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Mandatory mediation prior to litigious proceedings

Law No 192 / 2006, regarding mediation and the organisation of mediator’s profession, which will become effective concurrently with the entry into force of the New Code of Civil Procedure on 15 February 2013, provides that, in certain fields of activity, prior to the initiation of legal action or, afterwards, until the court sets a specific date within the grace period, the parties in dispute shall necessarily attend mediation meetings.

According to Law No 192 / 2006, mediation shall be mandatory in the following fields:

  • consumer protection, where the consumer claims that he has suffered injury owing to a defective product or service, to the other party’s failure to observe contractual clauses or warranties, to abusive clauses contained in the contracts concluded between consumers and economic operators, or to the violation of other rights provided by the national or European Union legislation concerning consumer protection;
  • family law, where disputes occur in respect to the furtherance of marriage, to the separation of jointly owned assets, the exercise of parental rights, the establishment of children’s domicile, parents’ contribution to children’s care and maintenance, as well as to any differences occurring between spouses regarding the rights to which they are entitled in compliance with legal provisions;
  • disputes on holding, setting and moving demarcation lines, as well as any other disputed issues concerning neighbour relationships;
  • professional liability, implying malpractice, inasmuch as no other procedure is set out in special laws;
  • labour and employment litigation arising out of the conclusion, performance and termination of employment contracts;
  • civil litigation the value of which is below RON 50,000, except for the disputed issues on which the court renders a decision on the initiation of insolvency proceedings, the actions referring to the Trade Register and the cases in which the partiers choose to resort to injunction on payment or to the procedure regarding lower value claims;
  • offences, where the withdrawal of claim or parties’ reconciliation supersede criminal liability, if the wrongdoer is known or has been identified and the victim consents to participate in the mediation information and assessment meeting together with the wrongdoer.

 

In civil causes of action, Law No 192 / 2006 institutes, with effect from 1 August 2013, the penalty of court’s rejection of claim as inadmissible, owing to claimant’s failure to fulfil his/her obligation to participate in mediation information and assessment meetings before filing his/her claim with the court or, afterwards, until the court sets a specific date within the grace period.

Authors

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MAZARS ROMANIA SRL