The Dispute Resolution Review 2016

Disputes in Romania are settled in court in the vast majority of cases, under procedures regulated mainly by the new Civil Procedure Code (CPC). Entered into force on 15 February 2013, the CPC accomplished a systemic and extensive overhaul of the Romanian dispute resolution model. With a specific focus on acceleration of trial proceedings, the new regulation has reformed both the schedule and the content of proceedings taking place in various phases of the lawsuit, while attempting to clarify many of the controversies raised by interpretable provisions in the former regulation.

The system is designed to ensure a double-level jurisdiction, with local courts, tribunals or courts of appeal acting as first instances depending on the nature and value of the litigation, while the High Court of Cassation and Justice acts exclusively as a court of last resort, also settling requests for unification of practice.

With the number, range and complexity of disputes dramatically increasing in past years against the backdrop of economic growth and legislative changes, especially generated by Romania’s accession to the EU on 1 January 2007, parties are increasingly resorting to ADR procedures, especially arbitration, even though the vast majority of disputes are still adjudicated in the courts. Mediation was only introduced in 2006 and its practice is still to be developed. A July 2012 amendment to the mediation law that required litigating parties in a certain range of disputes to first undergo a joint information meeting regarding the advantages of mediation was later rendered ineffective by the Constitutional Court.

The Romanian dispute resolution framework is currently experiencing one of the most significant, substantial and extensive reforms of the last century, due to the recent enactment of the new Civil Procedure Code alongside a new Civil Code already in force; new Criminal and Criminal Procedure Codes have also been enacted. The reform seeks to put in place a legal framework able to answer the needs of contemporary developments of societal relations, with a clear view to coordination with EU law essentials. High expectations are placed on the system’s ability to absorb the new provisions aimed at speeding up trials, and avoid future allegations of systemic failure to settle disputes within ‘a reasonable time’. Particular applications of the legislator’s need for acceleration of trial proceedings include newly instituted duties of the judge to develop a written correspondence with the claimant in order to ensure the fulfilment of all validity requirements concerning his or her application, and then to coordinate the submitting of the parties’ written materials and the organisation of the hearing within a very strict time frame.

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