Referral to the Constitutional Court

Romanian President Nicușor Dan has sent the Constitutional Court of Romania (CCR) a notice of unconstitutionality against the law declaring the town of Voluntari, in Ilfov county, a municipality. The presidency announced the referral in a statement on Thursday, 22 October 2026. Parliament had sent the law to the president for promulgation on 3 October 2026, and the referral now halts its progress while the court rules. The president says the law breaches Article 1 (3) and (5) and Article 3 (3) of the Constitution, citing a lack of solid grounding and of clarity, precision and predictability. Voluntari is currently led by Mayor Florentin Pandele.

Legal grounds for the challenge

The president's central argument is that Parliament cannot declare a town a municipality at its own discretion. In his reading of Article 3 (3), that status must rest on general, objective and predetermined criteria applied equally to all towns, and it must follow an actual check that those criteria are met. The presidency argues that without such a check the constitutional text would lose any practical effect. He put the point directly in the referral:

“To admit that Parliament can declare a town a municipality when it does not meet these conditions would mean depriving the constitutional text of any useful effect.”

Referendums of 2004 and 2009

The law rests on a local referendum held on 31 October 2004. The presidency notes that 24,426 people were on the voters list for that vote, in a town of about 30,000 residents. On 1 July 2025, Voluntari had 49,417 residents according to a letter from the Ilfov County Directorate of Statistics dated 20 February 2026, so roughly half of today's population did not vote in 2004. A second referendum, held on 22 November 2009 on the same day as the first round of the presidential election, asked residents whether to turn Voluntari into Sector 7 of Bucharest. The city's 2011-2020 local development strategy, on page 145, records 78% support for that option, and the presidency says the 2009 vote is missing from the documents accompanying the law.

The presidency's statement adds:

“In this case, it is difficult to argue that the 31 October 2004 referendum meets this requirement, because the population structure of Voluntari has changed fundamentally.”

Voters on 2004 referendum list24,426

Approx. population at 2004 referendum30,000

Residents on 1 July 202549,417

Voters on 2004 referendum list

24426 people

Approx. population at 2004 referendum

30000 people

Residents on 1 July 2025

49417 people

Data from the article text

Opinions and next steps

The Government set out a position on 14 May 2026 stating that it does not support adopting the initiative. The Economic and Social Council (CES) also gave a negative opinion, and the presidency cites it as saying that Voluntari has no public hospital. Libertatea reports that CES argued the change would only add a heavier tax burden for residents, and that the referral criticises the absence of transitional rules, which leaves unclear from which date the new tax regime would apply. The presidency also notes that the 2004 participants voted under a tax regime completely different from today's. The parliamentary proposal now waits for the Constitutional Court's verdict.