Categories
Uncategorized

The Offence of Migrant Smuggling in Romanian Criminal Law (2025): Regulation, Recent Case Law and International Standards

The article analyses the offence of migrant smuggling under Romanian criminal law, including how prosecutors prove “facilitation” and organised group elements. It also reviews recent case-law and international standards, giving you and your lawyer a practical framework to assess evidence, challenge overbroad charges and understand sentencing trends.

Categories
Uncategorized

The Annulment Appeal in Criminal Matters

This guide explains what the annulment appeal is, when it can be used to attack a final criminal judgment and how it differs from ordinary appeals. It walks you through admissibility conditions, procedural steps and practical defence strategies so you can assess with your lawyer whether this extraordinary remedy is realistic in your case.

Categories
Uncategorized

Money laundering in Romania: offence, penalties and how cases are analysed in practice

The article sets out the legal definition of money laundering, the typical factual scenarios and how prosecutors construct the “predicate offence” and knowledge elements. You also see how courts reason in real cases, what evidence is decisive and which defence lines can make a difference when your legitimate business is mistaken for money laundering.

Categories
Uncategorized

The criminal offence of computer fraud – regulation, case law and comparative perspectives

This article explains how Romanian criminal law defines computer fraud, how it interacts with related cybercrime offences and which sanctions you face in practice. It also highlights key case-law and comparative perspectives, helping you and your lawyer assess the strength of the evidence, raise technical objections and build a defence strategy around digital proof.

Categories
Uncategorized

The role of the defence lawyer during criminal investigation in Romania: what they actually do and which mistakes they can prevent

The article goes beyond clichés about “being there” and details how defence counsel can influence interrogations, searches, pre-trial measures and evidence gathering from day one. It also lists the most damaging errors suspects make without a lawyer—spontaneous statements, consent to searches, unmanaged media exposure—and how timely legal advice can avoid them.

Categories
Uncategorized

Bodily injury by negligence in Romania (Article 196 Criminal Code) – how it really works in 2025

This article clarifies the conditions for criminal liability when injury is caused by negligence, including in traffic, workplace or medical contexts. It covers thresholds that decriminalise minor harm, the role of insurance and civil claims, and the main lines of defence when causation, foreseeability or contributory fault are genuinely disputed.

Categories
Uncategorized

Bodily injury in Romania (Art. 194 Criminal Code): what it really means, what penalties you risk, and how cases are analysed in practice

The article explains how Romanian law defines bodily injury, why medical reports and “days of care” matter so much, and how intent, weapons or vulnerable victims can escalate the charge. It then looks at typical fact patterns, evidentiary issues and sentencing practice, helping both defendants and victims understand realistic outcomes.

Categories
Uncategorized

Being a defendant in Romania: what it really means and how to use your rights in practice

This guide walks through the life-cycle of a Romanian criminal case from the defendant’s perspective, clarifying when you officially become a defendant and what changes procedurally. It translates abstract rights—silence, access to the file, legal assistance, appeals—into concrete decisions you must make in interrogations, searches, negotiations and trial.

Categories
Uncategorized

Illegal access to a computer system in Romania: what it really means and how to react

The article demystifies Article 360 Criminal Code by showing how “illegal access” covers everyday situations, from logging into a partner’s account to abusing workplace credentials or probing routers. It sets out the legal elements, key case-law and investigation techniques, then offers concrete guidance for defendants and victims on evidence, strategy and mitigating damage.

Categories
Uncategorized

Pre‑trial detention in Romania: when can you be remanded in custody and how to defend your freedom

This guide explains the legal conditions for preventive arrest in Romania, from seriousness of the offence to risk of reoffending, absconding or tampering with evidence. It also lays out a practical roadmap for defence: evidence to present, alternative measures to propose and how to build appeal arguments when detention is ordered or extended.

Categories
Uncategorized

When does theft become qualified theft in Romania? A 2025 practical guide with examples and pitfalls

The article sets out the basic theft offence and then walks through the main aggravating circumstances—night-time, breaking in, groups, vulnerable victims and more. It uses practical scenarios to show how qualification changes sentencing ranges, what over-charging looks like, and where defence can argue misapplied qualifiers or concurrence with other offences.

Categories
Uncategorized

Computer searches in Romania: how to protect your digital data and what you can do in practice

This guide explains how prosecutors and police search computers, phones and cloud accounts in Romania, what warrants should contain and how forensic imaging is used. It provides step-by-step suggestions for preserving privileged or confidential data, minimising business disruption and later contesting overbroad or improperly executed searches.

Categories
Uncategorized

Body search in Romania: what your rights are and how to use them in practice

The article distinguishes between frisk, full body search and intimate search, explaining the legal thresholds, authorisations and safeguards applicable to each. It then offers concrete advice on what to say, what to request to be noted in the record and how to challenge abusive or humiliating searches in court or before human-rights bodies.

Categories
Uncategorized

Public judicial aid – updated 2025

The guide explains the legal framework for public judicial aid, including income-based eligibility, types of assistance (lawyer, expert fees, court taxes) and the documents courts usually request. It also highlights frequent rejection reasons and offers practical tips on timing, evidence of hardship and combining public aid with private fee arrangements.

Categories
Uncategorized

Home search in Romania: how to protect your rights, step by step

This article walks you through each stage of a home search in Romania, from the warrant and the way officers enter, to how items are seized and recorded. It explains which rights you can insist on in real time, what should go into the official minutes, and how later to challenge unlawful evidence or claim the return of seized goods.

Categories
Uncategorized

Organised criminal groups in Romanian criminal law – a 2025 practitioner’s guide

The article clarifies how Romanian law defines an organised criminal group, what distinguishes it from simple co-participation and why this qualification drastically changes exposure. It reviews investigative techniques, typical evidentiary patterns and key ECtHR and national decisions, then outlines concrete defence lines for challenging the existence, structure or purpose of the alleged group.

Categories
Uncategorized

Driving After Drinking in Romania: Crime or Traffic Offence? A 2025 Complete Guide

This guide explains the legal thresholds that separate a mere traffic offence from the crime of driving under the influence in Romania, and how breathalyser and blood tests fit into the evidentiary picture. It also covers penalties, aggravating factors, licence suspension and concrete defence options when procedural errors or medical issues are involved.

Categories
Uncategorized

DNA Competence in Abuse of Office Investigations: Criteria, Thresholds, and Case-Law (2025 Practitioner’s Guide)

The article maps the statutory rules and constitutional decisions that define DNA’s material competence in abuse of office investigations, including value thresholds and aggravated forms. It then reviews recent case-law and offers defence strategies when competence is borderline, contested between units or used to justify disproportionate procedural measures.

Categories
Uncategorized

HCCJ RIL No. 11/2021: Recalculating the Prison Sentence When New Acts Emerge in a Continued or Complex Offence — A Practitioner’s Guide

This guide unpacks the binding interpretation given by RIL no. 11/2021 on how courts must recompute sentences when additional acts surface after an initial conviction. It provides practical pointers on when to seek recalculation, how to document the factual and legal overlap, and how to argue proportionality before sentencing and enforcement courts.

Categories
Uncategorized

VAT on Reselling Second-Hand Cars from the EU in Romania (2025 Complete Guide: Margin Scheme, Scenarios, Calculations, Invoicing, Returns)

The article explains when the margin scheme can be used, how to document acquisitions from EU suppliers and what happens if conditions are not met. It includes worked examples, invoicing tips, typical ANAF challenges and how to correct past errors through amended returns or voluntary disclosure.

Categories
Uncategorized

Suspending Enforcement Pending the Challenge to Enforcement: A Complete Practitioner’s Guide (security deposit math, strategy, templates)

This guide breaks down the legal basis and conditions for suspending enforcement while a challenge is pending, with particular attention to how courts assess urgency and harm. It also walks through the security deposit arithmetic, typical mistakes parties make, and provides structured ideas for drafting motions and reply briefs.

Categories
Uncategorized

ICCJ Decision no. 144/2021: Reasoning of Criminal Judgments and the Right to a Fair Trial — A Practitioner’s Guide

The article explains the key holdings of ICCJ Decision no. 144/2021 on what a criminal court must actually address in its reasoning: evidence, legal tests and defence arguments. It then translates these standards into practical tools for motions, appeals and complaints to the ECtHR when judgments remain formulaic or ignore crucial submissions.

Categories
Uncategorized

Irregularities of the Indictment in the Preliminary Chamber: a Practical Guide for Defence Counsel (Motions, Objections, Strategy)

This practitioner’s guide systematises the main categories of indictment defects that can be raised in the Romanian preliminary chamber procedure, from vagueness of charges to misframed legal qualification. It then details how to structure objections, manage deadlines, build records for appeal and use procedural sanctions to reshape the future trial.

Categories
Uncategorized

Applying the “protected witness” benefit to a defendant-informant ICCJ Decision no. 79/2021 on art. 19 of Law no. 682/2002 – English version

The article analyses ICCJ Decision no. 79/2021 on Article 19 of Law 682/2002, clarifying when a defendant can also qualify as a “protected witness” and what procedural and sentencing consequences follow. It offers guidance on framing cooperation, evidentiary value and proportional reductions, as well as on the risks of misusing the mechanism.

Categories
Uncategorized

Concrete refusals in the EU to give effect to Romanian criminal judgments (EAW / sentence execution / confiscation): public cases, reasons, and practical lessons

Using reported decisions from several Member States, the article shows how concerns about detention conditions, fair-trial guarantees or sentencing practice can lead to refusals to execute Romanian criminal judgments. It then extracts practical guidance for defence lawyers on framing objections, evidencing risk and using EU fundamental rights case-law effectively.

Categories
Uncategorized

Recognition of Romanian Criminal Judgments Abroad: EU/CoE Frameworks, Procedural Pitfalls, and Defence Strategies

This guide walks through the EU mutual recognition tools and Council of Europe instruments that allow Romanian criminal judgments to be executed in other states. It highlights procedural pitfalls, public-policy objections, ne bis in idem arguments and practical defence angles when a client faces transfer, sentence execution or confiscation abroad.

Categories
Uncategorized

10 unpleasant scenarios in EPPO cases (and what to do in the first 48 hours)

See ten high-risk scenarios in EPPO files and the first 48-hour decisions that can protect your freedom, assets and public image.
Rezumat WordPress (excerpt): The article maps ten concrete situations defendants face in EPPO proceedings: surprise searches, cross-border evidence grabs, asset freezes, early media exposure and more. For each, it shows which reflexes are dangerous, what you should insist on procedurally and how to use the short window of the first 48 hours to build leverage instead of losing ground.

Categories
Uncategorized

EPPO Freezes: how to unlock your bank accounts and assets (ANABI, Reg. 2018/1805) — a rapid guide for defendants and companies

This rapid guide explains what happens when EPPO secures your assets under Regulation 2018/1805 and how ANABI steps in to manage or sell seized property. You get concrete options for challenging freezes, narrowing their scope, replacing them with guarantees and protecting assets that risk devaluation or early sale.

Categories
Uncategorized

Practical guide for a defendant “under siege” in an EPPO case: what to do now, what’s next, and where you can win

If you feel “under siege” in an EPPO case, this guide walks you through the real rules of the game: when EPPO is competent, how cross-border measures work and what happens in the first 72 hours. You also get a structured defence checklist, from EU-level rights to freezing orders, digital evidence and ne bis in idem arguments.

Categories
Uncategorized

The EU’s Criminal-Law Turn: How a Market-Driven Union Has Been Building State-Like Powers — and Why It Matters for Romania

This article maps the EU’s gradual construction of criminal-law instruments – from the European Arrest Warrant and EPPO to data-retention case law and the 2023 e-evidence package. It then zooms in on Romania, explaining what these developments mean for prosecutors, courts, service providers and defence lawyers who must now operate in an increasingly integrated European criminal-justice space.