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Law No. 195 Of 20 April 2001, Volunteering

Original Language Title:  LEGE nr. 195 din 20 aprilie 2001 voluntariatului

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LAW no. 195 195 of 20 April 2001 (* republished *) Volunteering *)
ISSUER PARLIAMENT
Published in OFFICIAL MONITOR no. 276 276 of 25 April 2007



-------- Note * *) Republicated pursuant to art. II of Law no. 339/2006 to amend and supplement Law of Volunteering no. 195/2001 , published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, no. 651 of 27 July 2006, giving the texts a new numbering. Voluntary Law no. 195/2001 was published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, no. 206 206 of 24 April 2001 and has been amended by Government Ordinance no. 58/2002 to amend and supplement Law of Volunteering no. 195/2001 , published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, no. 642 of 30 August 2002, approved with amendments by Law no. 629/2002 , published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, no. 848 848 of 25 November 2002. + Chapter I General provisions + Article 1 This law regulates the participation of individuals in voluntary actions organized by legal entities governed by public law and private law, without profit, in Romania. + Article 2 For the purposes of this Law a) volunteering is the activity of public interest carried out on its own initiative by any individual, for the benefit of others, without receiving a material consideration; b) the activity of public interest is the activity carried out in areas such as: assistance and social services, protection of human rights, medical-health, cultural, artistic, educational, educational, scientific, humanitarian, religious, philanthropic, sport, environmental protection, social and community and the like; c) the host organization is the legal person of public law or the legal person of private law, without patrimonial purpose, who administers the volunteer activity. In relation to the nature of the work carried out, its complexity, the risks involved, the impact of the product, namely the liability involved, a voluntary contract may be concluded between the parties; d) a voluntary contract is a free convention concluded between a natural person, called a volunteer, and a legal person, called a host organisation, under which the first person undertakes the second person to perform an activity of public interest without obtaining a material consideration; e) the beneficiary of the volunteering is the natural or legal person for whom the voluntary activity is carried out. The host organisation may be identical or different from the beneficiary of the volunteering. + Article 3 This law is based on the following principles: a) participation as a volunteer, on the basis of freely expressed consent; b) active involvement of the volunteer in the community life; c) conduct of volunteering with the exclusion of any material consideration from the beneficiary of the activity; d) the participation of people in volunteer activities is based on equal opportunities and treatment, without any discrimination. + Article 4 Isolated, sporadic voluntary activities provided, outside the relations with the legal entities referred to in art. 1, for family reasons, friendship or good neighbourliness, are not subject to this law. + Article 5 Local authorities provide support in volunteering traineeships, giving priority to activities aimed at young people in disadvantaged categories or areas. + Article 6 (1) It is forbidden to conclude a voluntary contract in order to avoid the conclusion of an individual employment contract or, as the case may be, a civil service contract or another civil contract for consideration for making those benefits. (2) The voluntary contracts concluded with the application of the provisions of this law by the legal persons referred to in art. 1, in order to avoid the conclusion of an individual employment contract or, as the case may be, of a civil service contract or another civil contract for consideration. ((3) Participation as a volunteer may not substitute military service or other alternative formulas that replace military service and cannot represent an equivalent for a paid job. (4) Volunteers of foreign citizens are guaranteed residency during the period of volunteering. + Article 7 (1) For the purposes of the Community action programme "Youth", the young volunteer is the person aged between 18 and 25 who concludes, under the law, a voluntary contract for a limited period, following the development skills and training of personal and intercultural experience, while contributing to the good of the community. ((. The young volunteer shall participate in a Member State of the European Union other than that in which he or she is domiciled, or in a third country in a non-working and non-remunerated activity, which is of importance to the community and has a duration of limited to a maximum of 12 months in a project recognised by that State and the European Union. (3) Community voluntary internships for young people, depending on the expected duration, are differentiated in long-term internships, lasting between 3 months and one year, and short-term internships, lasting between 3 weeks and 3 months. (4) For the Community action programme "Youth" the host organisation shall provide the young volunteer with covering the expenditure of internal transport, accommodation and full meals. From funds from the European Commission, external transport and a non-taxable travel allowance are provided, in the form of pocket money, for the entire duration of the volunteer internship. (5) At the end of the volunteering period, a nominal certificate will be issued by the European Commission in the framework of the Community action programme "Youth" to recognise the provision of voluntary activity, as well as experience and skills acquired. + Chapter II The voluntary contract + Article 8 ((1) Volunteering is carried out on the basis of a contract concluded in written form, under the sanction of absolute nullity, between the volunteer and the host organization, under conditions of contractual freedom of the parties and in compliance with the provisions of this law. (. The host organisation shall be obliged to maintain a register of volunteers, the duration and type of work carried out by them. (3) If the parties agree that a voluntary contract is appropriate, it shall be concluded in two copies, one of which shall be compulsorily kept in the records of the legal person. + Article 9 At least the following rights of the volunteer must be stipulated in the voluntary contract: a) carrying out the activity in accordance with its capacity and availability; b) the provision by the host organization to carry out the activities under the legal conditions of labor protection, depending on the nature and characteristics of the respective activity; c) insurance by the host organization, under the conditions provided by law, against the risks of accident and illness or other risks arising from the nature of the activity; in the absence of insurance, any damages suffered by the volunteer during the voluntary activity shall be borne in full by the host organisation if they have not been determined by the fault of the volunteer. The volunteer can give up this right. The waiver must be express and express in writing; d) release by the host organization, at the end of the volunteer period, of a nominal certificate that recognizes the provision of voluntary activity, as well as the experience and skills acquired; e) depending on the understanding between the host organization and the volunteer, it can be established the reimbursement by the host organization, under the conditions agreed in the contract, of the expenses incurred for the realization The waiver by the volunteer of this right amounts to an act of liberality. + Article 10 The voluntary contract shall include at least the following obligations of the volunteer: a) perform the tasks received from the host organization; b) keep the confidentiality of the information to which it has access to the voluntary activity; c) to participate in the organized training courses, initiated or proposed by the host organization for a better activity of the volunteer; d) the volunteer is liable for the moral or material damage to the host organization within the voluntary activity at his own fault. + Article 11 In the performance of the voluntary contract the volunteer is subordinated to the management of the legal person with whom he concluded the + Article 12 The performance of the contractual obligations of the volunteer cannot be made by representation. + Article 13 Liability for non-performance or improper performance of the voluntary contract is subject to the rules provided by the Civil Code. + Article 14 If during the execution of the voluntary contract intervenes, independently of the will of the parties, a situation likely to make it difficult to execute the obligations of the volunteer, the contract will be renegotiated, and if the situation makes it impossible further of the contract, it is terminated by full right. + Article 15 The renegotiation of the voluntary contract is made at the written request of one of the parties, under the conditions established by contract + Article 16 The unilateral denunciation of the voluntary contract takes place on the initiative of either party and is done in written form, with the showing of the reasons. The conditions of denunciation shall be established by contract, the deadline set for the presentation of the notice being 30 days. + Article 17 Disputes arising from the conclusion, modification, execution or termination of the voluntary contract are within the jurisdiction of the courts, if the parties of the contract cannot resolve them amicably. Actions arising from the voluntary contract are exempt from stamp duty. + Chapter III Final provisions + Article 18 It is exempted from the provisions of this law the volunteer firefighters of the civil fire services constitute according to Government Ordinance no. 60/1997 on fire protection, approved with amendments and additions by Law no. 212/1997 ,, as amended *). -------- Note * *) Government Ordinance no. 60/1997 has been repealed by Law no. 307/2006 on fire protection, published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, no. 633 633 of 21 July 2006. Law no. 307/2006 no longer regulates "civilian fire services" but enshrines "voluntary or private emergency services". + Article 19 At the competitions held for filling positions, if two or more candidates obtain equal scores, public authorities and institutions, as well as private ones, may provide additional score to persons presenting one or more Voluntary certificates of volunteering, recognising the performance of the voluntary activity and the experience acquired, provided that they constitute selection criteria. + Article 20 This law shall enter into force 60 days from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I. ---------