THE CONCEPT AND LEGAL FRAMEWORK OF LOCAL PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION POWERS IN THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA: FOUNDATIONS AND PRACTICAL CHALLENGES

Abstract

This article examines the scientific and legal dimensions of the concept of "powers of local public administration" in the Republic of Moldova, situating the discussion within the broader framework of post-Soviet democratic transition and European integration. Drawing on constitutional provisions, organic legislation, and comparative administrative law scholarship, the article critically analyses how the notion of local public administration powers has been theorised, codified, and implemented in Moldova's two-tier territorial structure. The study identifies a persistent tension between formal constitutional guarantees of local autonomy – rooted in Article 109 of the 1994 Constitution and the European Charter of Local Self-Government – and the practical constraints imposed by inadequate fiscal decentralisation, ambiguous competence delimitation, and asymmetric institutional capacities. The article also briefly considers the additional legal complexity arising from the special status of the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia. Through doctrinal legal analysis and comparative reference to other Central and Eastern European experiences, the article argues that meaningful empowerment of local authorities in Moldova requires not only legislative clarity but also sustained institutional investment and genuine political commitment to subsidiarity. The article systematises the principal legal and conceptual issues concerning the powers of local public authorities in Moldova and outlines several areas in which the existing framework could be clarified or strengthened.