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Law No. 83 Of 12 July 1996 To Postal Services

Original Language Title:  LEGE nr. 83 din 12 iulie 1996 a serviciilor poştale

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LEGE No. 83 of 12 July 1996 of postal services
ISSUER PARLIAMENT
Published in OFFICIAL MONITOR NO. 156 of 22 July 1996



The Romanian Parliament adopts this law + Chapter 1 General provisions + Article 1 The access of any natural or legal person to postal services and the free transmission of postal items are guaranteed under the conditions of this law. + Article 2 Within the meaning of this law are defined: a) postal services: reception, processing, transport or transmission and handing over of postal items to the destination under the conditions established by the regulations in force; b) postal items: written or recorded communications, documents, values, documents, material goods, postal or telegraphic warrants entrusted to postal operators to be transported or transmitted and handed over to their destination; c) basic postal services: postal services for the public, carried out against cost inside the country and in international traffic regarding: -correspondence: letters, printed postcards (including embossed documents, sound recordings for use by blind persons), legal proceedings, telegrams (except for transmission); -small packages (up to two kilograms); -postal or telegraphic warrants. + Article 3 Postal services are carried out only through legal entities empowered according to the provisions of this law, hereinafter referred to as postal service operators. + Article 4 (1) The secret of letters, telegrams and other postal items is guaranteed by law. All persons involved in postal activities are obliged to ensure the confidentiality of the references. It is forbidden to violate or disclose the content of correspondence or other postal items, to give information about those who use postal services or to facilitate and encourage such acts. (2) Postal service operators may open postal items only in case of damage to them during processing or transport, except for their own fault, for the purpose of obtaining the data necessary to surrender them to the recipient or to sender. (3) In case of suspicion of fraudulent use of postal services, facts that may constitute contraventions according to art. 34 of this law, or at the request of the customs bodies for the verification of the content, postal service operators may request the opening of postal items by the sender or recipient. (4) In order to discover the crimes and their authors and to find the truth in criminal cases, the postal service operators will provide the prosecution bodies or the courts with all the values and references postage considered delicate bodies and all the documents they need, based on the written provision, given by the competent magistrate according to the Code of Criminal Procedure. + Article 5 (1) The regulatory authority on postal services is the Ministry of Communications, which acts for the application of the provisions of this law and exercises its duties by order of the Minister. (2) The regulation of postal services must ensure the harmonious development of these services at national level, their efficiency, operativeness, quality and diversification, as well as the provision of basic postal services to the general public, having In view of the social protection of users according to the principle + Article 6 The principle of universal service applies to a minimum set of quality services, which must be provided at a reasonable price for all users, under non-discriminatory conditions, throughout the country. + Chapter 2 Postal services + Article 7 (1) The national operator designated to perform basic postal services is the Autonomous Regia "Posta Romana". These postal services are reserved for the Autonomous Regia "Posta Romana" for a period of 5 years, with the possibility of extending this period by law. (2) In the period provided in par. (1), The Autonomous Regia "Posta Romana" can turn into a commercial company on public interest actions, with the obligation to ensure universal service according to art. 6, taking over the basic postal services. + Article 8 It does not constitute a violation of reservation rights and is not subject to the authorization provided in art. 13 the following activities: a) correspondence transported, free of charge, by natural persons empowered by the sender to be handed over to the recipient; b) transport of money and values of economic agents by own employees, making payments or receipts of amounts due or due from their own activity of these agents; c) secret correspondence of public authorities, military units, research or production units that execute orders in the field of national defense, or of other public institutions, collected, transported and distributed through special couriers, regulated by other normative acts. + Article 9 The Autonomous Regia "Posta Romana" has the right of reservation for the location of postal boxes in public places and public transport. + Article 10 (1) The Autonomous Regia "Posta Romana" has the obligation to ensure, under the law and according to the principle of universal service, basic postal services throughout the national territory and in international relations for any natural person or The legal provisions and specific instructions shall be complied with by the users. (2) The Autonomous Regia "Posta Romana" can refuse any postal reference, if by accepting it in the postal circuit it endangers the life or health of some persons or may cause material damage or damage to other postal items. (3) The organization of activities in the network of the Autonomous Regia "Posta Romana" will ensure the performance of postal services in all inhabited areas and every working day, and for telegrams, and on non-working days. + Article 11 (1) The postal services, other than the basic ones, may be carried out by any operator, including the Autonomous Regia "Posta Romana", under conditions of competition regulated according to the law. (2) Of the category of postal services mentioned in par. (1) includes the presentation, transport and distribution of express correspondence or by accelerated courier, messaging service and other services, within the country and in international traffic. + Article 12 Postal service operators, other than those reserved for the Autonomous Regia "Posta Romana", can use the postal network belonging to it, on contractual basis, under the conditions of compliance with this law. + Chapter 3 Authorization of postal service operators + Article 13 (1) They may be authorized for the performance of postal services, other than basic ones, Romanian legal entities or representatives of foreign legal entities registered in Romania, which are in their object of activity services. (2) The authorization shall be granted by the Ministry of Communications for a period of no more than 10 years, with the right to be extended under the law. (3) The authorization of the postal service operator shall mention the type of service, the geographical area and the operating conditions of the services. Failure to fulfill the obligations established in the authorization or violation of some legal provisions may lead to its partial or total withdrawal. (4) For authorization activity the Ministry of Communications charges authorization fees, provided in the annex to this law, which are made income to the state budget. The authorization fees will be modified by Government decision according to the inflation index. + Article 14 (1) The definition, maximum weight, maximum dimensions and general conditions regarding the presentation and distribution of postal items, as well as the main technical and quality rules for basic postal services shall be established by order of to the Minister (2) The Autonomous Regia "Posta Romana" issues instructions on the application of these conditions for its own services, in particular the withdrawal, the modification of the address, the return to the sender, the impossibility of handing over to the recipient of postal items, retention, as well as the responsibilities arising therefrom, instructions which are subject to the approval of the regulatory authority. + Article 15 (1) The regulatory authority may require the postal service operators the information and statistical data necessary to assess the fulfilment of the provisions of the authorization, as well as the functioning and quality of the postal service State. (2) The data on the functioning and quality parameters of the reserved postal services shall be published annually by the Autonomous Regia "Posta Romana". + Chapter 4 Issuing and marketing of stamps and postal effects + Article 16 In the exercise of his duties, the Autonomous Regia "Posta Romana" has the exclusive right to issue, to put and withdraw from circulation stamps and postal effects. + Article 17 (1) The stamps and postage effects with printed stamp shall be printed on the basis of the graphic models made by the Autonomous Regia "Posta Romana" in accordance with the internal and international regulations in the field and with the opinion of the Philatelic Commission. (2) The Autonomous Regia "Posta Romana" elaborates annual programs of stamps and postal effects, establishing their structure and theme. + Article 18 The composition, duties and functioning of the Philatelic Commission shall be approved by order of the Minister of Communications. + Article 19 (1) The postal stamps are valued both at their nominal value and at the philatelic value, through the Autonomous Regia "Posta Romana" or through other economic agents. (2) Postal stamps are sold both in the country and abroad or form the object of philatelic exchanges under the law. (3) The marketing of postage stamps shall be carried out under the conditions established by domestic law and international agreements in the field to which our country is a party. + Article 20 The Autonomous Regia "Posta Romana" establishes and ensures the conditions of preservation, record and storage of stamps and postal effects with printed stamp, heritage stamps, other philatelic goods, as well as the stock of stamps necessary to exchange with Postal administrations from other countries in its stamp conservatory. + Chapter 5 Pricing of postal services + Article 21 (1) For the provision of postal services, rates established according to the law are (2) In the case of postal services reserved for the Autonomous Regia "Posta Romana", the tariffs are subject to the approval of the regulatory authority, with the opinion of the authorities with powers in the field of pricing ((3) The tariffs are established in view of the long-term provision of postal services, based on economic efficiency, differentiated for individuals and legal entities, and the provision, as the case may be, of the universal nature of the postal service and conditions for developing the postal network. (4) The tariffs will be made public by the postal service operator. + Article 22 (1) It is forbidden to subsidize the postal services open to the competition from the income obtained as a result of the activities reserved for the Autonomous Regia " ((2) The expression grouped in the form of a single reference of several postal items in the field of reserved postal services, with different recipients, for the purpose of not paying the tariff on each reference, is prohibited. + Article 23 Not subject to pricing: a) postal items sent by postal administrations and their offices; b) the exchange of references between the organs of the Universal Postal Union and the organs of the regional unions, between the organs of these unions and those sent by them to the postal administrations or their offices; c) postal items containing inscriptions in relief and sound recordings for the use of blind persons, transmitted by the associations of the blind or addressed to them; d) other references specified in the international conventions and agreements to which Romania is a party. + Chapter 6 Liability for provision of postal services + Article 24 (1) The liability of postal service operators, under the terms of this law, starts from the presentation of postal items and lasts until the end of the term of administrative complaint. (2) The term of administrative complaint and the retention period for internal postal items shall be 6 months, and for the external ones, one year, calculated from the day of submission of the postal item. (3) The deadline for the settlement of administrative complaints is 3 months for internal and 6-month postal items for external references, from the date of submission of the administrative complaint. (4) After the expiry of these terms the sender or the recipient may request information about the registered postal items until the expiry of the term of archiving (usually 2 years) of the postal documents, without the right to compensation. (5) For postal services open to competition, the terms of administrative complaint may be established by contract between the operator and the beneficiary. + Article 25 Postal items belong to the sender until the time of their surrender to the recipient. Until this moment, the sender has the right to withdraw them, to modify the address stated on them, to cancel or to modify the special indications. No seizure or attachment can be applied to them. + Article 26 (1) The term for appeal shall be 6 months for domestic and one-year postal items. (2) The time limit for the introduction of the action shall be counted from the date of receipt of the reply to the administrative complaint or, if no response has been made to the administrative complaint lodged within, from the expiry of the time limit for its resolution. ((3) The action will not be received unless proof of introduction of the administrative complaint is made. + Article 27 (1) The Expeditor shall be entitled to a compensation corresponding to the actual value of the loss, destruction or damage of registered postal items, which shall not exceed the values specified in art. 28. Indirect damage and unrealized benefits, arising from errors, losses or delays in the transmission or delivery of postal items, shall not be compensated. ((. The Expeditor may waive his right of compensation in favour of the consignee. + Article 28 The Autonomous Regia "Posta Romana" responds for the internal postal items recorded, as follows: 1. In case of loss, absconding or misteaching: a) with the entire value declared for a postal order sent with the declared value; b) with the entire value declared for a postal reference submitted by cash on delivery to the recipient; c) with the full amount of the refund for a postal delivery, after handing it over to the addressee, when the postal operator has failed to collect the refund from the recipient; d) with the entire value for mandates; e) with the amount representing ten times the presentation rate for a registered postal reference; f) with the amount representing ten times the presentation rate for a parcel without declared value, regardless of weight. The compensation provided in lett. a), b) and c) will not exceed the actual value of the content. Apart from the compensation provided for in point 1 is returned and the tariffs collected at the presentation. 2. In case of partial lack or damage: a) with the declared value for the missing or damaged part, entered in the inventory note, for open letters with declared value; b) with the corresponding amount corresponding to the missing weight, for the closed letters of c) with the share of the compensation provided for in item 1 lit. f), established in relation to the missing weight or the weight of the damaged content, for parcels without declared value; d) with the established value which cannot exceed the declared value nor the actual value of the missing or damaged content, taken into account at the place and at the time of the presentation of the declared value parcel. The complete loss of content is similar to the loss of postal mail. When the consignor declared a value less than the actual amount, the compensation is at the level of the declared value. 3. (1) With the rates charged at the presentation: a) for untaught telegrams and telephone opinions; b) for the telegrams handed over later than would be reached by land mail; c) for telephone opinions that have not been handed over in a timely manner; d) for telegrams the content of which is denatured. (2) In case of non-performance of additional postal services, nominated by the sender by special indications, only the additional collected tariffs shall be returned. + Article 29 The Autonomous Regia "Posta Romana" does not respond for unregistered or registered postal items, if the damage occurred from the sender's fault, if the sending was received without objections by the recipient or when the damage occurred as following a case of force majeure. + Article 30 The Autonomous Regia "Posta Romana" responds for external postal items in accordance with the provisions of international conventions and arrangements to which Romania is a party. + Article 31 The goods from the postal items sent by the Autonomous Regia "Posta Romana", which could not be handed over to the recipients nor to the senders, after the expiry of the term of administrative complaint and storage will be capitalized or destroyed by to this, the resulting amounts being made come to the Autonomous Regia "Posta Romana". + Article 32 Operators of postal services open to competition respond to shippers according to contractual provisions. + Article 33 Consignors of postal items shall respond to postal operators for damages resulting from the dangerous nature of postal items or packing conditions not appropriate to their content, within the limit of the amount of damages and amounts paid as compensation to other beneficiaries of postal services whose postal items have been damaged because of this. + Chapter 7 Sanctions + Article 34 It constitutes contraventions to the provisions of the present law the following facts, if, according to the criminal law, it 1. surrender or dispatch, without declaring the actual nature of the goods, by any postal reference, by: a) objects that by their nature or by the way they are packaged endangerment, in manipulation or transport, life or human health, destroy, degrade or damage installations or other postal items; b) explosive, flammable, narcotic, poisonous, corrosive, toxic or radioactive substances; c) materials or objects whose circulation is prohibited, except in cases where a special authorization given by the competent bodies is presented; d) live animals, except those permitted in accordance with the instructions on postal services; 2. the introduction, in the postal items for which a lower tariff is charged, of other postal items for which higher tariffs are set: a) the introduction, in simple or recommended letters, of money, values or other precious objects of any nature; b) evading the individual payment of the tariffs by sending in a single postal reference of several references with different recipients. If the recipient will pay the compensation, he will be handed the postal sending, the sender remaining obliged only to pay the fine; 3. the franchising of postal items with stamps cut from postcards or other forms with the printed postmark or with postage stamps used or by any other unauthorized means; 4. preventing the installation of postal boxes; 5. the destruction or damage of the postal boxes or their unauthorized opening; 6. the collection, receipt, transport and distribution of correspondence of any kind, of money, of the values that may be subject to postal items, carried out repeatedly by natural or legal persons unauthorized by the Ministry of Communications, except in the cases provided in art. 8. + Article 35 (1) Contraventions provided in art. 34 34 section 1-4 is sanctioned with a fine from 50,000 lei to 500,000 lei, and those from item 5 and 6, with a fine of 300,000 lei to 3,000,000 lei. (2) In the case of contraventions provided in art. 34 34 section 1 and 2, the offender owes, as the case may be, the compensation provided in art. 33. (3) The amount of fines may be amended by Government decision, depending on the reference rate of the national currency. + Article 36 (1) Contraventions are found by the agents empowered by the Ministry of Communications, which also applies the sanction. (2) Individuals and legal entities may be offenders. + Article 37 Goods subject to the contraventions provided in art. 34 34 section 1 will be confiscated and capitalized according to the law. + Article 38 Insofar as this law does not otherwise have, the contraventions provided for in art. 34 the provisions of Law no. 32/1968 on the establishment and sanctioning of contraventions, with subsequent amendments, except art. 25 25, 26 and 27. + Article 39 The acts committed in connection with postal services and their performance, which by their nature constitute crimes, shall be punished according to the criminal law. + Chapter 8 Transitional and final provisions + Article 40 In the exercise of its responsibilities in the field of postal service regulation, the Ministry of Communications negotiates and participates, as the case may be, with agreements or conventions with postal service regulators in other countries or with Relevant international organisations. + Article 41 For special conditions: curfew, state of emergency, disaster or calamities, the Ministry of Communications, in collaboration with the Ministry of National Defence, may order the reorganization, restriction or temporary suspension of the provision postal services, making this decision public. + Article 42 (1) The constructions, spaces and related land, public property of the state, in which the activity of the post offices is carried out and which are not the property of the Autonomous Regia "Posta Romana", is transferred to its administration, on the basis of protocol, by Government decision. (2) The local public administration authorities will support the Autonomous Regia "Posta Romana" by providing the necessary spaces for the deployment of postal services, by renting them with priority or by concession under the law. + Article 43 (1) The economic agents carrying out the transport of postal items by land, air, river or sea are required to provide this service with priority, as well as the access of postal employees to the means of transport or to the premises it. (2) In order to align with the regulations of the Universal Postal Union and of the European Union on international postal exchanges, postal operators shall enjoy access and priority to border posts and customs bodies. + Article 44 (1) The right to use the emblem of the Autonomous Regia "Posta Romana" belongs exclusively to it. (2) The uniforms of the employees of the Autonomous Regia "Posta Romana", with its emblem, will be worn only during the exercise of their duties. + Article 45 The date of entry into force of this Law shall be repealed: - Decree no. 197/1955 on the operation of mail and telecommunications services, the part relating to the mail sector; - art. 1 and 2 of H.C.M. No. 2.487/1969 for the establishment and sanctioning of contraventions to legal provisions regarding the operation of mail and telecommunications services; - Government Decision no. 1.014/1990 on the valorisation, preservation, record and preservation of stamps and postage effects with printed stamp and the organisation of the philatelic commission; - art. 7 7 of Decree no. 106/1990 on the stamp regime in Romania; -any other provisions to the contrary. + Article 46 This law shall enter into force within 60 days from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette of Romania. This law was adopted by the Chamber of Deputies at its meeting on June 27, 1996, in compliance with the provisions of 74 74 para. (1) of the Romanian Constitution. CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES PRESIDENT ADRIAN NASTASE This law was adopted by the Senate at the meeting of 27 June 1996, in compliance with the provisions of art. 74 74 para. (1) of the Romanian Constitution. p. SENATE PRESIDENT VALER SUIAN + Annex 1 AUTHORISATION FEES The authorization fees provided for in art. 13 13 are the following: 1. Authorization fee for postal services on the area of a locality: 300.000 lei 2. Authorization fee for postal services on the area of a county: 1.000.000 lei 3. Authorization fee for postal services on the area of several counties or on the national territory: 3.000.000 lei. ---------------------