An international company with pending claims before Romanian courts discovered, weeks before a scheduled hearing. That its cerere de chemare în judecată (statement of claim) no longer met the updated formal requirements under Romania's revised civil procedure rules. The filing was rejected. The company lost its place in the court queue and faced a re-filing delay measured in months.
Romania's civil procedure rules have been substantially amended, with key provisions taking effect in 2025. The changes affect court filing standards, deadlines for interim injunction applications, and the procedural steps required before judgment enforcement can begin. International litigants operating in Romania must audit active and planned proceedings without delay to avoid forfeiture of procedural rights.
This alert explains what changed, which business categories face the greatest exposure, and the immediate steps companies should take now.
What changed and when it takes effect
Romania's legislature amended the body of civil procedure legislation governing commercial and civil disputes. The amendments entered into force in early 2025. They introduce stricter formal requirements for court filing documents. They also tighten the evidentiary threshold for obtaining an ordonanță președințială (interim injunction) in commercial matters.
Several specific procedural changes demand attention. First, the mandatory pre-litigation mediation requirement has been extended to a broader category of commercial disputes. Parties that skip this step risk having their statement of claim declared inadmissible. Second, the time window within which a claimant must serve a defendant after court filing has been shortened. Third, the rules governing judgment enforcement – particularly the steps a creditor must complete before engaging a executor judecătoresc (bailiff) – have been reformulated. Creditors who follow the old sequence risk delays or outright rejection of enforcement requests.
Romanian courts, including the Înalta Curte de Casație și Justiție (High Court of Cassation and Justice), have begun applying the amended rules strictly. Lower commercial courts in Bucharest and other major jurisdictions are similarly enforcing the new standards without transitional leniency for pre-existing filings that are still in early procedural stages.
Who is affected and why the risk is acute
The amendments affect a wide range of business litigants. The exposure is particularly acute for three categories of international company.
Active claimants with pending filings. Any company that filed a statement of claim before the amendments came into force but has not yet passed the admissibility review stage must verify whether its filing meets the new formal standards. Courts are applying the new rules to proceedings that have not yet reached the first substantive hearing.
Creditors pursuing judgment enforcement. Companies that hold a Romanian court judgment or a foreign judgment being recognised in Romania face new procedural prerequisites before enforcement can proceed. The amended civil procedure rules require additional steps that were not mandatory under the prior regime. Failure to follow them stalls enforcement and, in some cases, triggers fresh time limits.
Foreign companies seeking interim injunctions. The threshold for interim injunction applications has been raised. An applicant must now demonstrate urgency and a stronger prima facie case than previously required. Companies that rely on interim injunctions to preserve assets or restrain conduct pending a dispute must recalibrate their strategy.
The compliance deadline for bringing existing proceedings into conformity with the amended rules is effectively immediate. Courts are not granting grace periods. Any hearing scheduled within the next 60 days should be treated as an urgent review target. For companies with matters before Romanian courts, engaging a lawyer in Romania with current procedural knowledge is no longer optional.
To receive an expert assessment of your company's litigation exposure in Romania, contact us at info@ferrazwhitmore.com.
Immediate actions for international companies
The following steps should be completed as a priority for any company with active or contemplated proceedings under Romanian civil procedure rules.
- Audit all pending filings. Review every active statement of claim filed in Romanian courts. Confirm that each filing satisfies the updated formal requirements. Where it does not, consult local counsel on whether an amended filing can be submitted before the next scheduled hearing.
- Verify pre-litigation mediation compliance. If a claim falls within the newly extended categories requiring mandatory mediation, confirm that the mediation step was completed and properly documented. Absent documentation, the court may declare the claim inadmissible regardless of its merits.
- Re-sequence enforcement proceedings. Creditors holding Romanian judgments should map their intended enforcement steps against the amended rules. If the prior sequence was begun, legal counsel should advise on whether the new prerequisites can be satisfied without restarting the process.
- Reassess interim injunction strategy. Any company planning to apply for an interim injunction in Romania should prepare a stronger evidentiary package than previously would have been required. Timeline calculations must account for the tightened threshold.
- Monitor appellate guidance. The High Court of Cassation and Justice is expected to issue clarifying decisions on the interpretation of several amended provisions over the coming months. Practitioners and in-house counsel should track this guidance, as it will shape how lower courts apply the new rules in practice.
Companies with cross-border disputes that intersect with Romanian proceedings should also review how the procedural changes interact with their broader litigation strategy. Our analysis of litigation and arbitration in Romania provides a fuller picture of the procedural environment. Clients managing corporate disputes in the region may find additional context in our overview of corporate dispute resolution in Romania. For teams monitoring procedural developments across EU jurisdictions, our alert on court procedure changes in Portugal illustrates how similar civil procedure reforms are unfolding in parallel markets.
About Ferraz & Whitmore
Ferraz & Whitmore is an international law firm based in Lisbon, advising business clients across 46 jurisdictions. Our commercial litigation practice covers civil procedure, judgment enforcement, and interim injunction strategy across both civil law and common law systems. We regularly advise international companies managing court filings and dispute resolution proceedings in Romania and across Central and Eastern Europe. The firm's attorneys have experience before Romanian commercial courts and in cross-border enforcement matters involving EU and non-EU counterparties. As a law firm in Romania and across 15 practice areas, we bring dual Portuguese civil law and English common law perspective to every mandate. For a preliminary review of how the 2025 court procedure amendments affect your proceedings in Romania, email us at info@ferrazwhitmore.com.
Disclaimer: This publication is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The information herein should not be relied upon as a substitute for professional legal counsel tailored to your specific circumstances. Ferraz & Whitmore assumes no liability for actions taken or not taken based on the contents of this material. For advice regarding your particular situation, please contact info@ferrazwhitmore.com.