A recent legislative project registered for debate with the Romanian Senate indicates that the current state of affairs pertaining to the reimbursement of judiciary costs is on the cusp of a major change.
First the Romanian Civil Procedure Code will be amended in order to no longer allow the judge vested with the resolution of the case to censor in an ex officio manner the attorney fees which must be reimbursed by the losing party. In other words, a Romanian court of law can no longer diminish the previously mentioned amounts of its own volition, irrespective of an express formal request made by the interested party.
Additionally, Law no. 51/1995 for the organization and practice of the attorney profession will also be amended, in order to establish a legal presumption which is binding to the court of law, namely that the attorney fees are reasonable by comparison with the value or complexity of the case as well as with the lawyer's corresponding workload.
The draft piece of legislation can prove to be an invaluable ally to both clients and attorneys and should have an encouraging effect for the former actors to initiate proceedings against defaulting commercial partners, whilst also acting as a deterrent for the initiators of various frivolous claims.
By Andrei-Miron Cristescu, Associate, Musat & Asociatii
