Arrest and Preventive Measures in Romania

Preventive measures and how to challenge them.

Lawyer, Cluj Bar · Updated · Read this page in Romanian

In short

The preventive measures (măsuri preventive) are police custody (reținere), judicial supervision (control judiciar), judicial supervision on bail (control judiciar pe cauțiune), house arrest (arest la domiciliu) and pre-trial detention (arestare preventivă). Judicial supervision applies only to a defendant (inculpat), for up to 60 days; house arrest and pre-trial detention are ordered only by a judge, for up to 30 days, and can be extended. A challenge can be filed against house arrest and pre-trial detention within 48 hours of the ruling being pronounced or served.

Preventive measures are procedural tools. Their purpose is to ensure that the criminal proceedings run properly, to stop anyone evading the criminal investigation or the trial, and to prevent another offence from being committed. The Code of Criminal Procedure (Codul de procedură penală) sets the conditions for each of them.

Types of preventive measures

Police custody means a suspect or defendant is deprived of their liberty for 24 hours. It’s ordered by the criminal investigation body (organ de cercetare penală) or the prosecutor (procuror), by a reasoned order, and it can be challenged with a complaint before it ends.

Judicial supervision is the lightest preventive measure. It can only be taken against a defendant, for no more than 60 days, and it can be extended. Before it’s ordered, the defendant must be heard with a lawyer present, either one they’ve chosen or a court-appointed one. The prosecutor’s order can be challenged with a complaint within 48 hours.

Judicial supervision on bail means the defendant pays bail of at least 1,000 lei, which secures their participation in the criminal proceedings.

House arrest can only be ordered by a judge, for no more than 30 days. It means you can’t leave the building where you live without permission.

Pre-trial detention is the most serious measure, and it’s also ordered by a judge, for no more than 30 days. A request to extend it must be filed at least 5 days before it expires, on pain of absolute nullity.

A challenge (contestație) against house arrest or pre-trial detention can be filed within 48 hours of the ruling being pronounced or communicated.

I represent people in arrest and judicial supervision proceedings, and in challenges to the preventive measures that have been ordered.

How can I help?

I assist and represent you when a preventive measure has been ordered against you, from police custody and judicial supervision to pre-trial detention. I file the challenges against these measures and, where possible, ask for them to be replaced or revoked.

Frequently asked questions

What is police custody?
It means a suspect or defendant is deprived of their liberty for 24 hours. It can be ordered where there's evidence or strong indications giving rise to a reasonable suspicion that the person has committed an offence, and the measure is needed to ensure the criminal proceedings run properly, to stop the person evading the criminal investigation or the trial, or to prevent another offence.

Police custody can be ordered by the criminal investigation body or by the prosecutor, by a reasoned order, which states the day and time it begins and the day and time it ends.

The order can be challenged with a complaint to the prosecutor supervising the criminal investigation or to the chief prosecutor (prim-procuror) of the prosecutor's office, before the police custody ends.

A person in police custody has the right to tell a family member or someone else about the measure, personally or through the judicial body.
What is judicial supervision?
It's the lightest preventive measure. It can be taken only against a defendant, by the prosecutor during the criminal investigation or by the court once the case has been sent to trial, and only if it's needed for the purpose set out in art. 202(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure: ensuring that the criminal proceedings run properly, preventing the defendant from evading the criminal investigation or the trial, or preventing another offence.

Before the measure is ordered, the defendant must be heard with a lawyer present, either one they've chosen or a court-appointed one, and the prosecutor's order must give reasons.

The prosecutor's order can be challenged with a complaint within 48 hours of its communication, to the judge for rights and liberties (judecător de drepturi și libertăți) at the court that would have jurisdiction to try the case on the merits. The complaint is decided within 5 days of being registered.

The measure can be taken for no more than 60 days, and it can be extended by another 60 days, within the maximum limits that the law sets expressly for each stage of the proceedings.

While the measure lasts, the defendant must appear before the criminal investigation body or the court whenever summoned, give notice of any change of residence and report to the police unit designated to supervise them. On top of that, they can be given some of the obligations listed in art. 215(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
What is judicial supervision on bail?
Everything I wrote about judicial supervision applies here too. The difference is that the measure must be sufficient to achieve the purpose in art. 202(1), and the defendant pays bail, in an amount set by the judicial body.

Bail secures the defendant's participation in the criminal proceedings and their compliance with the obligations imposed on them. The amount depends on how serious the charge is, the defendant's financial situation and their legal obligations. Bail can't be less than 1,000 lei.

When this measure is replaced by house arrest or pre-trial detention, the court orders the bail to be forfeited. The same happens when the defendant, in bad faith, doesn't comply with the obligations imposed, or when there's a suspicion that they've intentionally committed another offence.
What is house arrest?
House arrest is ordered against a defendant when the conditions in art. 223 of the Code of Criminal Procedure are met and the measure is necessary and sufficient to achieve the purpose in art. 202(1).

It can be ordered only by the judge for rights and liberties during the criminal investigation, by the preliminary chamber judge in the preliminary chamber or by the trial court at trial, for no more than 30 days, and it can be extended.

House arrest means that the defendant must not leave the building where they live without the judicial body's permission and must comply with certain obligations set out in art. 221(2). Breaching these obligations in bad faith can lead to the measure being replaced by pre-trial detention.

The ruling ordering house arrest can be challenged within 48 hours of being pronounced or communicated. The challenge is decided by the court one level above the court that ordered the measure, and it doesn't suspend the measure.
What is pre-trial detention?
It's the most serious preventive measure. Pre-trial detention is ordered only where the evidence gives rise to a reasonable suspicion that the defendant has committed an offence and one of the situations set out in art. 223(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure applies.

This measure, too, is ordered by the judge for rights and liberties, the preliminary chamber judge or the trial court, for no more than 30 days (art. 226(2) and art. 238(1)). During the criminal investigation, each extension is also for no more than 30 days, and the total can't exceed a reasonable time or 180 days (art. 236). At first instance, the total can't exceed half of the maximum penalty the law sets for the offence (maximul special) or 5 years (art. 239(1)).

Once the measure is ordered, a pre-trial detention warrant is issued, under which the person is held in a Police Custody and Pre-Trial Detention Centre (Centru de Reținere și Arestare Preventivă) for 30 days, counted from the date the measure is actually enforced against the defendant.

This ruling can also be challenged within 48 hours of being pronounced or communicated. The challenge is decided by the court one level above the court that ordered the measure, and it doesn't suspend the measure.

Where an extension of pre-trial detention is requested during the criminal investigation, the request must be filed at least 5 days before the detention period ends, on pain of absolute nullity, and the judge for rights and liberties must set a hearing date before the measure expires.

Has a preventive measure been ordered against you?

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