Originally from Arbitration Law and Practice in Central and Eastern Europe - Second Edition

1. GENERAL LEGAL FRAMEWORK

1.1 National law

The new Romanian Civil Procedure Code  (hereinafter referred to as the “RCPC”) regulates the arbitral procedure and stipulates the common provisions applicable to any form of private arbitration conducted (having the site of arbitration) in Romania. 

a) Current status

What is the current status? When was it enacted? Have there been amendments?

The old Romanian Civil Procedure Code was originally enacted in 1865. Since its original enactment there have been multiple amendments to ensure consistency with the current legal, social and economic developments. Amendments were made in order to conform to the international conventions on arbitration. Among the most significant were the amendments made following the United Nations General Assembly Resolution,  adopting the United Nations Commission for International Trade Law (“UNCITRAL”)  Arbitration Rules and Rules on International Commercial Arbitration that were created in an effort to harmonize arbitration legislation worldwide.

The most relevant and recent amendment was on 15 February 2013 when the new RCPC  entered into force and substantially changed the former procedural rules. The provisions regarding arbitration procedure can be found in Book IV – Articles from 541 to 621 of the RCPC (“On Arbitration”) and Book VII, Title IV – Articles from 1.111 to 1.133 (“International Arbitration and the Effects of Foreign Arbitral Awards”).

The new RCPC represents an attempt to bring the Romanian arbitration provisions to the necessities and the realities of market practice. As regards the arbitration chapter which was improved by the provisions of the new RCPC, the changes were caused, among other things, by an increase of arbitration practice in Romania and by the efforts of Romanian scholars and practitioners to support the parties in this respect.