Regimul juridic al serviciilor comunitare de utilități publice

Abstract

The notion of public service has long been seen as the foundation of all the peculiarities of administrative law and as a criterion of competence within the jurisdiction of the administrative court. The essential thing about the administrative action is to ensure the functioning of public services, which are the “raison d’etre” of the administration. One of the goals of the Romanian Government Strategy for the completion of the reform in the field of public administration is the elaboration of regulations concerning community public services for public utility. According to the Law No. 51/2006, community services for public utility are defined as “all the activities of public utility and interest, pursued at the level of municipalities, cities or countries under the direction, coordination and responsibility of the authorities of local public administration, in order to meet the needs of local communities“. Part of the services of general interest, the public utility services are characterized by a series of special features, some of them having a traditional character, the others being introduced for the first time in the Romanian legislation (the monopoly of the operating/ functioning system, the principle according to which the beneficiary is the one who pays, etc.).