Legality Control By The Prefect - A Mechanism To Prevent The Abuse Of Rights In Local Public Administration

The Romanian state established the institution of the prefect, who, among other responsibilities, monitors the organization and ensures the proper functioning of local public administration within the limits set and imposed by the legislator. The legal representative of the institution is the prefect, constitutionally entrusted with verifying the legality of local administrative acts. Through legality control, the prefect can identify potential abuses of power by local public authorities in exercising administrative rights and competences. The preventive role of the prefect contributes to strengthening the rule of law and the constitutional order. The local administrative act, as an instrument for the functioning of local administration, must be certified by the prefect as being legal, which implies conformity with the higher regulatory framework and the elimination of any abuse of rights by local public authorities. In this context of the legality of the local administrative act, local autonomy coherently integrates into the activity of local public administration authorities. The correct exercise of local autonomy underpins the appropriateness of initiating local administrative acts.