Nicușor Dan notified the CCR of the unconstitutionality of the Novak Law, which imposes a quota of at least 40% Romanian athletes in teams in official competitions

President Nicușor Dan submitted to the Constitutional Court a notification of unconstitutionality regarding the “Novak Law”, a bill adopted by the Parliament that requires that the teams in national competitions be made up of at least 40% of Romanian citizens.

In a post on Facebook, the president states that he is a supporter of the development of Romanian sports, but this must be done in compliance with the Constitution and European Union law.

“It affects the right to work”

“The law adopted by the Parliament violates the principle of non-discrimination and the free movement of workers, enshrined in both the Constitution and the European treaties, by directly referring to the citizenship of the athletes. In addition, the law affects the right to work, by limiting the access of European athletes to national competitions”, explained Nicușor Dan.

In addition, the head of state disputes the fines provided for in the law, which would exceed the general legal framework of contraventional sanctions, without an express derogation.

“The experience of other European states and UEFA regulations show that supporting locally trained athletes can be done effectively without criteria based on citizenship, but through investments in academies, junior centers and training programs”, concluded Nicușor Dan.

The disputed law, also known as the “Novak Law”, is an amendment to the Physical Education and Sports Law 69/2000, which establishes that the participation rate of Romanian performance athletes in official national sports competitions should not be less than 40% of the total number of participating athletes for each team, and that the detection of contraventions and the application of sanctions should also be done by federations empowered by order of the president of the National Sports Agency.

Contraventional sanctions are introduced in case of non-compliance with the new provisions regarding the proportion of the number of Romanian players, the limits of the fine being between 500,000 lei and 1,000,000 lei.

Direct restriction of foreign players, contrary to EU law

In the text of the notification submitted to the Constitutional Court, it is stated that the project directly contravenes the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union which, in Article 45, provides, among other things:

(1) The free movement of workers is guaranteed within the Union.
(2) Free movement implies the elimination of any discrimination on grounds of nationality between the workers of the Member States, in terms of employment, remuneration and other working conditions.

The document says that in other EU countries there are indirect, not direct, limitations on the number of foreign players in order to encourage the training of young athletes, regardless of their country of origin. Thus, the right to work and free movement within the European Union is not restricted.

“Germany requires football squads to include at least 12 German-licensed footballers, of which eight players must have come through the club's youth system. Four of these eight players must have come through the club's own academy, while the other four must have come through the youth systems of various clubs affiliated to the same federation.

In Portugal, there is no direct limit on foreign players in the national championship. However, clubs are required to have at least eight locally trained players in their match squads,” the notice reads.

Regarding the security of legal relations, the notification states that the limits of the fines provided for in the project adopted by the Parliament are in an amount higher than the general maximum limit of the contraventional fine regulated by Government Ordinance no. 2/2001, which is 100,000 lei, in the case of contraventions established by law and ordinance. However, the draft does not mention an express derogation from the limits provided for in OG 2/2001.