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Law No. 51 Of 29 July 1991 (Republished) Concerning The National Security Of Romania)

Original Language Title:  LEGE nr. 51 din 29 iulie 1991 (*republicată*) privind securitatea naţională a României*)

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LEGE no. 51 51 of 29 July 1991 (** republished) (* updated *) on the national security of Romania * *) ((updated on 17 January 2016 *)
ISSUER PARLIAMENT




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** **) Republicated pursuant to art. 107 107 para. ((3) of Law no. 255/2013 for the implementation of Law no. 135/2010 on the Code of Criminal Procedure and for the modification and completion of some normative acts that include criminal procedural provisions, published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, no. 515 515 of 14 August 2013, as amended, giving the texts a new numbering.
Law no. 51/1991 was published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, no. 163 163 of 7 August 1991, and has been amended by:
- Law no. 187/2012 for the implementation of Law no. 286/2009 on the Criminal Code, published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, no. 757 of 12 November 2012, corrected in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, no. 117 of 1 March 2013, as amended.
---------- + Chapter I General provisions + Article 1 The national security of Romania means the state of legality, balance and social, economic and political stability necessary for the existence and development of the Romanian national state as a sovereign, unitary, independent and indivisible state, maintaining the rule of law, as well as the climate of unfettered exercise of the fundamental rights, freedoms and duties of citizens, according to the principles and democratic norms established by the Constitution. + Article 2 (1) National security shall be carried out by the knowledge, prevention and removal of internal or external threats that may affect the values provided in art. 1. (2) Romanian citizens, as an expression of their fidelity to the country, have the moral duty to contribute to the realization of national security. + Article 3 It constitutes threats to the national security of Romania the following: a) the plans and actions aimed at suppressing or affecting the sovereignty, unity, independence or indivisibility of the Romanian state; b) actions that aim, directly or indirectly, to provoke war against the country or civil war, to facilitate foreign military occupation, to meet a foreign power or to help a foreign power or organization to commit any of the these facts; c) betrayal by helping the enemy; d) the armed actions or any other violent actions aimed at weakening the state power; e) espionage, transmission of state secrets to a foreign power or organization or to their agents, procuring or illegal possession of documents or state secret data, in order to transmit them to a foreign power or organization or to agents to them or for any other purpose not authorized by law, as well as the disclosure of state secrets or negligence in their preservation; f) subversion, sabotage or any other actions aimed at removing by force the democratic institutions of the state or which prejudice the fundamental rights and fundamental freedoms of Romanian citizens or may prejudice the capacity defense or other such interests of the country, as well as acts of destruction, degradation or failure to use the structures necessary for the proper conduct of social-economic life or national defense; g) the actions by which they attempt to live, the physical integrity or the health of persons who perform important functions in the state or of representatives of other states or international organizations, whose protection must be ensured on the time of stay in Romania, according to the law, treaties and conventions concluded, as well as international practice; h) the initiation, organization, commission or support in any way of totalitarian or extremist actions of communist, fascist, legionary or any other kind, racist, anti-Semitic, revisionist, separatist that may endanger the any form of the unity and territorial integrity of Romania, as well as incitement to acts that may jeopardise the order of the rule of law; i) terrorist acts, as well as the initiation or support in any way of any activities whose purpose is committed by such acts; j) attacks against a community, committed by any means; k) the evading of weapons, ammunition, explosive or radioactive materials, toxic or biological from the authorized units to possess them, the smuggling of them, the production, possession, alienation, transport or use of them under conditions other than those provided by law, as well as the port of arms or ammunition, without right, if national security is endangered by them; l) the initiation or establishment of organizations or groups or the accession or support in any form thereof, for the purpose of carrying out any of the activities listed in lett. a)-k), as well as secretly carrying out activities by organizations or groups established according to the law. m) any actions or inactions that damage Romania's strategic economic interests, those that have the effect of endangering, illegal management, degradation or destruction of natural resources, forest funds, hunting and fish, water and other such resources, as well as monopolising or blocking access to them, with consequences at national or regional level. ---------- Lit. m) of art. 3 3 was introduced by art. unique from LAW no. 2 2 of 11 January 2016 published in MONITORUL OFFICIAL no. 27 27 of 14 January 2016. + Article 4 (1) The provisions of art. 3 may not be interpreted or used for the purpose of restricting or prohibiting the right of defense of a legitimate cause, of manifestation of an ideological, political, religious or other protest or disagreement, guaranteed by the Constitution or laws. (2) No person may be pursued for the free expression of his political opinions and may not be the object of an interference in his particular life, in his family, in his domicile or properties or in correspondence or communications, nor of touching upon his honor or reputation, if he does not commit any of the facts that constitute, according to the present law, a threat to national security. + Article 5 National security is carried out in accordance with the laws in force and with the obligations assumed by Romania through international conventions and treaties regarding the human rights to which it is a party. + Article 6 (1) The state bodies with attributions in the field of national security are: the Romanian Intelligence Service, the Foreign Intelligence Service, the Protection and Guard Service, as well as the Ministry of National Defence, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Justice, through specialized internal structures. (2) The activity for achieving national security is organized and coordinated by the Supreme Council of Defense of the Country. + Article 7 The Supreme Council of National Defence has, in the field of national security, the following tasks: a) analyze data and information obtained and assess the state of national security; b) establishes the main directions of activity and approves the general mandatory measures to eliminate the threats provided in art. 3 3; c) determine the modalities for the recovery of national security information; d) analyze reports and briefings on how to apply the law on national security; e) approve the organizational structures, flocks and operating regulations of the Romanian Intelligence Service, the Foreign Intelligence Service and the Protection and Guard Service; f) approve the operative expenses for the implementation of national security + Chapter II Information activity + Article 8 (1) The activity of information for the realization of national security is executed by the Romanian Intelligence Service, the state body specialized in the field of information inside the country, the Foreign Intelligence Service, the state body specialized in obtaining from abroad the data on national security, and the Protection and Guard Service, the state body specialized in ensuring the protection of Romanian dignitaries and foreign dignitaries during their presence in Romania, as well as in ensuring the security of their working premises and residences. (2) The state bodies provided in par. (1) shall be organized and operated according to the law and shall be financed from the state central administration budget. (3) The activity of the state bodies provided in par. (1) is controlled by the Parliament. + Article 9 (1) The Ministry of National Defence, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Justice organize their information structures with tasks specific to their fields of activity. (2) The information activity of these organs is carried out in accordance with the provisions of this law and is controlled by the Parliament. + Article 10 (1) The activity of information for the realization of national security has a secret state character. (2) The information in this field can only be communicated under the conditions of this law. + Article 11 (1) Information in the field of national security may be communicated: a) the President of the Senate, the President of the Chamber of Deputies, as well as the standing committees for the defense, public order and national security of the two b) ministers and heads of departments in ministries, when the information concerns issues related to the fields of activity they coordinate or respond to; c) to the prefects, the general mayor of Bucharest, as well as to the heads of the county councils, respectively of the General Council of Bucharest, for problems aimed at the competence of d) the prosecution bodies, when the information concerns the commission of a crime. (2) The communication of the information is approved by the heads of the bodies responsible for national security. (3) The provisions of art. 10 regarding the defense of the state secret shall be applied accordingly to all persons referred to in par. ((1) lit. a)-d). + Article 12 ((1) No person has the right to make known secret activities regarding national security, taking advantage of unhindered access to information, the right to their dissemination and freedom of expression of opinions. ((2) The division, by any means, of data and secret information that may prejudice the interests of national security, regardless of the manner in which it was obtained, is prohibited and attracts, according to the law, the liability of the guilty. (3) The provisions of par. (1) and (2) are without prejudice to freedom of opinion and expression, the right of the person not to be disturbed in any way for his opinions, as in that of seeking, receiving and spreading information and ideas, by any means of expression, if these rights are exercised in accordance with the laws of Romania. + Article 13 In the situations provided in art. 3 bodies with attributions in the field of national security may, under the law on their organization and functioning: a) to request and obtain objects, documents or official relations from public authorities or institutions, respectively to request from legal persons of private law or from individuals; b) consult experts or experts; c) to receive referrals or relationship notes; d) to fix some operative moments by shooting, filming or by other technical means or to carry out personal findings regarding public activities carried out in public places, if this activity is carried out occasionally; e) require data generated or processed by providers of electronic communications networks or providers of electronic communications services intended for the public, other than their content, and retained by according to the law f) to carry out activities specific to the collection of information involving the restriction of the exercise of fundamental human rights or freedoms carried out in compliance with the legal provisions. + Article 14 ((1) The activities specific to the collection of information that involve the restriction of the exercise of fundamental human rights or freedoms shall be carried out only in situations where: a) there are no other possibilities or there are limited possibilities for the knowledge, prevention or countering of risks or threats to national security; b) they are necessary and proportionate, given the circumstances of the concrete situation; c) the authorization provided by law was obtained. (2) The specific activities referred to in par. ((1) may consist of: a) interception and recording of electronic communications, carried out in any form; b) the search for information, documents or documents for which access is necessary to a place, to an object or the opening of an object; c) the erection and reinstatement of an object or document, its examination, the extraction of the information it contains, as well as the recording, copying or obtaining of extracts by any processes; d) the installation of objects, their maintenance and erection from the places where they were filed, surveillance by shooting, filming or by other technical means or personal findings, carried out systematically in public places or carried out in any mode in private places; e) localization, tracking and obtaining of information by GPS or other technical means of supervision; f) interception of postal items, their erection and reinstatement, their examination, the extraction of the information they contain, as well as the registration, copying or obtaining of extracts by any processes; g) obtaining information on financial transactions or financial data of a person, under the law. + Article 15 (1) The proposal for the authorization of specific activities from those provided for in art. 14 14 para. ((2) shall be made in writing and shall include: a) the name and function of the person making the proposal; b) date and place of issue of the proposal c) data or information showing the existence of a threat to national security, by presenting the facts and circumstances on which the proposal is based; d) the motivation for which specific activities are required; e) the categories of activities for which the request for authorization is proposed; f) if it is necessary to approve the penetration into private spaces for carrying out specific activities; g) the period for which the request for authorization is proposed; h) identity of the person subject to the measure, if known; i) the place where the proposed activities are to be carried out, if it is known. (2) The proposal shall be submitted to the Prosecutor General of the Prosecutor's Office of the High Court of Cassation and Justice and shall be examined in terms of legality and merits, within 24 hours of registration or immediately in urgent cases, of specific prosecutors appointed by him. (3) If he considers that the proposal is unjustified, the prosecutor rejects it by reasoned order, communicating this immediately to the body that formulated it. (4) If it is assessed that the proposal is based and the conditions laid down by law are met, the Prosecutor General of the Prosecutor's Office of the High Court of Cassation and Justice or his rightful replacement shall request in writing to the President High Court of Cassation and Justice authorization of proposed activities. (5) The request must include the data referred to in par. ((1). (6) The request shall be examined, as a matter of urgency, in the council chamber by one of the judges appointed by the President of the High Court of Cassation and Justice. (7) If the judge, examining the request, considers that there is not enough information, he requests the supplementation immediately, in writing, of the arguments presented. + Article 16 In case of request for extension of authorization, the application shall be made according to art. 15, which shall apply accordingly, plus the request for extension of the authorization, with the presentation of the reasons justifying the extension. + Article 17 (1) If the judge finds that the request is justified and the activities are required under the conditions of art. 14 14 para. (1), it shall authorise, by reasoned conclusion, which must include: a) name of the court, date, time and place of issue; b) data and information showing the existence of a threat to national security, by presenting the facts and circumstances justifying the measure; c) the specific activities authorized, among those provided in art. 14 14 para. ((2); d) the identity of the person who is affected by the specific activities, by restricting the fundamental rights and freedoms, if known; e) the bodies performing the authorized activities; f) natural or legal persons who are required to provide support to the execution of authorized activities; g) specify the place or localities in which the authorized activities will be carried out, if they are known; h) the duration of the authorisation. (2) The judge shall also issue a mandate containing the elements provided in par. ((1) lit. a) and c)-h). ((3) In situations where it is necessary to authorise new activities other than initial activities, their conduct in other places or localities, if known, or when changes in call numbers have occurred, the original mandate shall be duly complete, with the application of the procedure provided for in art. 15. (4) The duration of validity of the authorization of the activities is the one necessary for their conduct, but not more than 6 months. The authorisation may be extended under the same conditions, for duly justified reasons, each extension not exceeding 3 months. The maximum duration of authorisations with regard to the same data and information showing the existence of a threat to national security shall be two years. The specific activities shall cease before the expiry of the duration for which they were authorised, as soon as they have ceased their reasons. + Article 18 ((. If the judge finds that the application is not justified, he shall reject it by reasoned conclusion. The conclusion is final. (2) A new authorization with regard to the same person may be requested and issued only if the request is based on new data and information and in compliance with the provisions of art. 15-17. + Article 19 (1) When the delay in obtaining the authorization would seriously prejudice the finality of the necessary specific activities, they can be carried out with the authorization of the prosecutor, for a maximum duration of 48 hours, and the authorization of the judge will be requested as soon as there is the possibility, but no later than the expiration of this term. The judge shall rule on the request immediately. (2) If the judge considers that it is necessary to continue the activities provided in par. (1), provisions of art. 15 15-17 shall apply accordingly. (3) If the judge considers that the continuation of the activities provided in par. (1), confirm their performance and the preservation of the materials obtained or, as the case may be, order their immediate termination and destruction of the materials obtained, within a maximum of 7 days. A copy of the minutes of destruction shall be transmitted to the judge. + Article 20 (1) Persons who apply for authorization, authorize, enforce or support the execution of authorization benefit from the protection of the law and are obliged to keep the secret to the data and information they are aware of with this occasion and comply with the legal provisions on protection of classified information. (2) The bodies implementing the authorized activities are obliged to interrupt them immediately when the grounds that have justified them have ceased and to inform the Prosecutor General of the Prosecutor's Office of the High Court of Cassation and Justice. The Prosecutor General of the Prosecutor's Office of the High Court of Cassation and Justice informs the High Court of Cassation and Justice about the interruption of authorized activities when the grounds that justified them have ceased. (3) The same bodies have the obligation to inform in writing the Prosecutor General of the Prosecutor's Office of the High Court of Cassation and Justice about the result of the activities authorized by the mandate and the measures taken, according to the law. (4) The procedure for the authorization of specific activities, as well as the carrying out of authorized activities, shall be done in compliance with the legal provisions + Article 21 (1) Data and information of interest to national security, resulting from authorized activities, if they indicate the preparation or commission of a deed provided by the criminal law, are retained in writing and transmitted to the prosecution bodies, under art. 61 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, accompanied by the mandate issued for them, plus the proposal for declassification, as the case may be, total or in extract, according to the law, of the mandate. Calls and/or communications intercepted, rendered in writing, and/or recorded images shall be transmitted to the prosecution bodies in full, accompanied by their original digital content. ((2) If the data and information resulting from the authorized activities are not sufficient for the referral of the prosecution bodies, nor does it justify the further conduct of information activities regarding that person, from the provision of the head of the state body with attributions in the field of national security shall be notified to the person whose rights or freedoms have been affected by the authorized activities, regarding the activities carried out against this and the periods in which they unfolded. (3) The notification provided in par. ((2) will not be made if: a) could lead to the endangerment of the performance of the duties of the state bodies with attributions in the field of national security, by revealing their sources, including the security and information services of other states; b) could affect the defence of national security; c) could affect the rights and freedoms of third parties; d) could lead to the unravelling of methods and means, including the special techniques of concrete investigation, used in the respective case by state bodies with attributions in the field of national security. + Article 22 Any person who considers himself injured in his fundamental rights or freedoms as a result of activities specific to the collection of information carried out by the information bodies or those with attributions in the field of national security may be The address, according to the law, to parliamentary committees or judicial bodies, a) the commissions charged to exercise parliamentary control, according to the laws of organization and functioning of the information bodies or those with attributions in the field of national security; b) to the court, under the conditions Law no. 677/2001 for the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and the free movement of such data, with subsequent amendments and completions; c) courts, for the repair of material and moral damages suffered, according to civil law; d) judicial bodies, through the formulation of complaints and remedies according to the Code of Criminal Procedure; e) other committees or judicial bodies, according to the procedures regulated by special laws. + Article 23 (1) The means of obtaining the information necessary for national security must not, in any way, harm the fundamental rights or freedoms of citizens, their particular life, honor or reputation or subject them to illegal restrictions. (2) Any person is protected by law against such interference or touching. Those guilty of initiating, transmitting or executing such measures without legal basis, as well as the abusive application of measures to prevent, discover or counter threats to national security respond to civil, administrative or criminal, as appropriate. (3) The citizen who considers himself injured in his rights or freedoms by using the means provided in par. (1) may refer any of the standing committees to the defence, public order and national security of the two chambers of Parliament. + Chapter III Obligations and liabilities of state bodies, public or private organisations + Article 24 In order to achieve national security, ministries, all other organs of the state, organizations in the public or private sectors have, according to the law, the following duties: a) give the necessary support to the request of the bodies responsible for national security in the performance of their duties and to allow their access to the data held, which may provide information on national security; b) take the necessary measures for the application of the law on national security in the fields in which it operates or in the matters it deals with; c) to request the support of the national security bodies in order to carry out the necessary measures to achieve national security in their field of activity. + Article 25 (1) Organs and organizations holding state secrets, in accordance with the provisions of the special law, or whose activity may be targeted by the actions considered, according to art. 3, as threats to national security, will draw up their own programs to prevent the leak of information of a secret nature, which are subject to the specialized notice of the Romanian Intelligence Service. ((2) The liability for fulfilling the obligations laid down in art. 24 24 and in par. ((1) of this Article shall, according to the law, return to the head of the respective organ or organization (3) They are exempted from the specialized endorsement provided in par. (1) own programs to prevent the leaking of secret information of the Romanian Parliament, the Ministry of National Defence, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Foreign Intelligence Service, the Protection and Guard Service and National Administration of Prisons subordinated to the Ministry of Justice. + Chapter IV Sanctions + Article 26 (1) The conduct, without authorization, of activities specific to the collection of information subject to authorization under the conditions of this law or with exceeding the authorization granted shall be punishable by imprisonment from 2 to 7 years, if the act does not constitute a crime more serious. (2) With the same punishment shall be sanctioned and the act of the official who discloses, refuses or prevents, in any way, the carrying out of the mandate issued under the conditions of this law. (3) The attempt is punishable. + Article 27 (1) Information on the particular life, honor or reputation of persons, known incidentally in obtaining the data necessary for national security, cannot be made public. ((2) The division or use, without right, by the employees of the data services provided in par. (1) constitutes a crime and is punishable by imprisonment from 2 to 7 years. (3) The attempt is punishable. + Chapter V Final provisions + Article 28 The documents of the information bodies and those with attributions in the field of national security shall be kept in their archives and can only be consulted under the law. + Article 29 (1) The personnel of the Romanian Intelligence Service, the Foreign Intelligence Service and the Protection and Guard Service shall be composed of permanent military personnel and civilian employees. (2) Military cadres of the organs provided in par. (1) have the rights and obligations provided for the Romanian military. (3) Civil employees are applicable to the provisions of the Labor Code and the other legal norms regarding their rights and obligations. + Article 30 Staff provided for in art. 29 29 para. (1), which performs operative duties, carries out activities involving the exercise of the state authority and has all the rights and obligations provided by law for it. + Article 31 (1) The salariates of the information bodies and of those with attributions in the field of national security cannot be part of parties or other organizations with political or secret character and cannot be used for political purposes. (2) I cannot activate in the information services persons who have been found guilty for actions directed against human rights and fundamental freedoms. + Article 32 Employees of the information bodies and those with attributions in the field of national security have the obligation to keep the state and professional secrecy, including after leaving, in any way, the service. + Article 33 Persons referred to in art. 32, called as witnesses before judicial bodies, may make depositions on the facts and circumstances concerning national security, which they have become aware of in the performance of their duties and in relation to them, only with the written consent of the head of the organ to which they belong. + Article 34 On the date of entry into force of this Law, any contrary provision shall be repealed. ------