Owners of public property in Romania

• Author: Catalin Silviu Sararu
• Position: Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Law Department
• Pages: 17-23

Owners of public property in Romania

LecturerCătălin-Silviu SĂRARU

1

Abstract

This a rticle a nalyzes the owners of public property: the state and the territorial

administrative units. The article analyzes various theories about the quality in which the

State exercising the right of public property (independen tly of the a legal person, based on

the national sovereignty or as a public law legal person). Si milar is analyzed the quality in

which the administrative-territorial unit exercises the right of public prop erty. In this

article are analyzed also the meanings of the term "administrative territorial unit".

Keywords: right of public property, state, territorial administrative units, legal

person of public law, administrative law.

JEL Classification: K11, K23

1.Introduction

Art. 136 (2) of the revised Constitution states that "Public property is

guaranteed and protected by law, belongs to the state or territorial administrative

units". Also art. 858 of the Civil Code states that public property is ownership of

what belongs to the state or the territorial administrative unit, of the goods which

by their nature or by declaration of law are by use or public interest, provided to be

acquired through one way prescribed by law.

From these mandatory provisions, it follows that any other subject of

public or private property cannot be holder of public property rights but can have,

at most, derived rights of this, such as the right of management, concession

2

etc.

Thus, according to art. 136 (4) of the Constitution, under the terms of the organic

law, the public property can be managed by autonomous régies or public

institutions, or can be granted or leased; also, it can be transferred for free usage

to public utility institutions. Therefore the private legal persons

3

and the natural

persons may not hold in property, assets belonging to the state public domain or the

1

Cătălin-Silviu Săraru, Bucharest University ofEconomic Studies, Law Department,

catalinsararu@yahoo.com.

2

See Eugen Chelaru, Administrarea domeniului public şi a domeniului privat, C.H. Beck

Publishing House, Bucharest, 2008, Second edition, p. 56; Corneliu Bîrsan, Drept civil. Drepturile

reale principale, Hamangiu Publishing House, third edition, Bucharest, 2008, p. 87; Marian

Nicolae, Consideraţii asupra Legii nr. 213/1998 privind proprietatea publică şi regimul juridic al

acesteia, in Dreptul no. 6/1999, p. 6, 7.

3

See also Constitutional Court Decision no. 107/2004 published in the Official Gazette no. 392 of

4 May 2004.