ROMANIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Cosmin Vasile and Alina Tugearu, Zamfirescu Racoți Vasile & Partners Attorneys At Law
The rules apply regardless of whether or not the par- ties were heard before the relief was granted. 6.5 Respondent’s Worldwide Assets and Injunctive Relief As a rule, injunctive relief is granted only in relation to the assets of the respondent located in Romania, as Romanian courts are not competent to settle claims related to assets located in foreign countries. 6.6 Third Parties and Injunctive Relief Injunctive relief cannot be obtained against third par- ties, apart from a freezing injunction, which might be placed on the defendant’s assets when they are held by a third party. 6.7 Consequences of a Respondent’s Non- Compliance Aside from the criminal consequences that might materialise in being condemned for the criminal offence of contempt of court, disobeying a court deci- sion or order gives the creditor the right to request the application of enforcement procedures. Injunctive relief is enforced with the assistance of an enforcement officer (bailiff) under the general rules of enforcement, following the request of the creditor, if the debtor does not willingly obey the dispositions of the court. The plaintiff may also claim from the respondent any damages incurred due to the latter’s failure to comply with the terms of an injunction.
ing the judicial inquiry, the court settles all preliminary matters, such as competence, payment of the stamp fee, admissibility of the claim, etc. Subsequently, the parties submit the proposed evidence to the court’s attention, and it is then administered according to the court’s ruling. The judicial inquiry is followed by the debates. 7.2 Case Management Hearings In the case of shorter hearings, the defendant is sum- moned according to the rules of summoning in urgent matters: the service no longer needs to observe the rule that a summons must be served at least five days before the hearing. Another provision regarding the manner in which short hearings are conducted is that, in certain cases (eg, an application for provi- sional measures), the court will not admit evidence if the administration thereof will take a long time. In terms of case management, at the first hearing when parties are legally summoned, after asking the parties, the judge will estimate the duration of the case, based on the relevant circumstances, so that the case can be settled within a reasonable and predictable term. This estimate is not binding, as the judge is able to reconsider the duration, based on thorough grounds and after hearing the parties. Another case management measure is that, after admitting the production of an expert report, the court might set a hearing in order to hear the expert regard- ing the estimated duration for producing that report. 7.3 Jury Trials in Civil Cases The Romanian civil procedure rules do not provide for the participation of a jury. 7.4 Rules That Govern Admission of Evidence The admissible pieces of evidence provided by Roma- nian law are:
7. Trials and Hearings 7.1 Trial Proceedings
The trial is conducted by the judge and its develop- ment is governed by several principles, including: • the equality of the parties; • the adversarial nature of the proceedings;
• written documents; • witness statements; • cross-examination of the parties; • expert reports; and • on-location inspection by the court.
• the parties’ right to a fair trial; and • the legality of the proceedings.
The written submission phase is followed by the oral phase, comprised of judicial inquiry and debates. Dur-
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