SEVERAL CONSIDERATIONS ON RIV 2000

International Context - a New European Policy
in the Field of Transport

The European integration of Romania is a process related to the achievement of very concrete and quantifiable technical standards. In this sense, Romania should become attached without any reserve to the new European philosophy of development. This new world order includes a new set of principles, rights and obligations fundamental to the member states of the European Union. As part of the category of fundamental human rights the "fundamental right of free movement of individuals and goods" has been asserted. The European Union, through its executive body, the Council of Europe adopted a number of measures constantly stimulating the free movement of goods. The main advantages deriving from the application of the "free movement of goods" are of an economical nature, the movement speeds being obviously increased. This fact specifically supports road and railway transport in its competition with air and maritime transport.
The Directives that gave an impulse to the free movement on railway lines are : 91/440/EC - Directive on the development of Community railways, 95/18/EC - Directive on licensing of rail undertakings, 95/19/EC - Directive on the allocation of railway infrastructure capacities. These directives have been improved by means of the new directives, namely : 12/2001/EC, 13/ 2001/EC and 14/2001/EC highlighting the development principles of railway transport in perspective : liberalization of railway transport, free access to infrastructure for all railway operators, separation of freight and passenger sectors, separation of railway operators from infrastructure managers, granting of transport licenses to railway operators through an independent railway authority. The model of economical structure is that of a market-driven consumer capitalist economy, without taking into account the relevant social costs. This economy type is developed by the USA where economic relationship is actually regulated by the market, the state having an extremely reduced involvement, that of an impartial arbitrator.

Legal Correlation between UE and UIC Texts

The European integration of Romania is a process related to the achievement of very concrete and quantifiable technical standards. In this sense, Romania should become attached without any reserve to the new European philosophy of development. This new world order includes a new set of principles, rights and obligations fundamental to the member states of the European Union. As part of the category of fundamental human rights the "fundamental right of free movement of individuals and goods" has been asserted. The European Union, through its executive body, the Council of Europe adopted a number of measures constantly stimulating the free movement of goods. The main advantages deriving from the application of the "free movement of goods" are of an economical nature, the movement speeds being obviously increased. This fact specifically supports road and railway transport in its competition with air and maritime transport.The Directives that gave an impulse to the free movement on railway lines are : 91/440/EC - Directive on the development of Community railways, 95/18/EC - Directive on licensing of rail undertakings, 95/19/EC - Directive on the allocation of railway infrastructure capacities. These directives have been improved by means of the new directives, namely : 12/2001/EC, 13/ 2001/EC and 14/2001/EC highlighting the development principles of railway transport in perspective : liberalization of railway transport, free access to infrastructure for all railway operators, separation of freight and passenger sectors, separation of railway operators from infrastructure managers, granting of transport licenses to railway operators through an independent railway authority. The model of economical structure is that of a market-driven consumer capitalist economy, without taking into account the relevant social costs. This economy type is developed by the USA where economic relationship is actually regulated by the market, the state having an extremely reduced involvement, that of an impartial arbitrator.

RIV 2000 - a Fundamental Act in Relationship
to the Other Domestic Transport Regulations

In comparison with all domestic regulations, instructions, dispositions, RIV has a superior standing. Such standing comes from a lawful principle included in the Constitution. In case a domestic legal regulation is in contradiction with the provisions under an international lawful act Romania is a party to, the international regulation is the one that should be complied with. Based on this superseding relationship of international lawful acts, the international legal norm - in this case RIV 2000 - supersedes from the legal point of view any domestic legal norm. In this sense, it should be mentioned that any act being issued based on a legal norm automatically becomes a legal norm and is submitted to the rules of lawful norms. Another legal aspect appears here, namely the correlation of domestic legal norms (all regulations, instructions, dispositions) with the provisions of RIV 2000. From this point of view, the relationship between RIV 2000 and all the other domestic legal norms in the field of domestic railway transport may resemble to the relationship between the Constitution and the other organic and ordinary legal acts.

Nucu Morar