Civil Lawyer in Cluj

As a civil lawyer, I help when you have a problem with a contract, a property, an inheritance, a tenant, an unpaid debt or harm someone has caused you. I tell you what your options are, draft the documents and represent you at the Cluj-Napoca District Court (Judecătoria Cluj-Napoca) and the Cluj Tribunal (Tribunalul Cluj), from the first notice all the way to enforcement (executare silită).

I work with individuals and companies, at my office, by phone or by video call. Below you’ll find what I actually handle, the deadlines worth keeping in mind and how a civil case runs.

What can I help you with?

• Civil contracts: drafting, reviewing and negotiating them, preliminary sale agreements (antecontracte), penalty clauses (clauze penale), rescission and nullity.
• Property and real estate: checks before you buy, hidden defects, eviction by a third party, acquisitive prescription (uzucapiune), partition (partaj), boundary disputes, easements and disputes over the land register (carte funciară).
• Inheritance: when it goes to a notary and when to court, documents and deadlines, the spouse’s and the children’s shares, the reserved portion, renouncing an inheritance and partition of the estate.
• Tenant eviction: the special eviction procedure, with or without a contract, for homes and commercial premises.
• Debt recovery: the formal demand (somație), choosing the right procedure and representing you until you’re paid.
• Payment orders (ordonanțe de plată): a quick enforceable title (titlu executoriu) for claims that are certain, liquid and due and evidenced in writing.
• Contractual liability: the formal notice of default (punere în întârziere), damages, penalties and interest.
• Tort liability: compensation for accidents, injuries, damage to property and non-pecuniary damages.

If your flight was delayed or cancelled, I’ve written a separate article on compensation for a delayed or cancelled flight (in Romanian).

When a judgment isn’t complied with voluntarily, we move on to enforcement. For a company’s contracts, see business law; for dividing property between spouses, see matrimonial property.

What deadlines should you keep in mind?

Procedural deadlines are counted under their own rules. You can check the last day with the court deadline calculator, and for a challenge to enforcement it’s also worth reading my guide to challenging enforcement (in Romanian).

How does a civil case work at the Cluj-Napoca District Court or the Cluj Tribunal?

Which court has jurisdiction?

The district court hears claims that can be valued in money up to and including 200,000 lei at first instance, whoever the parties are (art. 94 point 1(k) of the Code of Civil Procedure). Whatever their value, it also hears claims for eviction, claims concerning easements, shared walls and ditches, boundary determination, judicial partition and acquisitive prescription (art. 94 point 1(d), (e), (f), (j) and (j²)). The tribunal hears all other claims at first instance and, as an appeal court, hears appeals against district court judgments (art. 95 points 1 and 2).

How much is the court stamp duty?

Claims that can be valued in money pay court stamp duty (taxă judiciară de timbru) in percentage bands, set by art. 3(1) of Government Emergency Ordinance no. 80/2013 (OUG 80/2013): 8% up to 500 lei, but not less than 20 lei; 40 lei plus 7% between 501 and 5,000 lei; 355 lei plus 5% between 5,001 and 25,000 lei; 1,355 lei plus 3% between 25,001 and 50,000 lei; 2,105 lei plus 2% between 50,001 and 250,000 lei; 6,105 lei plus 1% above 250,000 lei. The special procedures have fixed duties: 200 lei for a payment order, 50 or 200 lei under the small claims procedure (cerere de valoare redusă), depending on whether the value is above 2,000 lei, and 100 lei for eviction (art. 6). I’d suggest checking the amount with the stamp duty calculator before you file.

The stages of a case

1. The statement of claim (cerere de chemare în judecată), which sets out the parties, the subject matter and its value, the facts, the legal grounds and the evidence, and is signed (art. 194 of the Code of Civil Procedure).
2. Service and the statement of defence: the defendant receives the claim and has 25 days to file a defence, and the claimant can reply within 10 days (art. 201(1) and (2)).
3. The first hearing, set no more than 60 days from the judge’s order (art. 201(3) and (4)).
4. Examining the case: documents, witnesses, expert reports, written questions to the other party (interogatoriu), then closing arguments and the judgment.
5. The appeal, within 30 days of service of the judgment (art. 468(1)). Both the appeal period and an appeal filed in time suspend enforcement, except where the law provides otherwise (art. 468(5)).
6. Enforcement, only on the basis of an enforceable title (art. 632), with the option of a challenge to enforcement within 15 days (art. 715(1)).

Special procedures, such as the payment order, the small claims procedure (for amounts up to 50,000 lei, art. 1.026) or eviction, skip some of these stages. I explain each one on its own page, and there’s also my guide to the small claims procedure (in Romanian).

Why it’s worth coming to me before a dispute

In my experience, many civil cases start with an unclear contract, a notice sent the wrong way or a missed deadline. A check before you sign, a properly drafted formal demand or the right procedure can change the course of a problem. I work with the same care whether you’re the one making the claim or the one defending it.

How I work

1. You tell me what’s happened and send me the documents. Before I start, I tell you whether there’s a legal route, what it is and what it would cost.
2. We agree on the steps: a notice, negotiation, a special procedure or an ordinary court action.
3. I draft the documents, file the claim and represent you at every hearing.
4. I keep you updated after every hearing and explain what each decision means.

The up-to-date text of the Code of Civil Procedure is on legislatie.just.ro. You don’t need every document ready for us to start. Send me whatever you have to hand and I’ll tell you what’s missing. If you’d like to talk, write to me or call me.