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Law No. 189 Of 13 May 2003 (Republished) On International Judicial Assistance In Civil And Commercial Matters *)

Original Language Title:  LEGE nr. 189 din 13 mai 2003 (*republicată*) privind asistenţa judiciară internaţională în materie civilă şi comercială*)

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LEGE no. 189 189 of 13 May 2003 (* republished *) on international judicial assistance in civil and commercial matters *)
ISSUER PARLIAMENT
Published in OFFICIAL MONITOR no. 392 392 of 4 June 2015



Note
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* *) Republicated pursuant to art. II of Law no. 61/2015 to amend and supplement Law no. 189/2003 on international judicial assistance in civil and commercial matters, published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, no. 229 of 3 April 2015, giving the texts a new numbering.
Law no. 189/2003 was also republished in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, no. 543 543 of 5 August 2009.
---------- + Chapter I General provisions + Article 1 Subject matter (1) The international judicial assistance in civil and commercial matters refers to all the cooperation procedures between the Romanian and foreign judicial authorities in order to resolve a dispute, throughout its conduct. (2) The Romanian authorities empowered with the application of this Law are the Ministry of Justice and the (3) The provisions of this Law govern the conditions in which applications for international legal assistance are resolved with the object of: a) communication of judicial and extrajudicial documents in and abroad; b) obtaining evidence through international rogatory commissions; c) transmitting/obtaining information on foreign law. + Article 2 Application field ((1) Applications for international judicial assistance in civil and commercial matters formulated in the fields covered by art. 1 1 para. (3) shall be settled according to the provisions of this Law and of national law in the matter (2) The provisions of this Law shall be without prejudice to the provisions of European Union law, bilateral or multilateral conventions to which Romania is a party, complementing the situations not regulated by them. (3) For the states with which Romania has no conventional links, international judicial assistance in civil and commercial matters may be granted on the basis of international courtesy, subject to the principle of reciprocity; fact proves according to art. 2.561 2.561 para. (2) of the Civil Code. + Chapter II Communication of judicial and extrajudicial documents in and from abroad + Section 1 Common provisions + Article 3 Definitions (1) The communication of judicial and extrajudicial documents in and from abroad is the formality aimed at bringing them to the attention of the recipients: parties, witnesses or participants in a civil or commercial process in the requesting state. (2) It is the judicial acts that are issued in a civil or commercial process and whose communication takes place according to the law, from the disposition of the court, such as: citations, requests for appeal, judgments, requests for the exercise of attack and other such communications. (3) The extrajudicial acts are those issued by public notaries or bailiffs and may be used in a civil or commercial process. + Article 4 Communication of civil status documents The Romanian competent authorities will follow the requests of the foreign authorities, received through the Ministry of Justice, to communicate acts of Romanian civil status, as well as certified copies of the pronounced civil status decisions, whether these documents relate to citizens of the requesting State. + Section 2 Communication of documents abroad + Article 5 Ministry of Justice (1) The Ministry of Justice is the central authority through which the requesting Romanian authorities carry out the communication of documents abroad. As the case may be, the requesting Romanian authorities are the courts, namely public notaries, bailiffs, as well as other authorities that have, according to the law, powers in the communication of (2) After receiving the application for legal aid having as its object the communication of judicial or extrajudicial documents and the documents attached to it from the requesting Romanian authority, the Ministry of Justice shall carry out the regularity control international and, as the case may be, transmit them, depending on the existence and provisions of an international convention a) the central authority of the requested State; b) the diplomatic or consular mission of Romania from the requested State, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; or c) by post, directly to the recipient of the act + Article 6 Control of international regularity (1) The control of international regularity consists in verifying the conformity of the application for international legal aid and its annexed acts with the provisions of the applicable bilateral or multilateral treaties, including with statements made by Romania under the provisions of multilateral conventions. (2) The Ministry of Justice shall carry out the control of international regularity provided in (1), to check whether: a) between Romania and the requested state there are conventional norms or reciprocity in the field of international judicial assistance and if they are invoked as the legal basis of the application; b) at the request for international legal assistance, completed on the appropriate form, the documents to be communicated abroad are attached; the judicial documents to be communicated to the recipient abroad, depending on the issuer, must be signed or, where appropriate, have the signature and paraphernalia of the court; c) the documents attached to the application are accompanied by translations, according to art. 8. ((3) If it finds the failure to meet the conditions of international regularity provided in par. (2), the Ministry of Justice shall return, reasoned, the application and its attached acts. + Article 7 Content and form of application (1) The application for international legal aid relating to the communication of acts shall include: a) name of the requesting authority; b) name and quality of the parties c) the nature of the document; d) addressee e) the indication of all the documents in the Annex to the document being transmitted; f) indication of the time limit fixed by the requesting authority. (2) The application shall be accompanied by the act to be communicated, in duplicate. (. The application shall be annexed and the form of proof of communication, which shall contain the following particulars: a) name of the requesting authority; b) the documents submitted for communication; c) the name and domicile d) name of the requested judicial authority e) the name and quality of the person who received the documents (recipient, spouse, relative-for individuals, or function-for legal entities); f) the recipient's signature (with stamp application, for legal entities); g) the date of communication; h) reasons for non-communication (refusal of the recipient, changed address, etc.); i) signature of the procedural agent and stamp of the requested judicial authority (4) The application and the Annex documents shall be exempt from any overrepresentation or other analogous formality. + Article 8 Translation of the application and the documents-Annex If international conventions do not provide otherwise, the application and the documents-annex will be translated into the language of the requested state, as follows: a) the application for international legal assistance-through the Ministry of Justice; b) the documents attached to the application-through the care of the Romanian requesting authority and at the expense of the interested parties, apart from the cases in which the parties were approved the judicial public aid by the Romanian court in the form of translation; c) the proof form of the communication will have the title and the entries printed in French, English and German, through the care of the Ministry of Justice. + Article 9 Unblocking the application for legal aid (1) The Romanian applicant authority pursues the stage of settlement of the application for international legal aid having as its object the communication of judicial or extrajudicial acts to a natural or legal person with domicile, residence or headquarters abroad. (2) If the requesting authority does not receive the result of the application for international legal aid before the deadline indicated in the application, it may request the Ministry of Justice, as the central authority, to undertake steps in addition to the foreign requested authority in order to unlock the resolution of the application for international legal assistance. (3) The Ministry of Justice will take the necessary steps to unlock the request for legal assistance only at the express request of the requesting Romanian authority. + Article 10 Communication proof (1) The proof of communication of documents abroad is made as follows: a) to communication by post, directly to the addressee of the act-with proof of receipt of the recommended letter containing the citation and documents-annexes; b) to the communication through the competent central authority of the requested state or to the diplomatic or consular mission of Romania in the requested state-with the form provided for in art. 7 7 para. ((3) or with the requested authority's own form, as appropriate. ((2) If the recipient does not live at the address indicated by the applicant, after receiving from abroad the documents certifying this situation, the Romanian judicial authority will proceed according to the relevant norms of the Civil Procedure Code, if by international conventions or treaties to which Romania is a party is not provided otherwise. + Section 3 Communication of documents from abroad + Article 11 Ministry of Justice (1) The Ministry of Justice is the central authority designated to receive requests for legal assistance made by foreign authorities regarding the communication of judicial or extrajudicial acts to natural or legal persons residing, residence or, as the case may be, based in Romania. (2) The Ministry of Justice shall send the application for legal assistance and the documents attached to it to the court in whose territorial area it resides or has its residence or the seat of the recipient. (3) Depending on the path on which the applications were received-directly from foreign judicial authorities or through diplomatic or consular missions-, the evidentiary act of fulfilling the communication will be transmitted by the Ministry of Justice on the same Path. + Article 12 Role of court (1) The requested Romanian court shall immediately take the necessary measures to carry out the procedure of communication of the acts according to the norms of the Code of Civil Procedure, if by this law it is not provided otherwise. (2) The proof of communication will be made by filling in the form sent by the requesting judicial authority or, in its absence, by completing the form provided in art. 7 7 para. ((3). + Article 13 Refusal of application (1) The application for communication of documents may be refused by the courts only if it is assessed that its execution would prejudice national sovereignty or safety. ((. In the event of refusal, the requesting judicial authority shall be informed without delay in writing with the presentation of the reasons for refusal. + Article 14 Form of communication documents (1) The documents required to be communicated to a Romanian natural or legal person shall be accompanied by a translation into Romanian. (. If the documents are not translated, the consignee may refuse to receive them, asking that the translation be carried out at the expense of the requesting judicial authority. + Article 15 Expenditure (1) The fulfilment of the procedure for the communication of documents from abroad will not give way to the reimbursement of expenses incurred for this purpose, under conditions of reciprocity. (2) If the foreign judicial authorities have requested the communication in a special form, which does not contravene the Romanian legislation, it will be possible to reimburse the expenses occasioned by that procedure. + Chapter III International Rogatory Commissions + Section 1 Common provisions + Article 16 Definition (1) The international rogatory commission in civil or commercial matters is the act by which a judicial authority in a state mandates a judicial authority from another state to perform, in its place and on its behalf, a judicial act in a case determined. (2) Diplomatic or consular missions may perform rogatory commissions according to the requirements of the state where they are to be carried out. (. The rogatory Commission may be requested to allow the parties to obtain evidence which is intended for an ongoing or future proceeding. + Article 17 Subject The rogatory commission can request the administration of samples such as: hearing of witnesses, questioning of a party, obtaining documents or information, conducting surveys, carrying out social investigations, necessary for the settlement of a determined case. + Section 2 Request of rogatory commissions abroad + Article 18 Role of court (1) At the request of the parties or ex officio, the Romanian judicial authorities may request a rogatory commission abroad. (2) The Romanian judicial authorities shall send the request to the Ministry of Justice. + Article 19 Ministry of Justice (1) The Ministry of Justice is the competent central authority to transmit abroad the requests for a rogatory commission made by the Romanian courts. (2) After receiving the request for a rogatory commission, the Ministry of Justice shall carry out the control of international regularity and shall submit the request for a rogatory commission, as the case may be, depending on the existence and a) the competent central authority of the requested State; or b) the diplomatic or consular mission of Romania from the requested state, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. (3) Provisions art. 6 on the control of international judicial regularity, as well as those of art. 9 on measures to unlock the application for international legal assistance shall apply, accordingly, to the requests for a rogatory commission made by the Romanian courts. (4) At the request of the Romanian courts, the diplomatic missions or consular offices of Romania abroad may carry out rogatory commissions for persons who have Romanian citizenship; these persons may be assisted, upon request, by a Defender. + Article 20 Application content (. The request for a rogatory commission shall contain the following particulars: a) the requesting authority; b) the requested authority; c) identity and address of the parties d) the subject matter, with a brief summary of the facts; e) the object of the f) the name and address of the persons to be heard through the rogatory commission; g) the questions to be asked or the facts in relation to which questions will be asked; h) documents to be examined; i) specify whether the deposition is taken under oath or only by statements; j) other special requests. (2) No overrepresentation or other analogous formality is required. + Article 21 Translation of the application and response (1) The request for a rogatory commission is written in Romanian by the requesting court. (2) The official translation of the request for a rogatory commission and of the judicial documents annexed to it in the language of the requested state authority shall be ensured by the Ministry ((3) The translation of the reply to the request for a rogatory commission shall be carried out, by the Ministry of Justice, by an authorized translator + Article 22 Date and place (1) On the occasion of the submission of the request for a rogatory commission abroad, the date and place set for its performance will be requested. (2) With the consent of the requested judicial authority and with the opinion of the Ministry of Justice, the Romanian judges can assist in carrying out the + Article 23 Value of the Commission (1) Once fulfilled, the rogatory commission is received by the Ministry of Justice, which will forward it to the requesting court. (2) The rogatory commission shall become evidence to the case file for which it was requested, having the same value as if the respective judicial act had been fulfilled by the competent Romanian court. + Section 3 Rogatory commissions received from abroad + Article 24 Ministry of Justice (1) The Ministry of Justice is the competent central authority to receive the requests of the rogatory commissions submitted by the judicial authorities abroad. (2) The Ministry of Justice conveys the requests of commissions rogatory to the court in whose territorial area the requested judicial act is to be carried out. (3) The documents by which the rogatory commission is satisfied shall be transmitted to the Ministry of Justice, which will transmit them, in the same way, to the requesting authority + Article 25 Role of court (1) The requested judicial authority shall execute the rogatory commission according to the rules of procedure of the Romanian law; however, it shall be considered, at the request of the requesting judicial authority, to use a special procedure, provided that it does not contravene the Romanian legislation. (. If the rogatory commission is transmitted to a non-competitive judicial authority, it shall send it, ex officio, to the competent authority, notifying the Ministry of Justice of this circumstance. (3) The Romanian court will inform the requesting judicial authority of the date and place of the commission, and may allow the participation of foreign magistrates on request. + Article 26 Unwillingness (. The rogatory commission may be refused if: a) its execution does not fall within the competence of the judiciary; b) its execution is likely to prejudice national sovereignty or safety. (2) The rogatory commission will not be able to be executed when the person to be heard cannot testify due to prohibitions existing in Romanian legislation or when the documents to be transmitted or surveyed cannot be Circulated. (3) If the rogatory commission cannot be executed, in whole or in part, the requesting authority shall be informed without delay, presenting its reasons for non-execution. + Article 27 Expenditure Subject to reciprocity, the fulfilment of the rogatory commission will not give way to the reimbursement of the expenses incurred, except those determined by: a) the translation of the application and the documents-appendix, when they were not received translated into Romanian or in French or English; b) use of interpreters; c) use of experts. + Article 28 Role of foreign diplomatic or consular missions (1) The diplomatic or consular missions on the territory of Romania may carry out the rogatory commissions requested by the state authorities which they represent only for their citizens and only with the prior authorization of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which will also ask for the opinion of the Romanian Ministry (2) When a diplomatic agent or consular officer is authorized to proceed to the execution of a rogatory commission, he shall proceed according to the rules of procedure of the competent authority of the requesting State, provided that they are not prohibited by Romanian legislation. (3) Foreign nationals who will be heard at diplomatic or consular missions will be able to be assisted by a defender, at the request of the interested party. + Chapter IV Information on foreign law + Article 29 Ministry of Justice (1) The Ministry of Justice is the central authority that transmits to the ministries of justice of other states, at their request, information on domestic law in civil and commercial matters, as well as in the field of civil and commercial proceedings and the judicial organization, for determined judicial cases. (2) At the same time the Ministry of Justice is the central authority that asks the ministries of justice in other states for information of the kind mentioned in (1), at the request of the Romanian courts, for determined judicial cases. + Article 30 Request for information on foreign law (1) The request for information on foreign law emanates only from a judicial authority and includes: a) the name of the judicial authority from which the b) nature and stage of process; c) problems regarding which information is required from the right of another state, making a brief exposure of the context in which they are necessary. (2) Some documents of a nature clarifying the meaning of the application may also be attached to the application. (3) When the application is not made by a judicial authority, but by the parties to the dispute, it shall be accompanied by an end of its admission. (4) The application for legal information and the response received from the requested State shall be translated by the court or by the parties, as the case may be. + Article 31 Request for information on Romanian law (1) When he receives from abroad a request for information on the Romanian law, the Ministry of Justice formulates its response to another competent body to provide the appropriate answers. (2) The answer, objectively and impartially formulated, can be accompanied by complementary documents, such as extracts from texts of law or from works of doctrine. (3) The Ministry of Justice will be able to refuse to comply with the request for information on Romanian law when it considers that the interests of the Romanian state are affected by the dispute that has occasioned the formulation of the application or that the answer would be The sovereignty or its security. ((4) The response to a request for information on Romanian law will be submitted as soon as possible, taking into account the term mentioned by the requesting foreign authority. (5) If the elaboration of the response requires a longer time, the Ministry of Justice shall inform the requesting authority. + Chapter V Provisions on legal aid between Romania and the Member States of the European Union + Article 32 ((1) In application Regulation (EC) No 1.393/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 November 2007 on the notification or communication in the Member States of judicial and extrajudicial documents in civil or commercial matters ('the notification or communication of acts ') and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1.348/2000 * * 1) of the Council, the procedure for the communication of judicial and extrajudicial documents shall be carried out as follows: Note
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* * 1) Published in the Official Journal of the European Communities (JOCE) L series no. 324/79 324/79 of 10 December 2007.
---------- a) the Romanian courts communicate the judicial and extrajudicial documents directly to the welcoming authorities or, as the case may be, the recipients of the Member States of the European Union, with the transmission of a copy of the communication request or, as the case may be, of an address of information to the Ministry of Justice; b) Notaries, bailiffs and other authorities, in the competence of which the communication of documents abroad enters, carries out the transmission of applications through the courts in whose constituency they have their professional headquarters, the provisions of a) being properly applicable; c) the welcoming Romanian authority of the request for communication of judicial and extrajudicial documents from the Member States of the European Union is the court in whose constituency domicates or has its seat the recipient. When the documents are returned, the court informs the Ministry of Justice or sends a copy of the forms drawn up, for evidence. ((2) The costs relating to the communications of documents by means of a bailiff, a judicial official or other competent person, designated as a welcoming authority in certain Member States of the European Union, shall be borne by the interested, through the care of the court, apart from the cases in which the interested party was approved by the judicial public aid. (3) The expenses of transmission by normal or fast mail, fax or other modern means shall be borne by the court. + Article 33 ((1) In application Council Regulation (EC) No 45/ 1.206/2001 COUNCIL DECISION of 28 May 2001 on cooperation between the courts of the Member States in the field of obtaining evidence in civil or commercial matters (*), as amended, applications for evidence by international rogatory commission shall be made after as follows: Note
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* *) Published in the Official Journal of the European Communities (JOCE) L series no. 174 174 of 27 June 2001.
---------- a) the Romanian courts transmit the requests directly to the competent courts of the Member States of the European Union, and a copy of the request for evidence is submitted to the Ministry of Justice, for the record; b) by the court in whose constituency the requested sample of the Member States of the European Union is to be obtained. When the documents are returned, the court sends a copy to the Ministry of Justice, for evidence (2) The application for obtaining evidence and the judicial documents attached to it are translated into the language of the requested state or in the language that the state has declared to accept, by the roganta court. (3) The costs of mail, fax or other modern means shall be borne by the court. + Article 34 In application of art. 32 32 para. ((1) lit. a) and b) and art. 33 33 para. ((1) lit. a), to obtain information on the language used to supplement the forms, as well as the language used for the translation of the documents annexed to them, accepted and notified to the European Commission by the Member States of the European Union The competent Romanian authorities shall access the specialised website of the European Commission and consult the contact points of the European Judicial Network in civil and commercial matters. + Article 35 (1) The Ministry of Justice is the Romanian central authority designated pursuant to art. 3 3 para. 1 1 of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1.393/2007 and art. 3 3 para. ((1) of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1.206/2001 ,, as amended. (2) The Ministry of Justice shall make the communications in relation to the information that is required pursuant to art. 23 23 of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1.393/2007 , as well as art. 22 22 of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1.206/2001 . ((3) Pursuant to art. 3 3 para. ((3) of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1.206/2001 , The Ministry of Justice shall carry out the tasks relating to a decision on applications made on the basis 17 17 of the same Regulation. + Chapter VI Final provisions + Article 36 Entry into force of the law (1) The present law shall enter into force on 60 days from the date of publication in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I. (2) The international legal aid acts fulfilled before the entry into force of this Law shall remain valid. (3) The procedural documents started before the entry into force of this Law will be completed in accordance with the provisions in force on that date. + Article 37 Law enforcement The Ministry of Justice will develop, within 60 days from the entry into force of this law, the methodology for the application of its provisions *), except for the provisions on community legislation. Note
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*) In 2003, the Ministry of Justice developed the Methodology for the application of the provisions Law no. 189/2003 on international judicial assistance in civil and commercial matters, approved by Order of Justice Minister no. 2.888/C/2003 , published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, no. 717 717 of 14 October 2003.
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