Abstract

The note analyses Constitutional Court Ruling No. 71/2023 focusing on the nature of the Municipal Solidarity Fund in light of the prohibition on establishing tied equalization funds. It highlights the plaintiff’s practical goal of preserving a certain level of spending by releasing some already allocated resources, and the problems raised by the kind of ruling that would result. In analysing the resulting rejection by the Court, the importance of the admonition to rationalize the equalization system contained in the ruling is emphasized, which is particularly relevant because it is addressed to a Municipal Solidarity Fund whose structure has changed profoundly over time, turning out to be no longer coherent in part today, and because it is also part of a path of implementation of the «essential levels of services» that is still underway (with respect to which the Court stresses the importance of also enhancing State substitution powers).