Challenging a Fine in Romania

How, where and when do I file the complaint?

You file the complaint against the fine at the district court for the place where the act happened or for your domicile (art. 32(1)). For an act in Cluj-Napoca, or if you live here, that means the Cluj-Napoca District Court (Judecătoria Cluj-Napoca).

You can work out your last day with the fine deadline calculator. I wouldn’t leave it until the last day.

What to do in the first few days

1. Keep the fine report and the envelope or proof of receipt. The 15 days run from the date you received it.
2. Don’t sign the fine report without reading it. If you disagree, ask the officer to write your objections under “Other remarks” (Alte mențiuni). The officer has to do this, or the report is void (art. 16(7)).
3. Take photos of the place and of anything to do with the incident as soon as you can, before anything changes.
4. Write down the names and phone numbers of any witnesses. If you list them in the complaint, the district court summons them (art. 33(1)).
5. Decide whether you’ll pay half of the minimum fine. You have the same 15 days for that (art. 28(1)). For fines in construction and town planning, the reduction is half of the fine actually imposed, subject to the exceptions in the law (art. 28(1^1)). If you want to pay and contest, let’s talk first.

What I check on the fine report

I start with the details whose absence makes the report void: the officer’s name, your name, your personal numeric code (CNP), the act, the date of the act and the officer’s signature (art. 17). For a company, the company name and registered office take the place of the name and CNP. The court notes this nullity of its own motion too. The fine report is also void if the officer didn’t record your objections (art. 16(7)).

Then I go through the other mandatory details in art. 16(1). These include the place and time, the description of the act and its circumstances, the legislation that applies, the option to pay half of the minimum, the deadline for a complaint and the court it goes to.

I look at the signatures. The fine report is signed on every page by the officer and by you. If you weren’t there or refused to sign, a witness confirms this, and the witness can’t be another officer (art. 19(1) and (2)). If there’s no witness, the officer must write down why, or must have made an audio-video recording of your refusal (art. 19(3) and (4)).

I also check the dates. The fine must be imposed within 6 months of the act (art. 13). If you weren’t there, the fine report is communicated to you by post with acknowledgement of receipt or by affixing it at your home (art. 27). This must happen within two months (art. 25(1^2) and (2), art. 26(3)). If it isn’t communicated to you within two months of the sanction being applied, enforcement is time-barred (art. 14(1)).

The rest is for the judge: whether the act happened as written, whether the evidence supports it and whether the sanction fits the act (art. 21(3), art. 34(1)). This is where photos, witnesses and any documents you have matter.

How does the case proceed?

The district court sets the first hearing within 30 days. It summons the institution that fined you and the witnesses named in the fine report or in the complaint (art. 33(1)). At the hearing, the judge first checks whether the complaint was filed in time. Then the judge hears you, if you come, takes the evidence and decides on the sanction (art. 34(1)). The judge can annul the fine report, uphold it or replace the fine with a warning (art. 38(3)). I can attend the hearings on your behalf.

The appeal

The district court’s judgment can be challenged only by appeal, to the tribunal, in its administrative and tax litigation section (art. 34(2)). In Cluj, that’s the Cluj Tribunal (Tribunalul Cluj), Administrative and Tax Litigation Section (Secția de contencios administrativ și fiscal). Under art. 468(1) of the Code of Civil Procedure (Codul de procedură civilă), you have 30 days from the date the judgment is communicated to you. You don’t have to give written grounds of appeal; you can also argue them orally. The appeal suspends enforcement of the judgment, and the stamp duty is again 20 lei (art. 19 of OUG 80/2013).

If the complaint is rejected

Under art. 37 of OG 2/2001, a fine report that isn’t challenged within 15 days, and a final judgment rejecting the complaint, become an enforceable title (titlu executoriu). If you contested the fine, the court sends the judgment for enforcement to the tax authority, usually the one for your domicile (art. 39(1)(b) and (2)). The fine is then enforced under the rules for enforcing tax debts (art. 39(3)). Under art. 39(4), you can file a challenge to enforcement (contestație la executare) (in Romanian) against the enforcement acts.

The consolidated texts are on legislatie.just.ro: OG 2/2001, OUG 80/2013 and the Code of Civil Procedure. For traffic fines, penalty points (puncte de penalizare) and your licence, see the page about traffic fines. Other fines are under fines and penalties.

Send me the fine report through the form, even a photo taken on your phone, and I’ll tell you what I see in it.