The county council

• Author: Catalin-Silviu Sararu
• Profession: PhD, is Associate Professor at the Law Department of Bu-charest University of Economic Studies
• Pages: 157-159

Chapter XIX

The county council

The county council is the authority of the local public administration, set

up at the county level to coordinate the activity of the communal, city and mu-

nicipal councils, in order to perform the public services of county interest [art.

122 (1) of the Constitution].

The county council is constituted as a deliberative authority by which the

local autonomy is exercised at the county level.

The county council is elected for a term of 4 years, which can be ex-

tended, by organic law, in case of war or catastrophe (art. 177 of the Administra-

tive Code).

1. Election of county councilors

The county council is composed of county councilors, elected by univer-

sal, equal, direct, secret and freely expressed vote, according to the law.

The county councils are elected under the conditions provided by the Law

no. 115/2015 for the election of the authorities of the local public administration.

The county councils are elected on electoral constituencies, based on the

list vote, according to the principle of proportional representation [art. 1(3) of the

Law no. 115/2015].

The conditions that people must fulfill in order to have the status of voters

are the same as those provided by the Law no. 115/2015 for the election of local

councilors. The conditions that a person must fulfill in order to apply for the pub-

lic dignity of mayor are the same as those provided by the Law no. 115/2015 for

persons applying for public dignity as a local councilor.

2. The attributions of the county councils

The county council fulfills the following main categories of attributions

provided by art. 173 (1) of the Administrative Code:

a) attributions regarding the establishment, organization and functioning

of the specialized apparatus of the county council, of the public institutions of

county interest and of the companies and autonomous regions of county interest;

b) attributions regarding the economic-social development of the county;

c) attributions regarding the administration of the public and private do-

main of the county;

d) attributions regarding the management of public services of county

interest;

e) attributions regarding the interinstitutional cooperation internally and

externally;