentrelationships, shows how to controlthe application of the rules oncommunity employmentrelationships, as well as labourjurisdiction. These changes includerules on individual labour Contract,working hours and rest time,remuneration, health and safety atwork, vocational training, social

dialogue, collective bargainingagreements, labor conflicts, labourinspection, labour jurisdiction andlegal liability.

The Labor Code proposed byGovernment for adoption throw theprocedure of its responsibility toParliament, contains amendments tothe labour code (Act No. 53/2003).The new code (Law No. 40/2011)

entered into force within a period of

30 days from the date of itspublication in the Official Gazette ofRomania, Part I, respectively on30.04.2011.

The main amendments concern: informing employees on the inclusionin the job description of the job duties;

completing the rights of employers toestablish individual performanceobjectives and the criteria for assessingtheir implementation;

unilateral renunciation of the non-compete clause stipulated in the contract,the payment allowance-compete endingin the following month the employee's

written notice concerning thedenunciation (art. 21, parag.5);

specification of the individual labourcontract in the amount of additionalbenefits in money or in all kind ofbenefits are additional ways;

establishes the obligation foremployers of individuals to conclude inwriting, to the employment contractprior to the commencement of executionof the contract;

increased the duration of theprobationary period to a maximum of 90calendar days for run-time functions andmore than 120 calendar days formanagerial functions;

prohibition on the aggregation of morethan two functions at the same employer;

suspension of the employer'sinitiative as CIM sanction, there will bedisciplinary action;

in the case of the temporary reduction ofactivity for economic, technological,

structural or similar reasons for periodsexceeding 30 days, the employer will havethe possibility of reducing working timefrom 5 days to 4 days a week, with thecorresponding reduction of wages, toremedy the situation. In case of objectivereasons the activity should be reduced orpaused for a maximum 15 days per yearwith the obligation to resume; the employer

may be granted unpaid leave, afterinforming the Union;


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the repeal of article 72, which madereferences to new hires after the collectivedismissal within the meaning of that afterthe dismissal may be made at any time on

the same recruiting posts, without havingto wait nine months or sendingnotifications about new jobs for formeremployees made redundant;

the obligation of the employer whenthe employee's resignation. Theemployer's refusal to register theresignation entitles the employee toprove it by any means of proof;

increasing the period of notice in theevent of resignation, which may not be less

than 20 working days for employees basedon performance, not less than 45 workingdays for those who occupy positions ofleadership; a 12 months increase withinthe duration of the individual labourcontract, till 36 months; (compared to 24months in present);

impossibility of halting the CIM for aperiod to be agreed by means of anaddendum by workers who havebenefited from a trainee training at the

expense of the employer. compensation for the additional hourslabour paid within 60 days after it; during thetimes of reduced activity, the employer hasthe possibility of granting days off which willbe paid into an account; he must be able tocover in advance, any overtime to beperformed during the year;

programming the leave of rest will bedone so that each employee performs in acalendar year at least 10 working days of

uninterrupted holiday; recovery of salary for damage causedexclusively by the employee;

increasing the amount of fines imposedby the labour inspectors on work ornon-resignation.

The direct effects that occurredafter the amendment of the labourcode are major and they are affectingthe whole system:1. The employer may employ anyperson for the same post, for a trial period,

he may give up at any time to anyemployee during this period without beingcontrolled and this trial period isntconsidered a job tenure;

2.

Individual performance objectivesand criteria for evaluation belongexclusively to employers, and employeescan be fired at any time in case ofprofessional discordance;3. In the case of redundancies therewill be fired the first ones who have notaccomplished individual performanceobjectives. The evaluation criteria forthese performances are unilaterally setby the employer only. In fact, the

employer may dismiss who he will wantand the employees cant be defended.After dismissal, even the next day, theemployer may hire other people on theemployment of those dismissed, withoutbeing obliged or sanctioned in any way;4. Employees could be delegatesagainst their will, without employersobligation to introduce of a clause in thecontract for Individual mobility of Work,which would oblige him to extra pay for

his employee;5. The employee will not be able tocontinue his activity, so he will not be paid,from the moment in which the requiredauthorization, certificate or notice are nolonger valid. Such authorizations, opinions orstatements may not be extended;6. The employer can always decreasethe activity of the employee and hiswages on the grounds that he hastemporarily reduced his activity, without

being mandatory (as in the old code) theconsent of the employee. Moreover, hecan send the employee on unpaid leave.In this way there is no minimum safelabour and income so that the employeesmay not even take loans from banks;7. The employment contract duringunlimited period will disappear; mostemployees will be employed by contractfor a determined period. In this way itcan completely disappear the safety and

protection of the workplace, employeeswont be able to receive severance pay,


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they will no longer be able to make loans,but in this way they can be stimulated tobe competitive;8. Temporary employment agencieswill provide increasingly more activitiesfor employers, in preference to theiremployees. Discarding the strictsituations where an employer is allowedto use the temporary employmentbusiness, the employer may replace thework of any permanent employee withan temporarily employee to whom he hasno responsibility or obligation. In thisway there is a risk that the majority ofemployees to become temporary, that

they may be fired at any time;9. The employer is able to amend atany time the rule for work that is likely tounilaterally alter the salary. Employeeswill thus become addicted to theemployers decisions;

10. Collective bargaining agreements willbe available and the employers wishesknown as the "representatives of theemployees" in most cases are appointed bythe employer and not elected by the people.

In this way the rights of employees will belaid down directly by the employer withoutthe possibility of negotiating a fair contract.By entering the undertaking, theemployer may retain, at any time andany damage he has and may be assignedto the employee.

Immediate indirect effects werefelt in the Labour Inspection statisticssubordinated to the Ministry ofLabour and Social Solidarity, which,in May this year, covered design forover 75 000 new contracts in the firstfour days of the new code entry force.

Even if in short-terms employeesface adverse changes in the long run,they will be aware of the importantbenefits highlighted in the advantage

of records relating to individualcontracts of Employment andemphasizing competitiveness in theprofessional level.

References:1. Dobrot N. Aceleanu, M.I. 2007,Employment resources for work in Romania,Economic Publisher;2. Giarini O. Liedtke, P. M. 2001, Theemployment dilemma and the future of

labour, Merona Publisher, Bucharest;3. Narayan Deepa, Michael F. Cassidy, ADimensional Approach to Measuring Social

Capital: Development and Validation of the

Social Capital Inventory, Current Sociology,2001;4. Otovescu E. M. (coord.) Treaty ongeneral sociology, Craiova, Beladi Publisher,2010;5. Preda Marian, Romanian social policybetween poverty and globalization, PoliromPublisher, Iai, 2002;6. Zamfir Ctlin, Stoica Laura, A newchallenge: Social Development, PoliromPublisher , Iasi, 2006;

7. The Ministry of Education and Research,2007, Report: National system of education,Bucharest;8. The Romanian Institute for Evaluationand Strategy (IRES), Report: CorruptionBarometer in Romania, 2010;9. European Commission, Report:Employment in Europe 2010.10.Ministry of Labour, Family and EqualOpportunities, Report: The Europeanregulations in the field of employment and

vocational training, July 2007, Bucharest;11.INS Yearbook of Romania, 2008, 2009;12.*** Law No. 76/2002 on theunemployment insurance system and

boosting employment.


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PPPOOOLLL III TTT III CCCAAA LLL HHH III SSS TTTOOORRRYYY :::

TTT HHH OOO UUU GGG HHH TTT AAA NNN DDD PPP RRR AAA CCC TTT III CCC EEE

Mihai GHIULESCU

Politics without Institutions. A Brief Outline of

Modern and Contemporary Romanian

Administrative History

Mihai GHIULESCU

University of Craiova, Faculty of Social SciencesPolitical Sciences Specialization, Craiova, Romania.


Abstract: This article is a general overview of the Romanianadministrative system during the last two centuries, arguing that formal

institutions never fully played the role they ought to play and that the

historical experience is one of the main explanations for the way in which

we perceive them today.

Keywords: government, public administration, institutions,decentralization, informal arrangements.


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wenty years ago, when Romania

entered on a new path, Romanianhistoriography focused on two

main directions: the

condemnation of the communist regimeand the resurfacing of the pre-

communist one. It was obviously a

desire to discover or to invent?, we

might ask a local democratic traditionin relation to which the totalitarian

experience would have been nothing

more than an imposed and unfortunateparenthesis. Although the new

historical discourse seemed completely

different from the old one, we mustnotice that the thought remainedbasically the same simple and

dichotomous just with a switch of

terms: the old Dark Age became thenew Golden Age and vice versa. It is

not my intention to discuss here this

issue. All I want to emphasize is thatthe presentation of the two ages

matches with their names: it is like the

telling of a fairy tale, with a lot ofdetails on facts and figures but with noor very few explanations about why and

how things were possible. This lack

does not seem to make difficult theunderstanding. Just as adults do not ask

questions about gods, emperors, fairies,

elves etc., ordinary Romanian readersare not curious to know more about the

legal and political status of the

characters that populate their history

books. Is it their fault? I believe not,since neither the historians consider

necessary to provide details. Is it their

fault? Maybe yes, maybe not! The factis that, in Romania, state institutions

never fully played the role they ought to

play. For this reason, ignoring them is

not an impediment to understanding theevents, or at least not to an extent that

makes obvious the need to study them. I

came to this idea while watching some

Romanian historical drama films in

which the characters were influentialpoliticians from Modern and

Contemporary Ages. I understood

everything without being necessary topay attention to their

constitutional/legal rights and duties,

but only to accept the convention that

they were powerful people. Forcomparison, I will mention an

American movie: All The Presidents

Men. In this case, I was not able tounderstand what happened in the

Watergate Scandal without looking for

supplementary information on theAmerican government system. Comingback to Romania, I want to say that I

studied the evolution of the central and

local administration since the creationof the modern state (1859) until

nowadays, focusing, due to my

academic obligations, on the first 50years. The research confirmed the

hypothesis that formal institutions have

always been less important than theinformal arrangements, but it alsorevealed a paradoxical situation,

because the same institutions have

made the object of permanent debatesand frequent reforms. Theory and

practice have always been in conflict.

Many people would hasten to say thatwe face once more the classical

Romanian pattern. No comment! We

might identify a vicious circle: the

institutions never functioned properlybecause they lacked stability and their

malfunctioning created the impression

that other new changes were necessary.But this theory would suppose that

politicians had a real intention to make

things work and they simply failed to

achieve it. I am not sure about that. Iwill try to point out below some

relevant aspects and to express some


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opinions about how the past affects the

present.

The Old Kingdom: A Young

State Looking for ItselfAt the mid-nineteenth century, the

government of the two Romanian

Principalities had just made the first

timid steps towards institutionalization.Paradoxically, the modernizing

movement was initially imposed by one

of the most archaic states of Europe,Russia. The authority remained highly

personalized given that the institutions

were not (yet?) rigorously designed andthat their functioning was at thebeginning. I dare to consider that it was

not a particular case in the context of

the time. But it was something specialhere. In order to illustrate the local

particular situation I will quote the

statement of a foreign observer, thebaron Talleyrand-Prigord, a key

member of the European commission

charged with the drafting of a plan toreorganize the administration of theUnited Principalities in 1858: After

1834, we saw how institutions, good in

themselves, have degenerated in thehands of local princes who, determined

to keep tolerating and even organizing

corruption, had to enter into battle withthe institutions they were required to

develop. As long as this conflict, which

is a necessity of their situation, will be

perpetuated, as long as the corruptionfrom the top will be inevitably reflected

to the bottom, I can not believe in the

effectiveness of any administrative andjudicial reforms. The government,

weakened as political authority, has

done everything possible to seize

powers that the fundamental law (i.e.,The Organic Regulations) protected

from it. Where it could not govern, it

acted with the help of a corrupt staff

that was assigned to all branches of the

public service. Thus, the villages andthe village courts, which appear in the

law, do not actually exist1. I am sure

that many people recognize todayssituation in this description. I agree

with them. But I do not agree with

those who merely note the fact with that

kind of traditional Romanian fatalismor, even more, with masochistic

pleasure. No! The essential is to find

out why and how have we succeed toface the same problems as 150 years

ago? Did we never move or did we

move in a circle?Romania made its great leap to a

modern political and administrative

system at the end of the 1850s and in

the 1860s. The main legal instrumentswere: the Paris Convention of 1858, the

so-called Additional Statute (1864) and

especially the Constitution of 1866. It isalso important to mention some

particular statutes, notably those

organizing the counties, the towns andthe villages (1864).Lets begin with the central

administration! Its main feature was the

incomplete and imprecise regulation.The liberal Constitution of 1866, which

represented the institutional basis2 of

the Romanian state for more than half acentury, was limited, in several issues

to the proclamation of modern

principles, leaving the task of proper

regulation to subsequent laws, whichoften occurred very late or even never.

All that we know for sure is that the

Executive power was entrusted to theMonarch (initially prince and, since

1881, king), who became by that the

supreme administrative authority. He

had the right to appoint alladministrative agents without creating

new functions , to adopt and to

execute administrative regulations in


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order to enforce legislation. But, due to

the irresponsibility/inviolability of theMonarch, all his acts needed to be

counter-signed by a minister. The

Constitution did not say too much aboutthe ministers; the most important

provision was that they were appointed

and dismissed by the Monarch without

any political responsibility in front ofthe Parliament. In practice, they were

considered agents of general

administration and each of themheaded a ministerial department

(Internal/Foreign Affairs, War, Justice,

Finances, Public Instruction, PublicWorks etc.), although the Constitutiondid not even mention such a thing.

Another questionable issue refers to all

ministers as a collegial body. Althoughwords like government, cabinet or

council of ministries were frequently

used at that time and subsequently inhistoriography, it is important to notice

that this institution, however we call it,

did not have a solid constitutional andlegal basis. From a radical perspective,it might be even said that it did not

officially exist, because it was regulated

neither by the Constitution nor by anyspecial statute. Its structure and its

functioning were outlined to some

extent by disparate provisions fromvarious statutes and especially by

customs inspired from the Western

models. The office of Prime-Minister

or President of the Council had beenactually created since 1859 but no

written norm regulated it until 1881

when a statute provided that thepresident had the right to be minister

without portfolio. This almost never

happened because, due to the fragility

of their legal status, prime-ministerspreferred to increase their authority by

running directly at least one

department. Their status within the

cabinet was primus inter pares, its

superiority was strictly political andtheir authority derived not from the

office but from the capacity to make

themselves listened and from thepersonal confidence of the Monarch.

Once again, I dare to say that up to this

point Romania was not strongly

different from its Western models,because in France and in Belgium at

that time it also frequently happened

that practice kept the place of theconstitution3. The originality comes

from now on: Romanians did not

succeed during the first 50 years tosolve any of the central administrationsproblems. First, they did not create or

they created with great delay the

legislation needed to fill constitutionalgaps, even if this obligation was

provided by the Constitution itself. I

will give just two examples. Althoughthe Constitution provided that

ministerial responsibility will be

regulated by a special statute presentedin the first parliamentary session, thisone was adopted 13 years later, in 1879,

and it was never really enforced.

Second, although politicians and legaltheorists agreed that, in the spirit of the

Constitution, the structure of each

department ought to be regulated by aspecial statute, in practice the statutes

were delayed for years and sometimes

for decades. The extreme case is the

one of the Ministry of Justice, whichnever had a statute: its structure and its

functioning were established by a

simple administrative regulation. Thissituation was definitely

unconstitutional. Given the facts that

there was no ministerial organizational

framework law, that statutes of thevarious ministries when there were

not harmonized and that many times,

there were discrepancies even between


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the provisions of the same statute, it

was considered that there was a cleardisregard of the legislature to organize

ministerial services4. In addition,

Romanians failed to develop strongcustoms in order to stabilize their

administrative system. Practice cannot

keep the place of the constitution as

long at it has no regularities and isdominated by particular and arbitrary

arrangements. The most relevant

example concerns the politicalresponsibility of the government. The

idea that a vote of no confidence should

lead to the fall of the government wasunanimously accepted. But this waspure rhetoric because in practice the

Parliament was frequently dissolved

and the government organized and wonnew elections. The famous words of the

conservative politician P.P. Carp are

suggestive for the way in which theRomanian political system functioned

at that time: Give me the government

and I will make the parliament.Although problems were neversolved, they were permanently

discussed. It is impossible to resume

here the debates that have spanned overhalf century. I will just say that during

52 years, Romania had no less than 42

cabinets and that each change wasaccompanied by a giant verbal war.

Generally it can be concluded that

institutions existed only in rhetoric. In

practice the state functioned on thebasis of various agreements between

politicians and the monarch, with little

respect for the formal law. It becamelegendary the discontent of the German

prince/king about local leaders

behavior and their incapacity to assume

long time solid projects: after only 5years on the Romanian throne he

wanted to abdicate, he gave up the idea

but he returned to it more than 40 years

later.Things went different in the field of

the local administration. The statutes of

1864 vested counties and municipalitieswith legal personality and with modern

institutions, following the French and

the Belgian model. The problems

started from the difficulty to enforce thelaw in the Romanian social and

economical context. The consequence

was a great legislative instability: thestatute concerning counties was

modified 8 times and the one

concerning municipalities, 6 times,without counting the statutes thataffected this matter indirectly. Beyond

the frequent changes, it is readily

observable the difference betweenpoliticians declared principles and

intentions (especially during the periods

when they were in opposition) and theireffective measures. It might be said

that, despite the quasi-permanent

proclamation of the necessity ofdecentralization, the administrativeorganization of the Romanian state was

characterized from the very beginning

by a pronounced centralism, which wascontinuously accentuated. Local

institutions were always controlled by

central authorities in two ways: first,the legal one consisted mainly in the

right of administrative trusteeship

(approval or rejection of documents,

generally before their entry into force)on the decisions of the local

deliberative bodies (county or

municipal councils), but also in theright to nominate persons for the

executive functions (prefects and

mayors); in the second case, the most

frequent, it was all about ignoringcouncils and taking from the center the

decisions of local interest. They were

enforced by governments agents,


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which often acted arbitrarily. Regarding

the quality of the administrative staff,we must note that many of the mayors

were illiterate and many prefects

merely knew how to read5

.In conclusion, decentralization was a

beautiful word, but nothing more. A

central largely unregulated

administration and an over-regulatedbut systematically undermined local

administration: this was the main

feature of the first fifty years of theRomanian State.

Great Romania: A Bigger Statewith Bigger Problems

After World War I, Romania saw

significant changes not only in terms of

territory and population, but also inpolitical and administrative matters.

The central administration faced with

various new issues. The Constitution of1923 filled the gaps left by the

Constitution of 1866. It was explicitly

said that the the government exercisesthe executive power in the name of theking and that assembled ministers

formed the Council of Ministers,

chaired, with the title of President of theCouncil of Ministers, by the one

charged by the King to form the

government. Regarding the ministerialdepartments, during 1918-1929 their

organization was still made chaotically,

depending on the experience, on the

needs of the moment and on thepersonal or party interests. The lack of a

framework law might be considered an

advantage because it facilitated theiradaptation to the new conditions6. The

law was finally adopted in 1929 and it

formally created an unitary form of the

government structures. In retrospect, allthese legal achievements may seem

important steps forward and they

probably would have been so if the old

habit of ignoring formal institutions

would have not been perpetuated. Thegeneral impression is that most

important decisions were taken not in

the government but elsewhere, in aninformal group of interests, which used

state institutions just as a simple

interface. During the 30s, this situation

became more obvious because of theimportant role played by Charles II and

its camarilla. Another problem,

strictly related with the first one, wasthe great government instability: since

December 1918 until December 1937,

Romania had no less than 24 cabinetswith 11 prime-ministers. At a glance,we might ask when did have the central

administration the time to function.

The organization of the localadministration faced more significant

challenges given the fact that it was

necessary two integrate new provinceswith different experience and traditions

(Austrian, Hungarian and Russian).

Some of them (i.e., Transylvania, Banatand Bucovina) had a moredecentralized regime. But the

unification statute of 1925 extended

over the entire territory the model of theOld Kingdom, with all its structural and

functional disadvantages. This measure

generated, obviously, a lot ofcomplaints in the new areas. Another

statute was adopted in 1929. The

manner in which a historian of the

administration characterized this statutesynthesizes all about the evolution of

the local administration: it achieved

decentralization in the higher degreeknown in modern Romanian history

but, despite this, we can not say that it

represents a model of administrative

decentralization because the newsystem was very complicated, the tasks

set to the local authorities were too hard

to achieve and the trusteeship was still


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overwhelming. All that produced more

confusion instead of encouraging localautonomy

7. The act was amended 11

times until 1936 when it was replaced

completely. During the two interwardecades, beyond the legal problems, the

functioning of the local administration

was permanently disrupted by political

interferences and by private interests,which often prevailed over the public

ones.

The state of the central and localadministration generated a deep sense

of dissatisfaction, which was one of the

main causes of the strong current ofopinion hostile to the democraticregime. This was abandoned in 1938

when Charles II imposed its

authoritarian rule, continued after 1940by general Antonescus command and

after 1945 by the

The Communist Regime:

Administration as a Ghost

It seems odd to talk of institutionsduring the communism. Almost nohistorian does that although it is to

realize that the regime was strongly

institutionalized. Excepting repressiveor propaganda institutions, rightly

considered essential for the regime, but

also having exotic names that givecolor to the discourse, all the others are

merely mentioned, with no explanation

et no concern for their formal and real

role within the system. As aparenthesis, we all believe that we

know who people like Gheorghiu-Dej

or Ceausescu were, but if we are askedabout their official functions, I think

that nobody is able to give a correct and

complete answer and few know how to

find it quickly.In communist Romania the

government continues to exist officially

as the supreme administrative authority

but, in fact, its connection with

RWP/RCP was very close, fact that inan one-party system meant the

enforcement of the decisions taken at

the top of the countrys sole hierarchy:The Communist Party8. That is what

the handbook tells nowadays to the

high-school pupils. We may observe

two main characteristics of thegovernment during the entire

communist period: the great and

permanently growing number ofministers and their frequent changes,

called staff rotation at that time. The

authority of the government membersstemmed not from the position in thestate but from their membership in the

partys leading structures and/or in the

informal group around the supremeleader. Although in law Romania was a

democratic republic it functioned as a

absolute monarchy with a leadingfamily it is frequently used the term

dynastic communism and a

nomenklatura similar to an aristocracy.The word activist was used as real areal title of nobility.

The local administration and the

organization of the territory sufferedseveral changes passing from the

traditional Romanian one to the soviet

model and choosing finally anintermediary version. It must be said

that since 1950 until 1960 the

traditional counties were replaced by

wider regions. One of them, inhabitedby a major Hungarian population, was

called autonomous region. But the

autonomy existed exclusively in law. Inpractice, the degree of autonomy is

suggested by a popular joke of that

time: when Hungarian people asked a

Hungarian ruler, Ceausescu proposedthem (readappointed) someone named

Ion Ungur.


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As in the previous period, each

constituency no matter its name hadits elected deliberative and executive

bodies: Popular Councils and Executive

Committees of the Popular Councils.Their functioning reflected the

functioning of the central

administration: they were accompanied

by local party committees led by prime-secretaries (local projections of the

supreme leader). Their official

autonomy was undermined by thesubordination to a national Committee

for the problems of the popular councils

directly subordinated, in turn, not onlyto the government, but also to theCentral Committee of the Party.

Conclusions. How the past affects

the present

Where are we now? Sutor, ne ultra

crepidam! as the Latin poet said. Just asit is not allowed to the shoemaker to

criticize what is above the sandal, I

think that neither the historian can notjudge todays administrativeinstitutions. From now on, it is lawyers

job to do that.

All that I want to emphasize is thatRomanian historical experience could

explain the way in which we perceive

today state institutions.First of all, we must accept that we

can not borrow any administrative

model from our past. It might be

possible to identify some particularaspects that we consider necessary/good

to take over today, but not an entire and

not even great part of a model.Romanian State never had a Golden

Age! This is nothing but pure

imagination. Lets face it. What we can

learn from history it is not related to theformal institutions, but to the political

culture.

During the first decades of its life,

Romanian State tried to findappropriate institutions, but it failed,

maybe because it never had patience to

try a precise model for more than a fewyears. Meanwhile, the real

administration of the country passed

from the institutions in the hands of

various (more or less) informal groupsthat controlled the state at a given time.

This situation, when aware of it, was

always considered a transition. But eachtransition was followed by another one

an so on. Formal administration

remained just an object of endlessdebates. Under the circumstances, itwas impossible for the Romanian

people to develop a civic culture.

Instead, it created a real culture of thead-hoc arrangements and of a relative

disregard for the formal law. The

communism continued and reinforcedall what it had found.

Unfortunately, things did not change

after 1990. Polls show always a lack ofconfidence in the State institutions.Beyond the particular problems of the

new transition, the history certainly tells

its word: if we are accustomed for solong that the institutions do not matter

how can we believe suddenly that they

matter? We actually can not, but it isimportant to believe that they might

Revista de Stiinte Politice Nr 29

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