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Law No. 15 Of 2 April 1996 On The Status And Regime Of Refugees In Romania

Original Language Title:  LEGE nr. 15 din 2 aprilie 1996 privind statutul şi regimul refugiaţilor în România

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LEGE No. 15 of April 2, 1996 on the status and refugee regime in Romania
ISSUER PARLIAMENT
Published in OFFICIAL GAZETTE NO. 69 of April 5, 1996



The Romanian Parliament adopts this law + Chapter 1 General provisions + Article 1 In Romania refugee status is granted, upon request, to the foreigner who proves that in his country of origin he has justified fears of being persecuted for reasons of race, nationality, religion, belonging to a particular social group or for his political views. By the term country of origin, in the case of a person holding several citizens, it is understood each country whose citizen is, and in the case of a person without citizenship, the country in which he is domiciled. The foreigner who obtains refugee status in Romania is subject to Romanian legislation and international conventions on the status of refugees, to which Romania is a party. + Article 2 Refugee status may be granted for humanitarian reasons and to the foreigner who does not meet the conditions laid down in art. 1 1 para. 1. + Article 3 Refugee status shall be granted, upon request, to the wife or, as the case may be, to the minor spouse and children of the refugees, except in cases where these categories of persons are in one of the situations referred to in art. 4 + Article 4 No refugee status may be granted to the foreigner who: a) committed an offence against peace or mankind or an offence within the meaning of the international conventions to which Romania is a party; b) committed in Romania, with intent, before or after the request for the granting of refugee status, a crime for which the law provides for a sentence of imprisonment of more than 3 years, or he has enjoyed, outside the country, a serious crime of common law; c) committed acts contrary to the Charter of the United Nations or international treaties and conventions regarding refugees, to which Romania is a party; d) has several citizens and, without a real good reason, did not request the protection of one of the countries of which he is a citizen; e) presents, by its behavior or by belonging to a certain organization or group, a threat to national security or public order in Romania. + Article 5 During the period of armed conflicts in which Romania is not employed it can be granted refugee status to people who come from conflict areas, as much as possible and for a fixed period. The government sets out the necessary measures to resolve such situations and urgently submit them for approval to Parliament. + Chapter 2 Procedure for granting refugee status + Article 6 The foreigner who requests the granting of refugee status in Romania will address with a written request, motivated, either a diplomatic mission or a consular office of Romania, or the General Directorate of the border police, foreigners, migration problems and passports or territorial bodies. If the application is presented to a border police organ, the foreigner is authorized to enter Romania if he possesses documents for crossing the border and the necessary visa, and in the absence of them, if he arrives directly from the territory where his life or freedom is threatened within the meaning of art. 1. The deadline for submitting the application for refugee status is 10 days after entering the country, but no later than the expiry of the visa. + Article 7 In the case of the minor foreigner, who has not reached the age of 14, the formalities for granting refugee status will be fulfilled by his legal representative. + Article 8 After receiving the application for refugee status, the General Directorate of Border Police, foreigners, migration and passport issues or its territorial bodies shall examine the document submitted by the applicant for the border crossing and issue to him a proof document that takes place of temporary identity document in Romania. The application for refugee status, submitted to the diplomatic mission or consular office of Romania abroad, is sent to the General Directorate of Border Police, foreigners, migration and passport issues, which issue the temporary identity document of the person concerned. If the applicant does not have the necessary material means, the body to which the application has been lodged shall establish his place of residence and issue a document to him on the basis of which the person concerned may travel free of charge to that place. the situation, during the procedure laid down for the resolution of the application for refugee status, shall be provided with the necessary assistance for maintenance. For reasons justified by the public interest, protection of national security, public safety, maintenance of public order, protection of public health and morality, protection of the rights and freedoms of other persons-even if the foreigner has the material means necessary for the maintenance-, the territorial body of the Directorate-General of the Border Police, foreigners, migration and passport problems, to which the application was submitted, may establish a place of residence and may order carrying him with the attendant in that place. + Article 9 Interviewing the applicant and analyzing the reasons cited for granting refugee status are the competence of a commission appointed by the Government and made up of representatives of the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry Labor and Social Protection. The commission can assist the representative in Romania of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. Organs referred to in art. 6 will submit to the commission, within 10 days, the application for the granting of refugee status and the useful acts to settle the case. The commission's work of record and secretariat are provided by the Refugee Office of the Directorate-General of Border Police, foreigners, migration and passport issues. The Commission shall decide on the admission or rejection of the application within 30 days of its receipt. + Article 10 The foreigner applying for refugee status, pending the settlement of his application, shall have the following obligations: a) submit, in writing, the reasoned request with the data indicated by the body to which it submits it; b) to hand over the document for crossing the border, following to receive the act provided in art. 8 8 para. 1 1; c) to respond to the calls of the bodies responsible for granting refugee status and to provide them with complete and real information on the person and at his request; d) not to leave the locality of residence without authorization of the body to which he submitted the application or of the commission provided for in art. 9 9; e) to present themselves in the medical examinations that are established; f) to have a fair and civilized conduct and to respect the laws of the Romanian state and the measures ordered by the Romanian competent bodies in matters of refugees. The foreign citizen, applicant for refugee status, until the application is resolved, has the right to the temporary identity document, the transport insurance to the place of residence and the necessary assistance for maintenance, under the conditions provided to art. 8. + Article 11 The Commission will reject the application for refugee status if the applicant: a) does not meet the conditions laid down in 1 1 para. 1 1; b) is in one of the situations provided in art. 4 4; c) does not offer, in bad faith, all the data and information necessary for the Romanian competent bodies in the resolution of the d) tries to obtain refugee status by presenting erroneous data or information; e) does not comply with the obligations provided in 10 10; f) has granted refugee status by another country, against which it cannot invoke the application of the provisions of art. 1 1 para. 1. + Article 12 The admission or rejection of the application for refugee status shall be made by reasoned decision, which shall be communicated immediately to the applicant. Communication is made in writing. + Article 13 The decision of the Commission may be appealed by the holder of the application for the granting of refugee status within 10 days of the communication. The appeal is adjudicated in the emergency procedure by the judge in whose area the commission is based or by the court in whose territorial area the objector resides. The appeal is judged in complete by two judges, with the mandatory participation of the prosecutor. Against the judgment of the court, the objector or the prosecutor can declare an appeal within 5 days of the ruling-for those present at trial-or from communication-for the missing. The judgment delivered on appeal is final and irrevocable. At the request of the objector, the court may order The objector may be assisted or represented by the lawyer and shall be provided by the court, free of charge, interpreter. The procedures provided for in this Act are exempt from stamp duty. + Article 14 After the final stay of the decision rejecting the application for the granting of refugee status to the person concerned, if it still remains on the territory of Romania, the provisions of the Law on the regime of foreigners in Romania are applied. A new application for refugee status may only be submitted if the reasons for the rejection of the previous application have disappeared. + Chapter 3 Rights and obligations of refugees + Article 15 Refugee status gives the beneficiary the following rights: a) to remain on the territory of Romania and to obtain the appropriate documents for proving identity and for crossing the border; b) to choose his place of residence and to circulate freely, under the conditions established by law for foreigners; c) to be employed by natural or legal persons, to exercise free professions, to carry out acts of trade and other legal acts, under the law; d) to be salarized and to benefit from the other material rights arising from the activities carried out, as well as social insurance, under the law; e) to follow primary education under the conditions established by law for Romanian citizens and other forms of education under the same conditions established for foreign citizens; f) to benefit from a treatment as favorable as that granted to Romanian citizens regarding the freedom to practice their own religion and religious instruction of their children; g) free access to the courts and administrative assistance; h) not to be expelled or returned except for reasons of national security or public order, and when these measures are available, the one in question cannot be sent to territories where life or liberty would be threatened on grounds of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion; i) to receive, on request, within the limits of the financial availability of the state, a reimbursable aid established at the level of a minimum wage, for a period of maximum 6 months, if, for objective reasons, it is deprived of the means of existence required. For well-founded reasons, this aid may be extended for a further period of not more than 3 months. + Article 16 The beneficiary of refugee status has the following obligations a) to know and respect the Constitution of Romania, the laws and other normative acts issued by the Romanian authorities; b) to have a proper and civilized conduct, to comply with the measures established by the Romanian competent bodies in the field of refugees and to respond to their requests; c) avoid causing any conflicting states or incidents with the population, or committing acts that may prejudice the criminal law; d) to obey the rules on the legal regime of foreigners, in so far as the law does not have otherwise; e) to reimburse the aid received according to art. 15 lit. i), if he has achieved income that allows it, without being affected by his or her family's maintenance. The amounts reimbursed are made to the state budget. + Chapter 4 Withdrawal and cancellation of refugee status + Article 17 Refugee status will be withdrawn to the foreigner who is in one of the following situations: a) has regained, by its own will, lost citizenship or acquired a new citizenship and enjoys the protection of the country whose citizen has become; b) has regained, by its own will, the protection of its country of origin; c) it was restored, by its own will, in the country it left due to a fear of persecution, according to the provisions of art. 1 1 para. 1 1; d) can benefit from the protection of the country whose citizen is, because the reasons for granting refugee status have ceased to exist, even within the deadline provided by art. 22 22; e) has no nationality and may return to the country in which it is domiciled, because the reasons for granting refugee status have ceased to exist; f) has waived, in writing, in person or, in the case of the minor under 14 years, through his legal representative, of this status; g) was approved the establishment of domicile in Romania or was granted Romanian citizenship. + Article 18 Refugee status can be cancelled if: a) the granting of this status was made on the basis of false statements of the applicant or obtained by him fraudulently; b) after granting refugee status, the foreigner enjoyed one of the facts provided in art. 4 or it was discovered that he had enjoyed such an act before the final rampage of the decision granted to him this status. + Article 19 The withdrawal and cancellation of the refugee status shall be provided by decision of the commission provided for in 9, at the proposal of the General Directorate of Border Police, foreigners, migration problems and passports. These measures do not take effect on the family members of the person against whom they were ordered. + Article 20 Art. 12 12, 13 and 14 shall also apply in the event of withdrawal or cancellation of refugee status. + Article 21 The foreigner who has been withdrawn or has been cancelled refugee status will be treated according to the legal provisions on the legal regime of foreigners in Romania. It will not be able to be sent to the country where life or freedom would be endangered for the reasons mentioned in art. 1 1 para. 1. It is exempted from the provisions of par. 2 the foreigner who has been cancelled refugee status and who, through his deeds, endangers or threatens to endanger national security or public order in Romania. + Chapter 5 Final provisions + Article 22 Refugee status shall be granted for a period of 3 years from the date of approval of the application. The extension of this status may be requested, examined and resolved under the same conditions as the original application. The extension will be allowed for a duration of 2 years from the date of termination of the refugee status granted. The foreigner who, after the cessation of refugee status, still remains on the territory of Romania, will be treated according to the legal provisions on the legal regime of foreigners. + Article 23 The procedure for granting refugee status shall also apply to foreigners who have obtained permission to stay on the territory of Romania, for the reasons provided in art. 1 1 para. 1, before the entry into force of this Law. + Article 24 The personal status of the refugee is regulated by the law of the country where he has his domicile or, in the absence of a home, by the law of the country + Article 25 The Ministry of Interior can approve the applicant refugee, during his stay on the territory of Romania, depending on the degree of its integration in society, the establishment of domicile in Romania under the Law on the regime of foreigners in Romania. + Article 26 Amounts representing the expenses occasioned by the application of art. 15 lit. i) of this law will be allocated to the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, based on the substantiations presented, from the Budget Reserve Fund at the disposal of the Government, in the first year of application of this law; be contained in the state budget. + Article 27 For the application of the provisions of this law will be established, subordinated to the Ministry of Interior, centers for the reception, sorting and accommodation of applicants for refugee status. The funds necessary for the establishment and operation of the centers, as well as for the coverage of other expenses occasioned by the procedures for granting refugee status, shall be provided from the state budget and will be allocated to the Ministry of + Article 28 In order to apply this law, the Government will issue a decision within 30 days from the publication of this law in the Official Gazette of Romania. + Article 29 This law shall enter into force within 30 days from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette of Romania. This law was adopted by the Senate at the meeting of February 29, 1996, in compliance with the provisions of art 74 74 para. (2) of the Romanian Constitution. p. SENATE PRESIDENT RADU VASILE This law was adopted by the Chamber of Deputies at its meeting on March 7, 1996, in compliance with the provisions of 74 74 para. (2) of the Romanian Constitution. CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES PRESIDENT ADRIAN NASTASE -----------