Nicușor Dan returned to Parliament a law stipulating that the state donates 545 hectares of land and buildings to a university

President Nicușor Dan sent to the Parliament for review a law that stipulates that the state transfers 545 hectares of land with all the public field buildings to the University of Life Sciences “King Mihai I” in Timisoara. In 2024, the law was challenged at the RCC by former President Klaus Iohannis, and the Court rejected the notification and decided that the law is constitutional.

In the request for review, the president explains that, according to the law, in the first phase the state would transfer 35 lands with a total area of 501,4208 hectares from the public domain in the state's private domain. In the second phase, in the private domain of the state the 501 hectares – to which are added two other lands with an area of 44,3154 hectares – would be moved in the private property of the University of Life “King Mihai I”.

“A significant decrease in state heritage”

The transfer between the public domain of the state to the private domain can be done to sell, to concess, rent, donate or to use land or buildings easier. When land or buildings are in public, for example, they cannot be sold or rented.

In total, it is about 545.7 hectares of land from the localities of Timișoara, Lugoj, Sânnicolau Mare, VV Delamarina, respectively Păltiniș, from Timiș and Caraș-Severin counties.

“The transfer implies a significant decrease in the state's patrimony” considering “the dimension of the land targeted by law and the potential that their value is appreciated in time,” says Nicușor Dan in the request for review.

The president criticizes the fact that the law does not contain a clear justification for which the transfer of land and related constructions is required, provided that the University administers the land since 2004.

“It is unclear the foundation of the normative act and the reason why it is necessary to establish a property right of the University of Life” King Mihai I “,” Nicușor Dan shows.

“There are not sufficient guarantees that the land will be used for education”

In addition, the president points out that there are not sufficient guarantees that the land will be used for education: “We appreciate that” the achievement of the objective regarding higher and dual education activity in the field of agricultural, research, production, university extension and institutional development strategies “represents a vague, indefinite objective, without indicators, which must be done”.

Moreover, the head of state says that, in the current economic context, “the state has the obligation to effectively capitalize on its patrimony and the goods public and private property. The state can capitalize on its assets including by changing the destination of the lands in question or changing the holder of the right of administration, renting, concessioning or establishing some rights in favor of some It gives guarantees against inadequate use. “

Nicușor Dan draws attention and that the lands and constructions related to them are not found in any other law and they are not clearly described and identified: “The total land area concerned by Art. buildings ”.

The law, declared constitutional by the CCR after the notification of Iohannis

In January 2024, former President Klaus Iohannis challenged the same law at the Constitutional Court, on the grounds to violate a series of constitutional norms and principles such as:

• the method of adoption
• Protecting the public and private property of the state
• The necessary and sufficient guarantees established by the Constitutional Court for free transmission of states in the state's private domain
• Lack of clarity of the objectives for which the transfer is achieved
• insufficient individualization of land in question

Then, the CCR expanded the objection of unconstitutionality formulated by Iohannis, so the law was considered constitutional.

Corruption scandal at the University to which buildings and land would be donated

The University of Life Sciences “King Mihai I is a state university in Timișoara. Three professors from the Faculty of Engineering and Technologies applied within the University are charged in a DNA file for taking bribes to use false documents in order to obtain European funds. According to an investigation of the scene9, the three professors are still the university. Research.

According to Scena9, the University said that the DNA file is expected to sanction the teachers.

Judicial sources quoted by the scene9 say that one of the teachers asked some students to raise money for each absence in the forestry disciplines and the correction of torrents and phytosociology. It would have been between 100 and 400 lei. And other teachers were doing the same, although they have salaries of over 10 thousand lei per month, according to the source.