Petition of the Communities of the 149 Local Authorities in the historical and cultural Region of Szeklerland

To the Parliament of Romania and the Government of Romania, concerning the future administrative-territorial affiliation of the 149 local authorities forming the historical region of Szeklerland

We, the undersigned citizens, elected local representatives and representatives of civil society from the local authorities located within the territory of the historical and cultural region of Szeklerland (hereinafter referred to as “Szeklerland”), address the Parliament of Romania and the Government of Romania with the request that they take into account the clearly expressed will of the communities referred to above, as represented by the signatories of this petition.

We request that the Parliament of Romania and the Government of Romania take into account the fact that the communities of the 149 local authorities listed in the annex to this petition wish to belong to a single administrative region and that, in the event of a future administrative reform, these local authorities be included in a single administrative region composed exclusively of the local authorities listed in the aforementioned annex.

Our petition is directed against no other community and does not seek to restrict the rights of any citizen or community in Romania. Its sole purpose is to express the fact that the communities of the 149 local authorities forming Szeklerland wish, in the context of an administrative reform, to belong together to one and the same administrative region.

The 149 local authorities, which currently belong to five counties – Mureș, Harghita, Covasna, Brașov and Bacău – form an area characterised by historical, geographical, economic and cultural ties whose unity is not reflected in the current administrative-territorial organisation. The list was not drawn up according to criteria of ethnic exclusivity: among the 149 local authorities there are also localities in which the Romanian population constitutes the majority. Consequently, the petition does not seek the exclusivity of any particular ethnic community, but rather the preservation of the territorial unity of a region formed historically and culturally.

We are convinced that democratic administrative reform cannot be carried out by disregarding the will of the communities concerned. When determining administrative-territorial units, the will of the affected population, as well as the historical, cultural, social, geographical and economic ties that unite the localities of the region concerned, must be taken into consideration.

Our request is also consistent with the established democratic principles formulated by the Presidential Commission for the Analysis of Romania’s Political and Constitutional Regime (hereinafter referred to as the “Stanomir Commission”), established to analyse Romania’s political and constitutional system, in the report presented at Cotroceni Palace on 14 January 2009. We refer to this document because, to date, it is the only document based on public-law expertise that has produced a plan for reforming the 1991 Constitution.

In the context of administrative-territorial reform, the report proposed the establishment of cooperation mechanisms based on the voluntary association of the administrative-territorial units concerned and on the expression of the will of citizens. This principle is particularly important in the case of an administrative reform in which the boundaries and composition of new territorial units have to be determined.

The detailed legal reasoning of our petition is set out in the section entitled STATEMENT OF GROUNDS, which forms an integral part of this document. The statement of grounds presents, among other things, the principles established in Romanian law and in the European legal framework concerning the establishment of administrative-territorial units, the consideration of historical and cultural particularities, and the will of the communities concerned.

This petition is a continuation of the initiative carried out between 2014 and 2016. At that time, 62 local authorities in Szeklerland addressed the Parliament of Romania and the Government of Romania through resolutions adopted by their local councils, expressing the request that the localities of Szeklerland remain within a single administrative-territorial unit. The resolutions adopted at that time expressed the will of local authorities representing more than half of the population of Szeklerland.

The present initiative expresses and reaffirms the same community will through direct, voluntary and personal signatures. Participation in the petition is open to all residents and/or elected local representatives of all the local authorities listed in the annex to this petition.

We request that the Parliament of Romania and the Government of Romania, in preparing and implementing any future administrative reform, regard this petition as a document expressing the will of the communities of the 149 localities and, when taking decisions, take into account the request formulated herein.

We further request that, should new regional administrative units be established in the course of an administrative reform, on the basis of the community will expressed through this petition, the 149 local authorities be included in a single administrative region composed exclusively of these local authorities.

We trust that Romania’s future administrative reform will be carried out with respect for democracy, subsidiarity, local autonomy and the will of the communities concerned.

The annex to the petition contains the list of the 149 local authorities and, for each commune/city, the names of the signatories.

The petition, its Statement of Grounds and the annexes together constitute the complete document of this initiative.

Petition of the Communities of the 149 Local Authorities in the historical and cultural Region of Szeklerland

 

STATEMENT OF GROUNDS

to the PETITION whereby the members of the communities of the 149 local authorities in Romania express their will to belong to a single administrative region

1. SUBJECT MATTER AND LEGAL NATURE OF THE PETITION

This petition constitutes a specific request addressed to the Parliament of Romania and the Government of Romania concerning the event of a possible future administrative reform:

the 149 local authorities forming the historical region of Szeklerland, listed in the annex to the petition, should be included in a single administrative region, and that region should be composed exclusively of these local authorities.

The petition does not claim that Szeklerland currently constitutes an administrative-territorial unit. Szeklerland is a historical region, and the petition requests that, in the context of a possible future reform of the administrative-territorial organisation, the local authorities of this historical and territorial entity remain together within a single administrative region.

The request is formulated in the form of a petition submitted by natural persons. Romanian law regulates the right of citizens to address petitions, in their own name, to central and local authorities.

This Statement of Grounds forms an integral part of the petition.

2. SZEKLERLAND AS A HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL REGION

The concepts of an administrative-territorial unit and a historical region must be distinguished.

The existence of a historical region does not depend on whether the territory in question constitutes, at a given time, a distinct administrative-territorial unit. In Romania as well, numerous names of historical, cultural or ethnographic regions that do not correspond to a unit of the current administrative-territorial organisation are used in academic literature and public life.

Consequently, the name “Szeklerland” does not refer to an administrative-territorial unit that does not currently exist, but designates a region formed historically and culturally.

This is precisely the purpose of the petition: that, in the context of a possible reform of the current administrative-territorial organisation, this historical and cultural region should also appear on the administrative map as a single region.

3. ROMANIAN LAW: TAKING INTO ACCOUNT GEOGRAPHICAL, SOCIAL, ETHNIC, CULTURAL AND TRADITIONAL TIES

Romanian administrative law expressly recognises that the criteria to be taken into account when establishing administrative-territorial units include the cultural and traditional ties of the population.

Pursuant to Article 101 of Government Emergency Ordinance No. 57/2019 on the Administrative Code, a county is an administrative-territorial unit consisting, according to law, of communes, cities and, where applicable, municipalities, delimited according to geographical, economic, social and ethnic conditions, as well as the cultural and traditional ties of the population.

This provision is of particular importance for the present petition.

Taking cultural and traditional ties into account is not a special rule granted to any particular minority, but a criterion formulated in general terms in Romanian administrative law. The provision does not limit this criterion to any particular ethnic community, but refers to the cultural and traditional ties of the population.

Accordingly, this petition does not seek a special exception applicable exclusively to a single community, but requests the application, in the case of Szeklerland, of a generally formulated criterion recognised by Romanian law.

The determination of the boundaries of administrative-territorial units also falls within the competence of the legislature. Accordingly, the petition does not seek to assume the powers of any local authority, but requests that the legislature and the Government, in the context of a future reform, take into account the will expressed by the communities concerned and the territorial, cultural and traditional criteria recognised by law.

4. CONSULTATION OF LOCAL COMMUNITIES – EUROPEAN CHARTER OF LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT

Romania ratified the European Charter of Local Self-Government in 1997 by Law No. 199/1997.

Article 5 of the Charter regulates the protection of the territorial boundaries of local authorities and provides that:

“Changes in local authority boundaries shall not be made without prior consultation of the local communities concerned...”

In other words, changes to the territorial boundaries of local authorities cannot be made without prior consultation of the local communities concerned.

This provision does not confer a veto right on the communities concerned and does not state that the decision of a community would, in itself, create a new administrative-territorial unit.

Its importance lies in the fact that taking into account, in advance, the opinion of the community concerned constitutes a European principle of local self-government which Romania has undertaken to respect as an international obligation.

From this perspective, the present petition is not a subsequent protest, but a prior expression of the position of the communities before any possible administrative reform.

5. ADMINISTRATIVE REFORM IN ROMANIA AND THE REPORT OF THE STANOMIR COMMISSION

The issue of administrative reform was also examined by the Presidential Commission for the Analysis of Romania’s Political and Constitutional Regime, established by President Traian Băsescu. The commission’s report was presented at Cotroceni Palace on 14 January 2009. We refer to this document because, to date, it is the only one that, based on public-law expertise, provided the foundations for a reform of the 1991 Constitution.

The title of the report is:

Report of the Presidential Commission for the Analysis of Romania’s Political and Constitutional Regime – For the Consolidation of the Rule of Law.

The chairman of the commission was Ioan Stanomir. Chapter 14 of the report addresses the political and administrative structure of the state, including the rationalisation of the administrative-territorial organisation. Section 14.2 analyses, in separate subsections, the constitutional recognition of subsidiarity, cooperation between administrative-territorial units, decentralisation, the issue of regions and territorial reform.

5.1. The role of the will of communities

Section 14.2.2 of the report, entitled “Establishment of mechanisms for cooperation between administrative-territorial units”, proposes flexible cooperation between administrative-territorial units as one of the means of putting the principle of subsidiarity into practice.

According to the report, such forms of cooperation may lead to the establishment of new entities endowed with legal personality. These entities would differ from existing public-law administrative units because they would result from voluntary association and from the expression of the will of citizens.

The report further states that the operation of such a mechanism for an appropriate period, together with the activity of an independent authority entrusted with drawing up a new territorial organisation, could create the conditions for:

the administrative-territorial reform of Romania to express the will of citizens, on the basis of objective criteria ensuring a high degree of sustainability.

Accordingly, the report regards the expression of citizens’ will as one of the important elements of the democratic legitimacy of administrative reform.

Consistent with this principle, the present petition seeks to ensure that, before any possible administrative reform, the communities concerned can express their will clearly and in a documented manner.

5.2. Criteria for determining administrative boundaries

The report lists among the criteria to be taken into account in the context of administrative-territorial reform, among others, geography, tradition, administrative capacity and differences in political culture.

The Commission also emphasises that any administrative reorganisation must take into account issues concerning the protection of national minorities, in particular the need to ensure that reorganisation does not have a negative impact on their identity.

The report also links the issue of administrative boundaries to respect for the geographical area of regional or minority languages and refers to the provisions of the European Charter of Local Self-Government concerning the prior consultation of the communities concerned.

The Stanomir Report is not, in itself, a legislative act and therefore its provisions cannot be regarded as directly binding legal rules for Romania. Its importance lies in the fact that an official reform document prepared by a commission of experts established under a presidential mandate expresses the view that administrative reform should take into account the will of communities, historical and cultural particularities, and territorial and social conditions.

6. THE EUROPEAN UNION’S NUTS SYSTEM AND THE CONSIDERATION OF HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL CIRCUMSTANCES

Regulation (EC) No. 1059/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council established the common classification of territorial units for regional statistics, known as the NUTS system.

Pursuant to Article 3(5) of the Regulation, where there is no administrative unit of an appropriate size for the establishment of a NUTS level, the aggregation of neighbouring smaller administrative units must take into account, among other things, geographical, socio-economic, historical, cultural and environmental circumstances.

Accordingly, the provision expressly recognises that historical and cultural circumstances constitute relevant criteria in the aggregation of territorial units.

The Regulation does not govern the establishment of Romania’s internal administrative regions, but establishes a territorial classification for statistical purposes. Consequently, the present petition does not claim that the Regulation itself obliges Romania to create an administrative region of Szeklerland.

The importance of the Regulation lies in the fact that, within the legal order of the European Union, historical and cultural circumstances are expressly recognised as relevant elements in the aggregation of territorial units.

7. RESOLUTION 1985 (2014) OF THE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE – THE KALMÁR REPORT

On 8 April 2014, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted Resolution 1985 (2014), entitled “The situation and rights of national minorities in Europe”. The rapporteur for the resolution was Ferenc Kalmár.

Paragraph 10.3.2 of the resolution calls on member states, independently of economic considerations, to take into account the added value of historical regions in terms of culture, language, traditions and religions when establishing or reforming administrative and/or territorial structures and their units at the level of the country or the public institutions concerned.

This provision is of particular importance for the present petition.

The petition makes a request on behalf of the communities precisely in the event of a possible administrative reform. In this context, the position of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe expressly regards the cultural, linguistic and traditional particularities of historical regions as relevant.

The resolution is not a legally binding legislative act and, consequently, it cannot be claimed that it imposes, in itself, a legal obligation on Romania. Its normative and political importance is nevertheless significant, particularly because it expresses the position of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe concerning the administrative and territorial reforms of member states.

8. THE CONVERGING DIRECTION OF ROMANIAN LAW, EUROPEAN LAW AND EUROPEAN STANDARDS

The legal provisions and European documents presented above operate at different levels within the hierarchy of sources of law and do not have the same legal force, but they point in the same direction.

Romanian law recognises the cultural and traditional ties of the population as elements that must be taken into account when establishing administrative-territorial units.

The European Charter of Local Self-Government provides for the prior consultation of the local communities concerned before changes are made to the territorial boundaries of local authorities and has been ratified by Romania.

The European Union’s NUTS Regulation expressly mentions historical and cultural circumstances as relevant elements in the aggregation of smaller neighbouring administrative units.

Resolution 1985 (2014) of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe recommends taking into account the cultural, linguistic and traditional added value of historical regions when establishing or reforming administrative and territorial structures.

The Stanomir Commission Report regards the expression of citizens’ will as an important element of the democratic legitimacy of administrative reform and emphasises the need to take historical, cultural, social and territorial criteria into account in the context of administrative-territorial reform.

Consequently, the request contained in this petition does not arise in a legal vacuum.

9. THE INITIATIVE OF THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES IN THE PERIOD 2014–2016

The precedent for the present petition is the initiative of the local authorities in Szeklerland carried out between 2014 and 2016.

At that time, some of the local authorities in Szeklerland adopted, by resolutions of their local councils, a request that, in the context of an administrative reform in Romania, the localities of Szeklerland be included in a single administrative-territorial unit.

The request was addressed by the local authorities to the Parliament of Romania and the Government of Romania, and the documentation was also transmitted to European institutions.

In the course of the initiative, ultimately 62 local authorities adopted such resolutions. These local authorities represented more than half of the population of Szeklerland.

The importance of the previous initiative lies in the fact that the will of the communities was expressed not merely through a political declaration, but through official acts adopted by the local authorities concerned.

The present petition builds on the experience of this earlier process, while adopting a different legal form.

10. THE SPECIFIC NATURE OF THE PRESENT INITIATIVE

The previous initiative was based on resolutions adopted by local authorities.

The present initiative adopts a different legal form.

The petition is signed by natural persons: citizens of the localities, elected local representatives and other persons involved in public life. The initiative is open to communities in all the localities concerned.

This form makes it possible for the expression of the will of the communities to involve not only those localities whose local councils are willing to adopt a resolution, but also citizens and elected representatives of all the communities concerned.

Accordingly, the initiative does not seek to exercise the powers of any body of local public administration, but seeks the direct expression of the will of the communities concerned within the framework of the right to petition.

11. THE PRINCIPLE OF TERRITORIAL DELIMITATION

The petition does not request the establishment of a territory determined arbitrarily.

The request concerns the 149 existing administrative-territorial units that form the historical region of Szeklerland and that are listed in detail in the annex.

Accordingly, the territorial delimitation has a dual basis:

the territorial continuity of the historical and cultural region;

the specific and exhaustive enumeration of the existing local public administration authorities.

The local authorities included in the annex together constitute the territory to which the request in the petition relates.

The petition does not seek to include localities belonging to other historical regions and does not seek to affect the territorial or administrative interests of other communities.

Among the localities included in the initiative there are also localities in which the Romanian population constitutes the majority. This fact also demonstrates that the delimitation of the proposed region is not based exclusively on an ethnic criterion. The request seeks administrative recognition of the territorial unity of a historical, geographical, cultural and social region.

12. PARAGRAPH (9) OF ARTICLE 15 OF THE TREATY BETWEEN THE REPUBLIC OF HUNGARY AND ROMANIA

The Treaty between the Republic of Hungary and Romania on Understanding, Cooperation and Good-Neighbourliness, signed on 16 September 1996, also contains provisions concerning the protection of the rights of persons belonging to national minorities.

In paragraph (9) of Article 15, the Contracting Parties undertook to refrain from policies or practices aimed at the assimilation against their will of persons belonging to national minorities, as well as from measures which, by changing the proportions of the population in regions inhabited by persons belonging to national minorities, are aimed at limiting the rights and freedoms of such persons deriving from the international standards and norms enumerated in the Treaty.

This provision cannot be interpreted as establishing, in itself, Romania’s administrative-territorial organisation or as requiring the establishment of any particular administrative region. Its importance in the context of a possible administrative reform lies, however, in the fact that administrative-territorial reorganisation cannot constitute an instrument whose purpose is to restrict the rights of national minorities by changing the proportions of the population in regions inhabited by them.

The present petition does not propose such a measure. On the contrary, it requests that, in the context of a possible administrative reform, the will of the communities concerned be taken into account and that the 149 localities forming the historical region of Szeklerland not be divided among different administrative regions.

Paragraph (9) of Article 15 of the Treaty therefore constitutes a circumstance amounting to a guarantee under international law which must be taken into account when assessing the administrative-territorial reorganisation of a region inhabited by a national minority.

13. CONCLUSION

The present petition calls for the observance of a clearly defined principle in the event of a possible administrative reform in Romania:

the will of the communities concerned, historical and cultural particularities, and territorial and traditional ties must be taken into account.

This principle is supported, in a complementary manner and at different legal and institutional levels, by:

Romanian administrative law, which recognises the cultural and traditional ties of the population among the criteria to be taken into account when establishing administrative-territorial units;

the European Charter of Local Self-Government, which provides for the prior consultation of the local communities concerned before changes are made to the territorial boundaries of local authorities;

the European Union regulation concerning the NUTS system, which expressly mentions historical and cultural circumstances as relevant elements in the aggregation of smaller neighbouring administrative units;

Resolution 1985 (2014) of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, which recommends taking into account the cultural, linguistic and traditional particularities of historical regions when establishing or reforming administrative and territorial structures;

the Report of the Presidential Commission for the Analysis of Romania’s Political and Constitutional Regime, which regards the expression of citizens’ will as an important element of the democratic legitimacy of administrative reform and emphasises the importance of voluntary cooperation and of taking historical, cultural and territorial particularities into account;

paragraph (9) of Article 15 of the Treaty between the Republic of Hungary and Romania on Understanding, Cooperation and Good-Neighbourliness, which establishes, as an international obligation, the commitment of the Contracting Parties to refrain from measures which, by changing the proportions of the population in regions inhabited by persons belonging to national minorities, seek to limit their rights and freedoms guaranteed under the aforementioned article.

The above does not mean that any of the documents invoked establishes, in itself, Romania’s administrative-territorial organisation or directly requires the establishment of any particular administrative region.

These provisions and principles do, however, taken together, support the conclusion that, in the context of an administrative reform, the will of the communities concerned, historical and cultural particularities, territorial and traditional ties, and the protection of the rights of national minorities cannot be disregarded.

The present petition calls for the practical application of these principles: on the basis of the express will of the communities of the 149 local authorities forming the historical and cultural region of Szeklerland, these localities should remain together in a single administrative region, and that region should be composed exclusively of the 149 local authorities.