Finding out that you are under criminal investigation in Romania while you live abroad is one of those moments that immediately changes your sense of safety. Maybe you received a summons sent to your old Romanian address, a phone call from a relative back home who found your name on a court portal, or you were stopped at an EU border and told there may be a case against you. Wherever you are in the world, a Romanian criminal file can follow you.
This guide is written for two main categories of people: (1) Romanian citizens who live abroad but discover they are suspects or defendants in a Romanian criminal case, and (2) foreign nationals who have some connection with Romania (for example through business, family, or travel) and later find out that Romanian authorities are investigating them.
The rules that structure your situation are not purely “Romanian”. They sit at the intersection between the Romanian Code of Criminal Procedure (Codul de procedură penală), European human-rights standards such as Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), EU directives on fair-trial rights, and international cooperation instruments (European Arrest Warrant, Schengen Information System alerts, mutual legal assistance and Eurojust coordination).
The good news is that, even if you are far from Romania, you still have core rights: to be informed, to be defended by a lawyer of your choice in Romania, to remain silent, to an interpreter, and to a fair trial within a reasonable time. The challenge is practical: asserting those rights quickly, at distance, without exposing yourself unnecessarily to arrest or travel bans.
This article walks you through the main questions that arise when you are under Romanian criminal investigation while living abroad: how you find out about the case, what your formal status actually is, what rights you have, how to appoint a Romanian defence lawyer from abroad, what “remote” participation really means, what travel risks you face, and how foreign proceedings can interact with the Romanian file.
How You Might Find Out About a Romanian Criminal Case
The first problem is often the simplest and the scariest: “How is it possible that Romania has a criminal case against me and I only find out now?” Understanding how notifications work will help you assess how advanced the case may be and what risks you actually face.
1. Summons sent to your last known address in Romania
Under the Romanian Code of Criminal Procedure, suspects, defendants and other parties are summoned at the address where they live, and if that is unknown, at their workplace address. They also have a legal duty to inform the authorities within a short time if they change address. In practice, this often means that a person who has moved abroad years before may continue to be summoned at their last Romanian address, especially if they did not formally register a new address for service in the case file.
2. Letters or notices reaching you at a foreign address
In some cases, Romanian authorities request assistance from foreign authorities to serve summonses or procedural documents at your current foreign address. This can happen through mutual legal assistance channels or via EU instruments where applicable. You may receive a letter from local police, a foreign court, or a central authority indicating that Romania is asking you to appear or provide information in a criminal case.
3. Notices through consulates or embassies
If you are a Romanian citizen abroad and you are detained or arrested in connection with a Romanian case, consular authorities can be informed under international rules. Likewise, if you are a foreign national under arrest in Romania, your consulate has the right to be informed and to assist you. While consulates do not conduct the criminal case and cannot “make it disappear”, they often act as a communication bridge between you, your family and local lawyers, especially where language and distance are obstacles.
4. Arrest or detention at a border or during a police check
Many people first find out about a Romanian case when they are stopped at a border crossing or during a police control in another EU Member State. If a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) has been issued by Romania and an alert has been entered in the Schengen Information System (SIS), border guards or local police may see that you are wanted for arrest and detention. At that point, they can detain you and initiate surrender proceedings toward Romania.
5. Online search in Romanian court or prosecution portals
Sometimes relatives, business partners or even journalists discover the existence of a criminal file by searching your name on Romanian court portals or by seeing subpoenas published online for persons whose address is unknown. It is increasingly common for family members in Romania to call someone abroad saying, “Your name is on the court portal, there is a hearing in two weeks – what do we do?”
Practical scenarios
- Scenario A – The forgotten summons: You moved to Spain seven years ago, but never updated your address in the Romanian population records. A criminal complaint is filed in Romania regarding events from before you left. Police and prosecutors send summonses to your old address; your parents receive them and only forward one of them to you months later. On paper, you may appear as “legally summoned” even though you never personally saw the documents. A lawyer can later challenge the effectiveness of the summons or ask the court to restore time limits, but the clock may already be running.
- Scenario B – The border control shock: You are travelling from Germany to Italy and are stopped during a routine check. Police tell you an alert is registered in the Schengen system because Romania has issued an arrest warrant. You are detained locally and brought before the foreign court that must decide whether to surrender you to Romania. At this stage, you need lawyers both in the executing state and in Romania to coordinate defence strategy under EAW rules.
- Scenario C – The consulate call: Your partner is arrested in Romania while visiting family. You live together in the UK and receive a call from your country’s consulate explaining that your partner has been detained. The consulate cannot provide legal defence, but can help you find a Romanian lawyer, understand detention conditions and arrange communication.
Legal Statuses in Romanian Criminal Procedure (Suspect, Defendant, Witness, Injured Party)
Before you can decide on a strategy, you must be clear about “who you are” in the case from the point of view of Romanian law. The labels may sound technical, but they make a huge difference to your rights and risks.
- Suspect (suspect): The suspect is the person in relation to whom there is a reasonable suspicion, based on existing data and evidence, that they have committed a criminal offence. This is normally the earliest stage at which the authorities formally treat you as a potential offender.
- Defendant (inculpat): The defendant is the person against whom the criminal action has been formally brought. In simple terms, the State is no longer just “checking a suspicion”, it is formally accusing you of a specific offence in legal terms. From this point on, you are the “main person” in the case.
- Witness (martor): A witness is someone who holds information about the facts of the case and can be heard by the authorities. Witnesses are obliged to tell the truth, but they are not the main target of the investigation. However, in some circumstances a person can move from witness status to suspect or defendant status if evidence points in that direction.
- Injured party / victim (persoană vătămată): This is the person who has suffered physical, moral or material damage as a result of the offence. The injured party has rights to be informed, to participate in proceedings, and to claim compensation within the criminal process or separately. In some systems this overlaps with the “civil party” who formally claims damages in the criminal file.
Importantly, under Romanian law the suspect generally has the same rights as the defendant, unless the law provides otherwise. In practice, this means that as soon as you are formally informed that you are a suspect, you should approach the case as seriously as if you were already a defendant. Waiting until the case reaches court can mean missing crucial opportunities to challenge evidence, request expert opinions, or propose your own witnesses during the investigation phase.
Your Rights as an Accused Person Abroad
The fact that you live outside Romania does not strip you of procedural guarantees. The Romanian Code of Criminal Procedure, the ECHR and EU directives on defence rights apply to you as a suspect or defendant, regardless of your nationality or place of residence. The challenge is to make those rights effective in a cross-border context.
Right to counsel of choice in Romania
One of the most important protections you have is the right to be assisted by a lawyer of your choice in Romania. This flows both from the Romanian procedural rules and from EU standards on access to a lawyer in criminal and European Arrest Warrant proceedings. In practice, it has several components:
- You may choose any lawyer registered with a Romanian Bar (Barou) to defend you, regardless of the city where your case is being handled. Lawyers can travel or appoint collaborators to appear locally.
- If you cannot afford a lawyer, or if representation is mandatory due to the seriousness of the offence or procedural stage, the authorities must appoint one for you (court-appointed lawyer). However, in complex or cross-border cases, many people prefer to retain a lawyer of their own choosing who has time and expertise to manage the file over months or years.
- When you are detained in another EU Member State under a European Arrest Warrant, you have the right to a lawyer in the executing state and a lawyer in the issuing state (Romania). These two lawyers should coordinate to ensure that arguments made abroad are consistent with your defence in Romania.
Practically, if you find out there is a Romanian case against you while you are abroad, the very first concrete step is almost always to identify and formally appoint a Romanian criminal defence lawyer. Once empowered, that lawyer can obtain access to the file (with certain limits in the investigation phase), communicate with the prosecutor or court, and start building an informed defence strategy.
Right to be informed, to remain silent, to translation and interpretation
European and Romanian law give you several core rights that are especially important when you are far away and may not speak Romanian fluently:
- Right to be informed of your rights and of the accusation: You must be told promptly, in detail and in a language you understand, what you are suspected or accused of. This includes both the legal classification and the factual allegations, not just a vague reference like “economic offences”. In many situations, you should receive a written “letter of rights” explaining your key procedural rights in clear language.
- Right to remain silent and not to incriminate yourself: You cannot be forced to answer questions or to confess. Remaining silent cannot, by itself, be used as proof of guilt, although in practice courts may draw inferences in certain situations. Exercising your right to silence is often advisable until your lawyer has seen the case file.
- Right to translation and interpretation: If you do not speak Romanian, you are entitled to free interpretation during interrogations, hearings and key procedural acts, and to translation of essential documents such as the detention order, indictment and important court decisions. This is crucial if you live abroad and your first contact with the case is through a foreign authority acting on Romania’s request.
- Right of access to the case file: You and/or your lawyer must be able to access the evidence in the file, both in your favour and against you, subject to certain restrictions during the early investigation in order not to prejudice ongoing steps. Once the case moves forward, your lawyer should be able to review the file, copy relevant material and discuss it with you securely.
These rights are not abstract theory. They are the concrete tools you and your lawyer rely on to avoid signing statements you do not fully understand, to challenge translations that distort your words, and to ensure that any confession or agreement with the prosecution is truly informed and voluntary.
How to Appoint a Romanian Criminal Defence Lawyer from Abroad
From a distance, many people feel paralysed by the question, “Can I even hire a Romanian lawyer without travelling?” The answer is yes. In practice, thousands of Romanians and foreign nationals abroad appoint Romanian lawyers every year, using a combination of digital communication and formal powers of attorney.
1. Identifying the right lawyer or law firm
In cross-border criminal cases you should focus on lawyers who do three things well: (1) criminal defence as their main field, (2) practical experience with international cooperation (EAW, mutual legal assistance, extraditions, recognition of foreign judgments), and (3) the ability to communicate with you in a language you are comfortable in (English, French, Spanish, etc.). Many bar associations and legal directories list English-speaking or foreign-language lawyers, but personal recommendations and prior experience with similar cases are often even more valuable.
2. Establishing contact and conflict checks
Once you have identified one or more potential lawyers, you will usually start with a secure video call or phone consultation. The lawyer should check for conflicts of interest (for example whether they already represent another suspect or the injured party in the same case) and explain how they work, what the fee structure is, and what steps are realistic at each stage.
3. Signing the legal assistance contract and power of attorney
In Romania, the relationship between lawyer and client is formalised through a legal assistance contract (contract de asistență juridică). Based on that contract, the lawyer issues a special lawyer’s power of attorney (împuternicire avocațială), which is the document they use to prove their authority before courts, prosecutors and police. If you are abroad, the contract and the lawyer’s power of attorney can usually be signed digitally (for example by scanned signature and exchange of originals later), depending on the law firm’s internal policies and the Bar’s rules.
In addition, for some procedural acts (particularly in front of public authorities other than courts or where property or banking issues are involved), you may need to sign a notarised power of attorney in favour of a person in Romania. This can typically be done at a Romanian consulate or before a local notary, with legalisation or apostille as required under international rules. The exact formalities depend on the foreign country where you live and on the type of acts your representative must perform.
4. Providing identification and documentation
Your lawyer will need clear copies of your identity documents (passport, identity card, residence card), any summonses or letters you have received, and any documents that may be relevant to your defence (contracts, emails, invoices, medical records, etc.). Secure digital transfer is usually sufficient initially, but in some cases the lawyer will later need certified or apostilled copies.
5. Agreeing communication channels and decision-making
Because of time zones and distance, it is crucial to agree early on how you will communicate: encrypted email, dedicated messaging apps, scheduled calls, and how quickly you can respond to urgent developments (for example an unannounced hearing or a new measure ordered by the prosecutor). You should also be clear about which decisions the lawyer can take alone in urgent situations and which require your express prior consent (for example, concluding a plea agreement).
Remote Participation in Hearings (Videolink, Written Statements, Representation)
One of the most common questions from people abroad is: “Do I have to physically come to Romania for every hearing?” The answer is nuanced. In some situations, your physical presence is mandatory; in others, you can participate remotely or be represented.
1. Representation by lawyer without your personal presence
Romanian procedural law allows parties to be represented in many stages of criminal proceedings. This is particularly relevant when you are a suspect or defendant who lives abroad and cannot travel easily. Your lawyer can appear in court, file motions, challenge evidence and receive communication on your behalf, based on the lawyer’s power of attorney and, if needed, additional mandates. However, for certain acts – for example, your first interrogation as a suspect, some forms of plea bargaining, or specific hearings where the court wants to hear you personally – your presence (in person or by videoconference) may be required.
2. Videoconference hearings
Over the past years, Romania and other European countries have increasingly used videoconferencing in criminal proceedings, initially for persons already detained and later more broadly, including cross-border situations. The Council of Europe’s CEPEJ Guidelines on videoconferencing stress that remote hearings must not undermine fair-trial rights: you should be able to see and hear properly, communicate confidentially with your lawyer, and follow the evidence and arguments as if you were in the courtroom.
In practice, videoconference can be used, for example, when you are detained in another country under an EAW and the Romanian court needs to hear you, or when you are free but cannot travel to Romania for health or work reasons, and the court accepts remote participation. Arranging this usually requires coordination between Romanian authorities, foreign authorities or courts, and your defence lawyers in both jurisdictions.
3. Written statements and questions answered from abroad
In some limited situations, prosecutors or courts may accept written statements from you, prepared with your lawyer, or may hear you through foreign authorities under mutual legal assistance. However, written statements carry risks: if they are prepared without full access to the case file or without proper translation, they can lock you into a version of events that later proves disadvantageous. As a rule, it is safer to provide statements once your lawyer has a good overview of the evidence and can be present (in person or remotely) during your questioning.
Travel Risks (Risk of Arrest When Entering Romania or the EU, Schengen Alerts)
Understanding travel risks is essential if you live abroad and suspect there is a Romanian case against you. The key issue is whether there is merely an open investigation or trial, or whether coercive measures (especially an arrest warrant) have already been ordered.
1. Open investigation or trial without arrest warrant
If you are “only” under investigation or on trial without an outstanding preventive arrest warrant, you are generally free to travel. That said, if you enter Romania, you may be summoned for questioning or be subject to travel restrictions (such as a ban on leaving the country) if the court or prosecutor considers that necessary. In some cases, a judicial control measure can be imposed, requiring you to report periodically to police and restricting your freedom of movement.
2. Romanian preventive arrest warrant
If a Romanian judge has ordered your preventive arrest in your absence (for example because you did not appear when summoned and are considered to be avoiding the proceedings), national police can register your data in internal systems and request an alert in the Schengen Information System. At that point, you risk arrest if you enter Romania and, depending on the alert type, in other Schengen states as well.
3. European Arrest Warrant and Schengen Information System (SIS) alerts
For persons wanted by Romania who are believed to be in another EU Member State (or certain associated countries), prosecutors or courts can issue a European Arrest Warrant. The EAW is accompanied by an alert in the Schengen Information System (SIS) marking you as a person wanted for arrest and surrender. Border guards and police throughout the Schengen area can see that alert and are obliged to detain you if they encounter you, then initiate surrender proceedings according to EU law.
4. Practical travel strategy
Because of these mechanisms, it is rarely wise to travel blindly once you suspect there is a Romanian case against you. A more prudent approach typically involves:
- having your Romanian lawyer check whether any preventive measures or warrants have been ordered in your file, and whether an EAW or SIS alert has been issued;
- if an EAW exists, coordinating with lawyers in the country where you currently reside before any planned border crossing, and considering voluntary surrender under controlled conditions rather than risking arrest in transit;
- avoiding non-essential travel through Schengen area borders until you have clear legal information about your status.
Strategy: When to Cooperate, When to Challenge Evidence, When to Appear in Person
Once you have clarified your status, appointed a lawyer and understood the travel risks, the next big question is strategy. There is no one-size-fits-all answer: sometimes proactive cooperation leads to a better outcome; in other cases a more confrontational defence is justified. Some key considerations include:
1. Early cooperation during investigation
In many cases, especially where evidence is not yet solid or where you have exculpatory material, early cooperation through your lawyer can make a powerful difference. This might involve submitting documents that clarify transactions, proposing witnesses, or offering a reasonable explanation for apparently suspicious behaviour. If the prosecutor sees that the suspicion is unfounded or that the offence is minor, the case may be closed without indictment or resolved with a milder legal classification.
2. Carefully calibrated use of your right to silence
There are also situations where speaking too early creates more problems than it solves, especially if you have not seen the full file or if translations are poor. In such cases, exercising your right to remain silent during initial interrogations can be a legitimate and wise choice. Once your lawyer has analysed the file and the prosecution’s theory, you can decide whether to provide a detailed statement later or maintain silence.
3. Deciding when personal presence is essential
Although representation and videoconference are useful tools, there are moments in a criminal case where your physical presence in Romania (or at least your active participation by videolink) may be strategically decisive. Examples include key witness hearings where your immediate reaction matters, settlement or plea discussions where the court must be convinced of your sincerity, or sentencing hearings where personal mitigation (family situation, professional background, genuine remorse) can influence the outcome.
Your lawyer should give you a realistic assessment of the added value of your presence versus the risk of arrest or restrictive measures. In some cases, arriving voluntarily in Romania, under a pre-agreed plan with your lawyer, can put you in a stronger position than being brought in under arrest after a surprise border check.
4. Challenging unlawfully obtained or unreliable evidence
Under both Romanian law and ECHR case law, evidence obtained in violation of defence rights or by serious breaches (coerced statements, unlawful interceptions, disproportionate searches) can be excluded or given less weight. This applies just as much when you live abroad. For example:
- Statements taken from you abroad without a lawyer despite early access rights under EU directives;
- Translations that misrepresent your words;
- Electronic evidence seized without proper judicial authorisation or outside the scope of mutual legal assistance requests.
Challenging such evidence requires detailed procedural work by your lawyer, often involving both Romanian and foreign legal standards. It is not enough to simply say “this is unfair” – your defence must anchor objections in concrete violations of procedural rules.
Interplay with Foreign Proceedings (If Parallel Investigations Exist)
In a globalised world, it is increasingly common for the same conduct (for example cross-border fraud, corruption schemes, cybercrime or tax offences) to trigger investigations in several countries at once. You may find yourself investigated in Romania and in your country of residence, or be sentenced in one jurisdiction while proceedings continue in another.
1. Ne bis in idem (no double trial or punishment for the same facts)
Both Romanian law and European instruments recognise the principle of ne bis in idem – no person should be tried or punished twice for the same facts. If you have already been finally acquitted or convicted in one country for specific conduct, this should generally bar a second trial for the same facts in another EU state, including Romania, provided certain conditions are met. In practice, however, assessing whether cases are “the same” for ne bis in idem purposes can be complex and often requires analysing judgments and charges in detail.
2. Mutual legal assistance, European Investigation Orders and Eurojust coordination
When several countries are interested in your case, prosecutors and judges do not operate in isolation. They exchange evidence and coordinate through a dense network of mutual legal assistance conventions, EU instruments such as the European Investigation Order (EIO), and institutions like Eurojust. Evidence collected in your country of residence may end up in the Romanian file and vice versa. Decisions about which country prosecutes which aspect of the conduct, or whether one jurisdiction should step back, are often taken in coordination meetings rather than in the open courtroom.
3. Law 302/2004 and international cooperation
Romania’s Law no. 302/2004 on international judicial cooperation in criminal matters provides the national framework for extradition, European Arrest Warrants, transfer of sentenced persons, recognition of foreign judgments and mutual legal assistance. For you as a person under investigation, this framework determines whether Romania can request your surrender, how foreign sentences are taken into account, and how evidence travels between states.
4. Strategic coordination between defence teams in different countries
If you are facing proceedings in more than one country, it is critical that your lawyers coordinate. Uncoordinated strategies can backfire – for example admitting facts in one jurisdiction that later undermine defences elsewhere, or missing opportunities to invoke ne bis in idem or to negotiate a global solution. Ideally, your defence teams should:
- map all ongoing and potential proceedings in different countries;
- exchange public documents and, where possible, key information about evidence and timing;
- decide whether to push for one jurisdiction to take the lead while others close or suspend their cases;
- ensure that any plea or settlement in one state explicitly addresses the treatment of parallel cases, where the law allows.
Immediate checklist: what to do if you discover you are under Romanian criminal investigation while abroad
When the first shock hits, you need a concrete list, not abstract legal theory. The following checklist is a practical starting point. It does not replace individual legal advice, but it can help you avoid the most serious mistakes in the crucial first days and weeks.
- 1. Do not ignore the information. Whether it is a summons, a court portal entry, a call from a consulate or a border incident, treat it as real until proven otherwise. Ignoring it will rarely make it go away and can lead to an arrest warrant for “evasion”.
- 2. Preserve all documents and screenshots. Keep copies of summonses, envelopes, emails, SMS messages, and screenshots from court portals. They can later help your lawyer reconstruct the procedural history and show whether service was legally done or not.
- 3. Avoid making informal statements to authorities without legal advice. If foreign or Romanian authorities contact you informally and ask for your “explanations” by phone or email, remember that anything you say can end up as evidence. Politely insist that you will respond through your lawyer once you have legal advice.
- 4. Identify and contact a Romanian criminal defence lawyer. Do this as early as possible, before you travel or respond to summonses. A short early consultation can prevent serious strategic mistakes that are hard to correct later.
- 5. Share your situation with a limited circle of trusted people. You may need help from family or close friends in Romania to obtain documents, check postal deliveries or assist with logistics. At the same time, avoid discussing details widely or on social media; inconsistent public statements can be used against you.
- 6. Ask your lawyer to verify your status in the Romanian system. The lawyer can check the court portals, contact the prosecutor’s office, and request access to the file where possible, to see whether you are a suspect, defendant, witness or injured party; whether there are arrest warrants; and what evidence exists so far.
- 7. Freeze non-essential travel, especially through Schengen borders. Until your lawyer has clarified whether an arrest warrant or SIS alert exists, avoid unnecessary travel that could expose you to surprise arrest.
- 8. Prepare a timeline and documentation of relevant events. While you wait for your lawyer to obtain the file, prepare your own factual timeline, with dates, documents, emails and witnesses that support your version. This will make your first substantive meeting far more productive.
- 9. Discuss with your lawyer whether and when to appear in person or by videoconference. Do not book tickets blindly. Appearances should be planned strategically, ideally in a way that reduces the risk of arrest while still showing the authorities that you are taking the proceedings seriously.
- 10. Remember that this is a marathon, not a sprint. Romanian criminal proceedings, especially complex or cross-border ones, often last years. Building a robust defence early on, with proper legal representation and international coordination where needed, is an investment in your long-term freedom and legal position.
Conclusion
Being under criminal investigation in Romania while living abroad is a serious, but not hopeless, situation. The combination of Romanian procedural guarantees, European fair-trial standards and international cooperation mechanisms means that your rights do not stop at the border. At the same time, the complexity of cross-border criminal justice means that instinctive reactions (“I’ll just ignore it”, “I’ll immediately fly to Bucharest alone and sort it out”, “I’ll send a quick email to the prosecutor explaining everything”) can be risky.
Your best protection comes from three pillars: clear information about your procedural status and travel risks, early and sustained involvement of a Romanian criminal defence lawyer (and, where necessary, lawyers in other countries), and a realistic, evidence-based strategy on whether to cooperate, contest or negotiate at each stage. With those in place, you are no longer just a name in a file, but an active participant asserting your rights in a complex but navigable system.