A method for signaling control information in a communications system includes identifying a first subframe to carry first control information, and determining whether the first subframe is configured as a device-to-device (D2D) subframe. The method also includes transmitting the first control information in the first subframe to an evolved NodeB (eNB) when the first subframe is not configured as a D2D subframe, wherein the first control information is encoded with a first encoding rule in accordance with a first subframe, and transmitting the first control information in a second subframe when the first subframe is configured as a D2D subframe, wherein the first control information is encoded with a second encoding rule in accordance with the second subframe.