Thought Articles

Reproduced with permission from Media Law International. This article first appeared in Media Law International 2017. The freedom of contract is one of the main principles governing the Romanian civil law. According to Art. 1169 of the Civil Code, the parties are free to enter into any contracts and to establish their content, within the limits imposed by law, public order and accepted principles of morality. The activity of the media agencies was governed by the freedom of contract principle, without particular legal restrictions, until April 2013 when the Romanian Government approved the Government Emergency Ordinance No. 25/2013 (“GEO 25/2013”) amending the Audiovisual Law No. 504/2002 (“Audiovisual Law)”) and introducing new rules applicable to the purchasing of TV advertising. The preamble of GEO 25/2013 justified the legal intervention on the need to fight the corruption in the advertising market (kick-backs and other forms of bribery), as well as the non-transparent and anti-competitive systems in this field, which affect the activity of TV broadcasters and the “right of the public to correct and quality information”. Furthermore, the Government indicated some of the media agencies involved in the financial circuits between TV broadcasters and advertisers are bad payers to the state budget.

Partially reproduced with permission from DataGuidance.com. The full article is available by subscription only at https://app.dataguidance.com/guidance/index.asp?id=594 The main legal enactment in data privacy field is Law No. 677/2001 on the Protection of Individuals with Regard to the Processing of Personal Data and the Free Movement of Such Data ('the Privacy Act'), published in the Official Gazette of Romania No. 790 dated 12 December 2001, as subsequently amended and supplemented. The Privacy Act fully implements the Data Protection Directive (95/46/EC), having substantially similar provisions.

Over the last 10 years, the popularity of online gambling has made this industry one of the most profitable at an international level, and an important source of revenues for states that have secured a mutually beneficial and attractive legislative framework to operators. In Romania, although online gambling has been regulated since December 2010, the first functional regulatory framework only took shape following legislative efforts over 2015–2016. To a great extent, it is the Romanian National Gambling Office (ONJN) that reformed the legislative framework further to dialogue with all stakeholders, i.e., the associations representing online gambling operators and the state institutions in charge of monitoring, checking and penalizing industry-related activities. The current regulatory framework covers stakeholders’ needs and supports the development of this sector.

Reproduced with permission from Law Business Research Ltd. This article was first published in The Intellectual Property Review - Edition 5 (published in May 2016 – editor Robert L Baechtold). The Romanian legal framework on IP rights has been gradually harmonised with the corresponding European legislation (relevant EU Directives and EU Regulations) and, generally, with the principles provided in international treaties and conventions.

This article was first published in Romanian language on Hotnews.ro by Alexandru Mănucu, Tax Senior Consultant of Țuca Zbârcea & Asociații Tax One of the major tax implications of Brexit may apply to the income tax of British residents in Romania. While the architecture of the future agreement between the United Kingdom and the European Union (EU) is yet to be determined, its potential impact illustrates a burdensome level of duties and taxes that could keep British investors very far away from Romania following Brexit.

Reproduced with permission from Law Business Research Ltd. This article was first published in The Government Procurement Review, 4th edition (published in May 2016 – editors Jonathan Davey and Amy Gatenby). Public procurement contracts are essentially regulated by Government Emergency Ordinance No. 34/2006 on the award of public procurement contracts, public works concession contracts and service concession contracts (GEO No. 34/2006). Specific sector regulation and clarifications of GEO No. 34/2006 can be found in the secondary and tertiary legislation, consisting of government decisions and National Agency for Public Procurement (ANAP) (former National Authority for the Regulation and Monitoring of Public Procurement) orders. GEO No. 34/2006 transposes the EU legislation on public procurement and creates the legal framework to secure compliance with the principles of contract awarding in public procurement: non-discrimination, equal treatment, mutual recognition, transparency, proportionality, optimum use of funds and undertaking of liability.