Thought Articles

Reproduced with permission from Law Business Research Ltd. This article was first published in The Dispute Resolution Review, 7th edition (published in February 2015 – editor Jonathan Cotton). The Romanian dispute resolution framework is currently experiencing one of the most significant, substantial and extensive reforms of the last century, due to the enactment of a new Civil Procedure Code alongside a new Civil Code already in force; new Criminal and Criminal Procedure Codes have also been enacted. The reform seeks to put in place a legal framework able to answer the needs of contemporary developments of societal relations, with a clear view to coordination with EU law essentials. High expectations are placed on the system’s ability to absorb the new provisions aimed at speeding up trials, and avoid future allegations of systemic failure to settle disputes within ‘a reasonable time’. Particular applications of the legislator’s need for acceleration of trial proceedings include newly instituted duties of the judge to develop a written correspondence with the claimant in order to ensure the fulfilment of all validity requirements concerning his or her application, and then to coordinate the submitting of the parties’ written materials and the organisation of the hearing within a very strict time frame.

Crown copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO and the Queen’s Printer for Scotland. Published in November 2014 by European Lawyer Reference Series, part of Thomson Reuters (Professional) UK Limited. This second edition of Sourcing World serves as a single starting point of reference for corporations and their advisers. It provides valuable insights and guidance to international sourcing transactions, covering both contractual and commercial arrangements and their regulation. Written by outsourcing experts, every chapter gives a detailed overview of the legal and regulatory framework within each jurisdiction and of the terms and conditions relevant to finalising an outsourcing deal.

Reproduced with permission from Law Business Research Ltd. This article was first published in Getting the Deal Through: Dominance 2015, (published in December 2014; contributing editors Thomas Janssens and Thomas Wessely, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer). The abusive behaviour of dominant firms is prohibited by article 6 of the Romanian Competition Law No. 21/1996 (RCL) and article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). Article 6 expressly prohibits the abuse of a dominant position held by one or more undertakings on the Romanian market or on a substantial part of it.

Reproduced with permission from Law Business Research Ltd. This article was first published in The Mining Law Review - Edition 3 (published in October 2014 – editor Erik Richer La Flèche). Before 1989, when the Communism regime fell, mineral resources in Romania were exploited by state-owned companies. Although these exploitations were advertised as big economic successes of the communist governments, in reality, most of them were using outdated technology and some caused significant pollution in the mining perimeters. Moreover, in the context of Romania’s negotiations to join the European Union, some of the mining exploitations had to be shut down as they were far from being compliant with the European environmental standards.

This article was first published in The Lawyer - 12 May 2014 The economic trends in Romania since the country joined the EU can be seen as a roller coaster ride. Solid GDP growth throughout 2007 and 2008, encouraged by cheap and accessible European capital, was abruptly replaced by a steep recession as the global economic downturn battered the continent. Following severe public spending cuts and supported by the gradually improving European business environment, Romania’s economy has stabilised in the past three years and returned to growth, albeit at a more modest pace. Furthermore, while not yet out of the woods, the future looks brighter for the local economy. Robust 3.5 per cent GDP growth in 2013 (mainly generated by an excellent agricultural year and increased exports in the automotive sector) is likely to continue this year with a 2 to 3 per cent increase.

The publication addresses the most important legal issues relevant for legal practitioners and business people dealing with cloud computing products and services in 14 jurisdictions across the region.