THE PARLIAMENT OF ROMANIA Promulgated through
Decree no. 481/2004
Law no. 272/2004 of 06/21/2004
Published in the Romanian Official Gazette, Part I, no. 557
on 06/23/2004
on the protection and promotion of the rights of the child The Parliament of Romania adopts the present law.
CHAPTER 1
General provisions and definitions
Art. 1 – (1) The present law regulates the legal framework concerning
the observance, promotion and guaranteeing of the rights of the child.
(2) The public authorities, the authorized private institutions, as well
as the natural and legal persons responsible for child protection must
observe, promote and guarantee the rights of the child, as stipulated
by the Constitution and the law, in accordance with the provisions of
the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified through Law
no. 18/1990, republished, and with the other international regulations
in this field, to which Romania is a State party.
Art. 2 – (1) The present law, any other regulations adopted in the
field of observing and promoting the rights of the child, as well as any
legal act, issued or, if the case, signed in this field, are subordinated
primarily to the child's best interests.
(2) The best interests of the child also take priority over the rights and
duties of the child's parents, legal guardians, or other persons legally
responsible for him or her.
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(3) In all actions and decisions concerning children, whether
undertaken by public authorities and authorized private institutions,
as well as courts of law, the best interests of the child shall be a
primary consideration.
(4) The persons stipulated under paragraph (3) must involve the
family in all decisions, actions and measures taken in connection with
the child and support the care, upbringing, development and
education of the child in the family.
Art. 3 – The following categories of persons benefit from the
provisions of the present law:
a) children with Romanian citizenship, located on the territory or
Romania;
b) children with Romanian citizenship, located aboard;
c) children without citizenship, located on the territory of Romania;
d) children who request or benefit from a form of protection,
according to the legal regulations on the status and treatment of
refugees in Romania;
e) children with foreign citizenship, located on the territory of
Romania, who are in emergency situations, as defined, in accordance
with the present law, by the competent Romanian public authorities.
Art. 4 – For the present law, the terms and expressions below have
the following meanings:
a) child - a human being below the age of 18, who has not acquired
full capacity of exercise, according to the law;
b) family - the parents and their children;
c) extended family - the child, his or her parents, and their relatives
up to the 4th degree of kinship;
d) substitute family - the persons, other than those who belong to the
extended family, and who provide care and support for bringing up
the child, according to the law;
e) the individualized protection plan - the document which provides
the planning of special child protection services, measures, and
actions, based on the psycho-social evaluation of the child and his or
her family, in order to integrate a child who has been separated by his
or her family, into a permanent and stable family environment, in the
shortest possible time;
f) the service plan - the document which includes the planning of the
social services which are to be provided, based on a psycho-social
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evaluation of the child and his or her family, in order to prevent the
separation of the child from his or her family;
g) the child's legal guardian - the parent or person assigned, in
accordance with the law, to exercise the child's rights and to fulfill
parental duties towards the child;
h) N.A.P.R.C. – the National Authority for the Protection of the Rights
of the Child;
i) C.P.C. – the child protection commission;
j) G.D.S.S.C.P. – the general department for social security and child
protection;
k) P.S.S.S – the public social security service;
l) R.O.A – the Romanian Office for Adoptions.
Art. 5 – (1) Children have the right to receive protection and support,
in order to fully achieve and exercise their rights, in accordance with
the present law.
(2) The parents' main responsibility is to raise and ensure hte proper
development of the child; they have the duty to exercise their rights
and to fulfill their duties towards the child, having the child's best
interests as a primary consideration;
(3) Subsidiary, this responsibility falls onto the local community to
which the child belongs. The local public administration authorities
have the duty to support the parents or, if the case, any persons who
are legally responsible for the child, in fulfilling their duties towards
the child, by developing and providing for this specific purpose
diversified, accessible and high quality services, which should
respond to the child's needs ;
(4) The intervention of the state is complementary; the state ensures
the protection of the child and guarantees the observance of all of the
rights of the child, through a specific activity conducted by the state
institutions and the public authorities responsible in this field.
Art. 6 – Observing and guaranteeing the rights of the child should be
conducted in accordance with the following principles:
a) observing and primarily promoting the best interests of the child;
b) equal opportunities and non-discrimination;
c) raising the awareness of the parents on the exercise of their rights
and on the fulfillment of parental duties;
d) the primordial responsibility of the parents to observe and
guarantee the rights of the child;
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e) the decentralization of the child protection services, the multisectorial
intervention and the partnership between the public
institutions and the authorized private institutions;
f) providing individualized and personalized care for each child;
g) observing the dignity of the child;
h) hearing the opinion of the child and giving it due weight, in
accordance with the age and maturity of the child;
i) providing stability and continuity in caring, raising and educating the
child, taking into account the child's ethnic, religious, cultural and
linguistic background, in the case of undertaking a protection
measure.
j) celerity in making all decisions concerning the child;
k) providing protection against child abuse and neglect;
l) interpreting each legal act concerning the rights of the child in
correlation with the entire collection of regulations in this filed.
Art. 7 – The rights specified under the current law are guaranteed for
all children, without any discrimination, and irrespective of race, color,
gender, language, political or any other opinion, nationality, ethnic
affiliation or social origin, financial situation, degree and type of
disability, status at birth or acquired status, shape, development or
other types of difficulties of the child, of the parents or legal
representatives, or of any other distinction.
CHAPTER II
The rights of the child
SECTION I
Civil rights and liberties
Art. 8 – (1) The child has the right to receive and maintain his or her
identity.
(2) The child is registered immediately after the birth and
starting from this date, the child has the right to a name, the right to
receive citizenship and, if possible, to meet his / her parents, to
receive care, be raised and educated by them.
(3) The parents choose the child’s last name and first name, in
compliance with the law;
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(4) The child has the right to maintain his / her citizenship,
name and family relations, in compliance with the law, with no
interference;
(5) When a child is illegally deprived entirely or partly of his /
her identity, the public institutions and authorities shall take
emergency measures in order to reinstate the child’s identity.
Art. 9 – (1) In order to observe the right stipulated under art. 8,
paragraph (1), the medical institutions which include maternities and /
or pediatric units must employ a social worker or, if the case, a
person with social security responsibilities.
(2) In order to establish the identity of an abandoned or found
child, or of his / her parents, the competent police authorities must
appoint one or more individuals who are in charge of taking the
necessary steps, in accordance with the law, in order to register the
child’s birth.
Art. 10 – (1) The birth certificate proving the child’s birth, both for the
child born alive, as well as for the still born child, is issued within 24
hours from the child’s birth.
(2) The chief doctor of the unit or the doctor who assisted or
acknowledged the birth are responsible for fulfilling the obligation
stipulated under paragraph (1).
(3) When the birth occurred outside a healthcare institution, the
family physician, whose cabinet is located in the territorial range
where the birth took place, has the duty to acknowledge the birth of
the child, upon the request of any person, within 24 hours, and then
draft and issue the medical certificate which acknowledges the birth
of the child, even if the mother is not one of the patients registered
with his or her cabinet.
Art. 11 – (1) If the child is abandoned by his or her mother in the
maternity, the healthcare institution must report this fact by phone
and in writing to the general department for social security and child
protection and the police, within 24 hours after the mother’s
disappearance has been acknowledged.
(2) Within 5 days from issuing the notification stipulated under
paragraph (1), a record acknowledging the child’s abandonment is
drafted and then signed by the representative of the general
department for social security and child protection, the police
representative and the maternity representative; when the child’s
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health condition allows the discharge from hospital, based on that
record, the general department for social security and child protection
will decide the emergency placement measure for the child;
(3) Within 30 days from the date when the record was drafted,
the police must conduct specific investigations concerning the
mother’s identity and must notify the general department for social
security and child protection on the results.
(4) In case the mother is identified, the general department for
social security and child protection will provide counseling and
support for the mother, in view of undertaking the necessary steps for
the issuance of the birth certificate.
(5) If, following the police investigation, the mother’s
identification is not possible, the general department for social
security and child protection sends to the public social security
service in whose territorial range the birth has occurred, the file
containing the medical certificate acknowledging the birth, the record
stipulated under paragraph (2), the emergency placement decision
and the results of the police investigation.
(6) Within 5 days from the receipt of the documents stipulated
under paragraph (5), the public social security service must obtain the
decision concerning the child’s last name and first name, in
accordance with the provisions of Law no. 119/1996 on the civil
status documents and make the birth recording statement at the
competent civil service.
(7) After recording the child’s birth, the public social security
service must send to the general department for social security and
child protection the document registering the child’s birth.
Art. 12 – (1) In the case of a foundling, as well as of a child who was
abandoned by his / her parents in other healthcare units, whose birth
has not been registered, the obligation to take the legal steps
stipulated by the law for the registration of the child’s birth belongs to
the public social security service in whose administrative and
territorial range the child has been found or abandoned.
(2) The forensic examination necessary for the registration of the
child's birth is free of charge .
Art. 13 – (1) The healthcare institutions, social protection institutions,
residential care services, entities with no legal status, other legal, as
well as natural persons, who receive or provide care for pregnant
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women or children who do not have any documents based on which
their identity can be determined, must notify within 24 hours, through
a written report, the local public administration authority, in whose
territorial range their headquarters or, if the case, their residence is
located, in order to establish the identity of the above-mentioned.
(2) The person who takes a child in order to provide temporary care
or protection until the establishment of a legal protection measure,
has the obligation to maintain the child and within 48 hours, he / she
must notify the local public administration in whose territorial range is
located his / her headquarters or domicile.
Art. 14 – (1) The child has the right to maintain personal relations and
direct contacts with his or her parents, relatives, as well as with other
persons with whom the child has developed relations based on
attachment.
(2) The child has the right to meet his or her relatives and to maintain
personal relations with them, as well as with other persons with whom
the child has enjoyed a family life, to the extent that this is not
contrary to the best interests of the child.
(3) The parents or a person who is legally responsible for the child
may not prevent the personal relations of the child with his or her
grandparents, brothers and sisters, or with any other persons with
whom the child has enjoyed a family life, except when a court of law
so decides, assessing that there are rigorous reasons which may
endanger the physical, mental, intellectual or moral development of
the child.
Art. 15 – (1) For the present law, personal relations may be achieved
through:
a) meetings between the child and the parent or another
person who, according to the present law, has the right to
maintain personal relations with the child;
b) visiting the child at his or her residence;
c) hosting the child, for a specific period of time, by the parent
or by another person with whom the child does not live on a
regular basis;
d) correspondence or any other form of communication with the
child;
e) sending to the child information regarding the parent or other
persons who, according to the present law, have the right to
maintain personal relations with the child.
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f) sending to the parent or to other persons who have the right
to maintain personal relations with the child, information
regarding the child, including recent photos, medical
evaluations or school records.
(2) Sending the information stipulated under paragraph (1) lines e)
and f) must be achieved in a way which would observe the best
interests of the child and the special provisions on the confidentiality
and dissemination of personal data.
Art. 16 – (1) The child who has been separated from both of his / her
parents or from just one of them, as a result of a legal measure, has
the right to maintain personal relations and direct contacts with both
parents, except when this is contrary to the best interests of the child.
(2) The court of law, considering the best interests of the child as a
priority, can limit the exercise of this right, if there are rigorous
reasons which may endanger the physical, mental, intellectual, moral
or social development of the child.
Art. 17 – (1) The child, whose parents reside in different states, has
the right to maintain personal relations and direct contacts with both
of them, except when this is contrary to the best interests of the child.
(2) The National Authority for the Protection of the Rights of the Child
will facilitate the exercise of the right stipulated under paragraph (1),
in cooperation with the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, based
on a procedure approved through a joint order.
Art. 18 – (1) Children who are not accompanied by parents or by a
person who is legally responsible for the child, or are not under the
legal supervision of any persons, have the right to have their return to
the legal representatives ensured, as soon as possible.
(2) The children’s travel in the country or abroad may only be done
when both parents have been notified and have agreed; any
misunderstandings between the parents concerning the expression of
this agreement is ruled upon by the court of law.
(3) The parents or, if the case, the person responsible for supervising,
upbringing and caring for the child must notify the police on the
disappearance of the child from the residence, within 24 hours after
noticing that the child is missing.
Art. 19 – (1) The diplomatic and consular missions of Romania must
inform the National Authority for the Protection of the Rights of the
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Child about any children with Romanian citizenship who are located
abroad, and who, for whatever reasons, are not accompanied by
parents or by a legal guardian, or are not under the legal supervision
of certain persons who are abroad.
(2) The National Authority for the Protection of the Rights of the Child
will undertake the necessary measures for the return of the child to
his or her parents or to a legal guardian, immediately after these
persons have been identified. In case the identified persons cannot or
refuse to take the child in their care, upon the request of the National
Authority for the Protection of the Rights of the Child, the second level
court (tribunal) in whose territorial range is located the residence of
the child, or the Bucharest tribunal, in case the child’s residence is
unknown, will decide the child’s placement in a special protection
service proposed by the National Authority for the Protection of the
Rights of the Child.
(3) The procedures related to the children’s return to the country, to
the identification of the parents or the legal guardians, the method
through which the advanced payment is made for the expenses
necessary for the children’s return to the country, as well as the
public or private special child protection services, which have the
competency to provide the emergency protection of the children who
are in the situation stipulated under paragraph (1), are established
through a Government decision.
Art. 20 – (1) The foreign diplomatic and consular missions must
inform the Authority for the Protection of the Rights of the Child and
the Authority for Foreigners about all cases involving children with
foreign citizenship who are located in Romania, and who, for
whatever reasons, are not accompanied by parents or by a legal
guardian, or are not under the legal supervision of other persons. If
the Romanian authorities take notice of such cases by themselves,
they will immediately inform the competent foreign mission about the
respective children.
(2) In the cases stipulated under paragraph (1), the Authority for the
Protection of the Rights of the Child will request the second level
court of Bucharest to decide the placement of the child in a special
protection service proposed by the Authority for the Protection of the
Rights of the Child, until the completion of the legal steps that must
be undertaken by the Authority for Foreigners.
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(3) The placement measure lasts until the return of the child to his /
her parents’ residence country or to the country where relatives
willing to look after the child have been identified.
(4) In case the child is not returned, he / she will benefit from the
special protection stipulated by the present law.
Art. 21 – In view of enforcing the provisions stipulated under art. 19
and 20, the necessary treaties are concluded with the states or
authorities of the envisaged states, based on the proposals put forth
by the Authority for the Protection of the Rights of the Child and the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as by other interested institutions.
Art. 22 – (1) The child has the right to have his or her public image
and personal, private and family life protected.
(2) Any action which may affect the public image of the child the
child’s right to personal, private and family life is forbidden.
(3) The participation of the child below the age of 14 years old to
public debates, during audiovisual programs, can only be made with
the written consent of the child and of his or her parents or, if the
case, of any person who is legally responsible for the child.
(4) Children cannot be used or exposed by their parents, their legal
guardians or by any other persons who are legally responsible for
raising and caring for them, in order to gain personal advantages or
to influence the decisions made by public authorities.
(5) The National Audiovisual Council monitors the way in which
audiovisual programs are conducted, in such a manner as to ensure
the protection of and to guarantee the rights of the child mentioned
under paragraph (1).
Art. 23 – (1) The child has the right to freedom of expression.
(2) The child’s freedom to seek, to receive and to impart information
of any kind, which aims at promoting his or her social, spiritual and
moral welfare, his or her physical and mental health, in any form and
by any means available, is inviolable.
(3) The parents or, if the case, other legal guardians of the child, the
persons who are legally responsible for children, as well as persons
who, through the nature of their positions, promote and ensure the
observance of the rights of children must provide information,
explanations and advice according to the children’s age and degree
of understanding, as well as allow them to express their own point of
view, ideas and opinions.
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(4) Parents may not restrict the right of the minor child to freedom of
expression, except in the cases expressly stipulated by the law.
Art. 24 – (1) The child who has the capacity to discern has the right
to freely express his or her opinion regarding any matter which
involves him or her.
(2) The child has the right to be heard in any judicial or administrative
procedure which involves him or her. The hearing of the child who
has reached the age of 10 years old is mandatory. Nevertheless, the
child who has not reached the age of 10 years old may also be heard,
if the competent authority deems it necessary, in order to solve the
case.
(3) The right to be heard grants to the child the possibility to request
and receive any pertinent information, to be consulted, to express his
or her opinion, and to be informed about the consequences which his
or her opinion may generate, if observed, as well as about the
consequences of any decision involving him or her.
(4) In all cases stipulated under paragraph (2), the child’s opinions
will be taken into consideration, according to the age and degree of
maturity of the child.
(5) Any child can request to be heard according to the provisions of
paragraphs (2) and (3). If his or her request is denied, the competent
authority will issue a motivated decision in this regard.
(6) The special legal provisions regarding the consent or the
presence of the child in the procedures which involve him or her, as
well as the provisions regarding the appointment of a curator, in case
of conflict of interests, are and remain applicable.
Art. 25 – (1) The child has the right to freedom of thought,
conscience and religion.
(2) According to their own convictions, the parents provide guidance
to the child on choosing a religion, taking into account the opinion,
age and degree of maturity of the child, without having the power to
force him or her to join a certain religion or religious cult.
(3) The religion of the child who has reached the age of 14 years old
may not be changed without his or her consent; the child who has
reached the age of 16 years old has the right to choose a certain
religion on his or her own.
(4) When the child is under a special protection measure, the persons
who are legally responsible for him or her are forbidden to take any
actions which may influence the child’s religious beliefs.
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Art. 26 – (1) The child has the right to freedom of association, in
formal and informal structures, as well as the right to freedom of
peaceful assembly, within the limits stipulated by the law.
(2) The local public administration authorities, the education
institutions and other competent public or private institutions take the
necessary measures in order to ensure the full realization of the
rights stipulated under paragraph (1).
Art. 27 – (1) The child belonging to an ethnic, religious or linguistic
minority, has the right to have his or her own cultural life, to declare
his or her ethnic and religious affiliation, to practice his or her religion,
as well as the right to use his or her own language with other
members of the community to which the child belongs.
(2) The National Council for Combating Discrimination ensures and
monitors the full realization of the rights stipulated under paragraph
(1).
Art. 28 – (1) The child has the right to be shown respect for his or her
personality and individuality and may not be made subject to physical
punishments or to other humiliating or degrading treatments.
(2) Disciplinary measures concerning the child can only be taken in
accordance with the child’s dignity, and, under no circumstances are
physical punishments allowed, or punishments which relate to the
child’s physical and mental development or which may affect the
child’s emotional status.
Art. 29 – (1) The child has the right to file complaints on his or her
own regarding the violation of his or her fundamental rights.
(2) The child is informed with regard to his or her rights and on the
ways to exercise these rights.
SECTION 2
The family environment and the alternative care
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Art. 30 – (1) The child has the right to be brought up together with his
or her parents.
(2) The parents must ensure, in the appropriate manner for the
developing capacities of the child, the necessary guidance and
advice that are needed in order to properly exercise the rights
stipulated by the present law.
(3) The child’s parents have the right to receive information and
specialized assistance that are necessary for upbringing, caring and
educating the child.
Art. 31 – (1) Both parents are responsible for the upbringing of their
children.
(2) The exercise of parental rights and the fulfillment of parental
duties must take into account the best interests of the child, and
secure the material and spiritual welfare of the child, especially by
providing care, by maintaining personal relations with the child, by
ensuring the upbringing, education and maintenance of the child, as
well as by providing legal representation and administrating the
child’s patrimony.
(3) In the case of disagreements between the parents concerning the
exercise of parental rights and the fulfillment of parental duties, after
hearing both parents, the court of law rules in accordance with the
best interests of the child.
Art. 32 – The child has the right to be brought up in an environment
which would allow the child’s physical, mental, spiritual, moral and
social development. For this purpose, the parents must:
a) supervise the child;
b) cooperate with the child and respect the child’s personal and
private life and dignity;
c) inform the child on all acts and deeds which may affect him or
her and take into account the child’s opinion;
d) undertake all the necessary measures for the realization of the
rights of their children;
e) cooperate with natural and legal persons which are involved in
childcare, education and child professional training.
Art. 33 – The child may not be separated from his or her parents, or
by only one of the parents, against their will, except in special and
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limited cases stipulated by the law, under the reserve of judicial
revision and only if this is required by the best interests of the child.
Art. 34 – (1) The public social security service will undertake all the
necessary measures for the early identification of risk situations,
which may determine the separation of the child from his or her
parents, as well as for the prevention of abusive behaviors of the
parents and family violence.
(2) Any separation of the child from his or her parents, as well as any
restriction in exercising the parental rights must be preceded by the
systematic granting of services and assistance stipulated by the law,
with a special emphasis on adequately informing the parents,
providing counseling, therapy and mediation for them, based on a
service plan.
Art. 35 – (1) The service plan is drafted and enforced by the public
social security service that is established at the level of cities and
towns, as well as by the individuals involved in social security issues
within the communal local councils in whose administrative and
territorial range is located the child, as a result of evaluating the
situation of the child and of his or her family.
(2) In Bucharest, the general department for social security and child
protection drafts and enforces the plan stipulated under paragraph
(1), at the level of each sector.
(3) The service plan is approved through a directive issued by the
mayor.
(4) The service plan is aimed at preventing the separation of the child
from his or her parents. To this end, the public social security service
or, if the case, the general department for social security and child
protection at the level of each Bucharest sector, support the access
of the child and of his or her family to services and assistance
focused on maintaining the child in the family.
(5) The service plan may result in a request for undertaking a special
child protection measure filed by the general department for social
security and child protection only if, after the services stipulated in
this plan have been granted, it is noticed that maintaining the child
together with his or her parents is not possible.
Art. 36 – (1) If there are sound reasons to suspect that the child’s life
and security are endangered in the family, the public social security
service or, if the case, the representatives of the general department
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for social security and child protection at the level of each sector have
the right to visit the children at their residence and to gather
information on how the children are being cared for, on the children’s
health and physical development, education and professional
training, and may grant, where needed, the necessary advice.
(2) If, following the visits stipulated under paragraph (1) it is noticed
that the child’s physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social
development is endangered, the public social security service must
immediately notify the general department for social security and
child protection, in view of undertaking the measures stipulated by the
law.
(3) The general department for social security and child protection
must refer the case to the court, in case it considers that the
conditions required by the law regarding the partial or complete
termination of the parental rights of one or both of the parents are
met.
Art. 37 – (1) The general department for social security and child
protection will undertake all necessary measures so that parents who
have been deprived of parental rights, as well as those whose rights
were restricted, may benefit from specialized assistance, in order to
increase their capacity to care for their children, in view of re-gaining
the exercise of parental rights.
(2) The parents who request the return of the exercise of parental
rights benefit from free legal assistance, in accordance with the law.
Art. 38 – The court of law is the only competent authority which may
issue a decree, taking into primary consideration the best interests of
the child, concerning:
a) the person who exercises and fulfils the parental rights and
duties, in case the child is deprived, either temporarily or
permanently, of the protection of his or her parents;
b) the ways in which the parental right and duties are exercised
and fulfilled;
c) the partial or complete termination of the exercise of parental
rights;
d) the recovery of the exercise of parental rights.
Art. 39 – (1) Any child who is, either temporarily or definitively,
deprived of the care of his or her parents, or who, in order to protect
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his or her interests, cannot be left in their care, has the right to
alternative protection.
(2) The protection stipulated under paragraph (1) includes the
establishment of the legal guardianship, the special protection
measures stipulated under the present law, and the adoption. When
choosing one of these solutions, the competent authority will
appropriately take into account the need to ensure a certain continuity
in the child’s education, as well as his or her ethnical, religious,
cultural and linguistic background.
Art. 40 – (1) The legal guardianship is established when both parents
are deceased, unknown, deprived of the exercise of parental rights or
were enforced the penalty of denial of parental rights, placed under
interdiction, declared dead or missing by a court of law, as well as
when, upon the termination of the adoption, the court of law rules that
this is in the best interests of the child.
(2) The legal guardianship is established in accordance with the law
by the court of law in whose territorial range the child have the
domicile or has been found.
Art. 41 – (1) The legal guardianship may be entrusted to natural
persons or jointly to the husband and wife who have the domicile in
Romania and who are in none of the incompatibility situations
stipulated by the law.
(2) The natural person or the family who are to become legal
guardians must be evaluated by the general department for social
security and child protection with regard to the moral warrantees and
the material conditions which they have to meet in order to receive a
child in placement. The evaluation is conducted by the general
department for social security and child protection in whose territorial
range is located the domicile of the natural person or family, and the
members of the child’s extended family are given priority.
Art. 42 – (1) The court of law gives priority in appointing as legal
guardian, if no justified reasons are opposing this decision, a relative
or a friend of the child’s family, who is capable of fulfilling this task.
(2) The natural person, or the couple, respectively, who are to
become legal guardians, are appointed based on the presentation of
the report concerning these persons made by the general department
for social security and child protection. The proposal will be made
17
taking into account the personal relations, the proximity of the
domiciles, as well as the child’s opinion.
SECTION 3
The health and welfare of the child
Art. 43 - (1) The child has the right to enjoy the highest attainable
standard of health and to benefit from the medical and rehabilitation
services which are necessary in order to ensure the effective
realization of this right.
(2) The child’s access to medical and rehabilitation services, as well
as to medication which is adequate to his or her condition in case of
illness, is guaranteed by the state, and the costs are covered by the
National social health insurance fund and by the state budget.
(3) The specialized institutions of the central public administration, the
local public administration authorities, as well as any other public or
private healthcare institutions, must undertake, in accordance with
the law, all the necessary measures in order to:
a) diminish infant mortality;
b) ensure and develop primary and community healthcare
services;
c) prevent disease and malnutrition;
d) ensure healthcare services for the pregnant woman during the
pre- and post-natal period, regardless of whether the person is
or not registered in the social health insurance system;
e) inform the parents and the children on issues concerning child
health and nutrition, including issues concerning the
advantages of breastfeeding, hygiene and environmental
sanitation;
f) develop actions and programs focusing on healthcare
protection and the prevention of disease, on the assistance of
parents and on education, as well as family planning services;
g) periodically verify the treatment received by children who were
placed in order to receive care, protection or treatment;
h) ensure the confidentiality of the medical examination provided
to the child, upon his or her request;
i) systematically conduct educational programs in education
institutions, including programs aimed at the sexual education
18
of children, in order to prevent sexually transmitted diseases
and unwanted pregnancies in minor girls.
(4) The parents have the duty to request medical care, in order to
ensure that the child has the best attainable health standard and to
prevent situations which may endanger the life, growth and
development of the child.
(5) In an exceptional situation, when the child’s life is in imminent
danger or there is a risk of serious consequences with regard to the
child’s health or physical integrity, the physician has the right to
conduct those medical acts of immediate necessity for saving the
child’s life, even without having the consent of the parents or of a
person who is legally responsible for the child.
(6) The periodical visits of the specialized healthcare staff at the
residence of pregnant women and children until they reach the age of
one year old are mandatory, in order to protect the health of the
mother and child, to provide healthcare education, to prevent child
abandonment, child abuse or neglect.
Art. 44 – (1) The child has the right to a living standard which would
enable his or her physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social
development.
(2) The parents or, if the case, other legal representatives have the
primary responsibility to ensure, as much as they possibly can, the
best living conditions necessary for the raising and development of
the children; the parents must provide accommodation for the
children, as well as the necessary conditions for their raising,
education, learning, and professional training.
Art. 45 – (1) The child has the right to receive social security and
social insurances, according to the resources and the situation of the
child and of the people who have responsibility for the maintenance
of the child.
(2) In case the parents or the persons who, according to the law,
have the responsibility to maintain the child, cannot meet, for reasons
which are independent of their own will, the child’s minimal needs for
housing, food, clothes and education, the state, through the
competent public authorities, must provide them appropriate support,
in the form of financial aid, in kind assistance, as well as other
services, in accordance with the law.
(3) The parents must request to the competent authorities to grant
them allowances, indemnities, financial or in kind assistance, as well
19
as other facilities stipulated by the law for children or for families with
children.
(4) The local public administration authorities must inform the parents
and the children about the rights which they have, as well as on how
they can be granted the social security and social insurance rights.
Art. 46 – (1) The disabled child has the right to special care, which is
adapted to his or her needs.
(2) The disabled child has the right to education, rehabilitation,
compensation, and integration, which are adapted to his or her own
abilities, for their individual development.
(3) The special care must secure the physical, mental, spiritual, moral
or social development of the disabled children. The special care is
represented by support which is appropriate to the situation of the
child and the parents, or, if the case, of others who are responsible
for the child’s care, and which is granted free of charge, whenever
this is possible, in order to facilitate the effective and nondiscriminatory
access of disabled children to education, professional
training, medical healthcare, rehabilitation services, preparation for
employment, leisure activities, as well as any other activities which
may allow the child’s fullest possible social integration and individual
development.
(4) The specialized institutions of the central public administration and
the local public administration authorities must initiate programs and
ensure the resources needed to develop services aiming at satisfying
the needs of disabled children and of their families, in conditions
which would guarantee their dignity, enable their autonomy and
facilitate their active participation to community life.
SECTION 4
Education, leisure and cultural activities
Art. 47 – (1) The child has the right to receive an education which
would allow him or her to develop his or her capacities and
personality, in non-discriminatory conditions.
(2) The child’s parents have priority in choosing the type of education
which the child is to receive, and must enroll the child in school, and
ensure the child’s regular attendance of the classes.
20
(3) The child who has reached the age of 14 years old may request
the approval of a court of law to change the type of education and
professional training that he or she is receiving.
Art. 48 – (1) The Ministry of Education and Research, as a
specialized institution of the central public authority, as well as the
school inspectorates and the education institutions, as
establishments of the local public administration, must undertake all
measures that are necessary for:
a) facilitating the access to pre-school education and providing
regular obligatory tax-free education for all children;
b) developing education programs for young parents, including
education programs aimed at the prevention of family violence;
c) organizing special training courses for children who cannot meet
the demands of the national curriculum, in order to prevent their early
employment;
d) organizing special training courses for children who have dropped
out of school, in order to re-integrate them in the national education
system;
e) observing the child’s right to leisure and resting time, as well as the
right to freely participate in cultural and artistic activities;
f) preventing school drop out for economic reasons, by undertaking
active measures to provide social services within the school
environment, such as food, stationery, transportation, and others.
(2) During the teaching and educational process, the child has the
right to be treated with respect by the teachers, to be informed on his
or her rights, as well as on the methods of exercising these rights.
Physical punishments during the educational process are forbidden.
(3) The child himself or, if the case, represented or assisted by a
person who is legally responsible for him or her, has the right to
appeal against the evaluation criteria and results and to address the
management of the education institution on this matter, in accordance
with the law.
(4) The teachers have the duty to inform the public social security
service or, if the case, the general department for social security and
child protection about all cases of child mistreatment, abuse or
neglect.
Art. 49 – (1) The child has the right to rest and leisure.
(2) The child must have sufficient time for rest and leisure, to engage
freely in recreational activities appropriate to his or her age and to
21
participate in the cultural, artistic and sports activities of the
community. The public authorities must contribute to the provision of
the conditions that are needed in exercising this right, in accordance
with their responsibilities, in conditions of equality.
(3) The public authorities must provide, according to their
responsibilities, sufficient and adequate playgrounds for the children,
especially in the case of intensely populated areas.
CHAPTER III
The special protection of the child who is temporarily or definitively
deprived of the protection of his or her parents
SECTION 1
Joint provisions
Art. 50 – The special child protection is made up by the all measures,
assistance and services aimed at the care and development of the
child who is deprived, either temporarily or definitively, of the
protection of his or her parents, or of the child who, in view of
protecting his or her best interests, cannot be placed in the care of his
or her parents.
Art. 51 – (1) The child receives the special protection stipulated by
the present law, until reaching the full capacity to exercise his or her
rights.
(2) Upon the request of the youngster, which is expressed following
acquirement of full capacity to exercise his or her rights, if the
youngster is continuing his or her studies in the regular, mass
education system, the special protection is granted, according to the
law, for the entire duration of his or her studies, but without exceeding
the age of 26 years old.
(3) The youngster who has acquired full capacity to exercise his or
her rights and has benefited from a special protection measure, but
who is not continuing his or her studies and does not have the
opportunity to return to the family, being confronted with the risk of
social exclusion, receives special protection upon request for a period
of maximum 2 years, for the purpose of facilitating his or her social
integration. In case proof is made of the fact that the youngster has
22
been offered a job and / or accommodation and that he or she has
successively turned the offer down or has been deprived of them by
his or her own fault, the provisions of the current paragraph are no
longer applicable.
Art. 52 – The special protection services are those listed under art.
108 - 110.
Art. 53 – (1) The special child protection measures are established
and enforced based on the individualized protection plan.
(2) The plan stipulated under paragraph (1) is drafted and revised
according to the methodological norms elaborated and approved by
the National Authority for the Protection of the Rights of the Child.
(3) The special child protection measures for the child who has
reached the age of 14 years old are established only with the child’s
consent. In case the child refuses to give his or her consent, the
protection measures are established only by the court of law which,
under strongly motivated circumstances, may overlook the child’s
refusal to express his or her consent for the proposed measure.
Art. 54 – (1) The general department for social security and child
protection must draft the individualized protection plan immediately
after receiving the request to enforce a special protection measure or
immediately after the director of the general department for social
security and child protection has decided on the emergency
placement of the child.
(2) In the case of the child for whom a legal guardian has been
appointed, the provisions of paragraph (1) are not applicable.
(3) Upon establishing the objectives of the individualized protection
plan, special priority is given to the re-integration of the child in the
family or, if this is not possible, the placement of the child in the
extended family. The plan’s objectives are established by obligatorily
consulting the parents and the members of the extended family who
have been identified.
(4) The individualized protection plan may stipulate the placement of
the child in a residential type of service, only if no legal guardianship
could be established or no placement with the extended family, with a
maternal assistant or with another person or family could be
achieved, in accordance with the present law.
Art. 55 – The special child protection measures are:
23
a) placement;
b) emergency placement;
c) specialized supervision.
Art. 56 – The beneficiaries of the special child protection measures
established by the present law are:
a) the child whose parents are deceased, unknown, deprived of
the exercise of parental rights or have been enforced the
penalty of denial of parental rights, placed under interdiction,
declared dead or missing by a court of law and for whom no
legal guardianship could be established;
b) the child who, in view of protecting the his or her best interests,
cannot be left in the care of the parents, for reasons for which
the parents cannot be held accountable;
c) the abused or neglected child;
d) the foundling or the child who has been abandoned by the
mother in a hospital ward;
e) the child who has committed an act stipulated by the criminal
law and who is not criminally liable.
Art. 57 – The parents, as well as the child who has reached the age
of 14 years old have the right to appeal in a court of law the special
child protection measures established by the present law, and they
have the right to receive free legal assistance, in accordance with the
law.
SECTION 2
Placement
Art. 58 – (1) The placement of the child represents a temporary
special child protection measure, which, in accordance with the
present law and by case, may be decided, as follows:
a) with a person or family;
b) with a maternal assistant;
c) in a residential service, stipulated under art. 110, paragraph (2)
and licensed in accordance with the law.
(2) The person or family who is legally responsible for the placed
child must have residence in Romania and must be evaluated by the
general department for social security and child protection with regard
24
to the moral warrantees and the material conditions that have to be
fulfilled, in order to receive a child in placement.
Art. 59 – Throughout the entire duration of the placement measure,
the domicile of the child is the same with that of the person, family,
maternal assistant or the residential service who is legally responsible
for the child.
Art. 60 – (1) The placement of the child who has not reached the age
of 2 years old may only be decided with the extended or substitute
family and it is forbidden to place him or her in a residential service.
(2) As an exception to the provisions stipulated under paragraph (1),
the placement in a residential service of the child who has not
reached the age of 2 years old may only occur in the case in which
the child has severe disability and is dependent on specialized
residential care services.
(3) The following issues will be targeted upon establishing the
placement measure:
a) giving priority to the placement of the child in the extended or
the substitute family;
b) placing the siblings together;
c) facilitating the parents’ opportunity to exercise the right to visit
the child and to maintain personal relations with the child.
Art. 61 – (1) The placement measure is decided by the child
protection commission, if the consent of the parents has been
granted, for the situations stipulated under article 56, lines b) and e).
(2) The placement measure is decided by the court of law, upon the
request of the general department for social security and child
protection:
a) for the child who is in the situation stipulated under article 56,
line a), as well as for the child who is in the situation stipulated
under art. 56, lines c) and d), if it is necessary to replace the
emergency placement measure decided by the general
department for social security and child protection;
b) for the child who is in the situation stipulated under article 56,
lines b) and e), when the consent of the parents or, if the case,
of one of the parents has not been granted for enforcing this
measure.
25
Art. 62 – (1) The parental rights and duties towards the child are
maintained throughout the duration of the placement decided by the
child protection commission.
(2) The parental rights and duties towards a child for whom a legal
guardian could not be appointed and for whom the court of law has
decided the placement measure are exercised and, respectively,
fulfilled by the president of the county council, and by the Bucharest
sector mayor, respectively.
(3) As an exception to the provisions stipulated under paragraph (2),
the parents who have been deprived of their parental rights, as well
as those who were enforced the penalty of interdiction of parental
rights, still maintain the right to consent to the adoption of their child.
(4) The method of exercising the parental rights and fulfilling the
parental duties regarding the person and the assets of the child who
is in the situation stipulated under art. 56, lines c) and d) and art. 56,
lines b) and e) is decided by the court of law.
Art. 63 – The child protection commission or, if the case, the court of
law which has decided the placement of the child, will also determine
the amount of the monthly contribution which the parents must make
for the maintenance of the child, in accordance with the conditions
stipulated by the Family Code. The amounts thus collected represent
an income to the county budget and, respectively, to the budget of
the Bucharest sector where the child is coming from.
SECTION 3
Emergency placement
Art. 64 – (1) The emergency placement of the child is a temporary
special child protection measure, which is undertaken in the situation
of the abused or neglected child, as well as in the situation of the
foundling or of the child abandoned in healthcare institutions.
(2) The provisions stipulated under art. 58 - 60 are properly enforced.
(3) Throughout the entire duration of the emergency placement, the
exercise of parental rights is suspended de jure, until the court of law
rules on maintaining or replacing this measure and on the exercise of
parental rights. Throughout the suspension period, the parental rights
and duties towards the child are exercised and fulfilled respectively,
by the person, family, maternal assistant or by the head of the
26
residential service which has received the child in emergency
placement, and those regarding the assets of the child are exercised
and fulfilled, respectively, by the president of the county council or by
the Bucharest sector mayor.
Art. 65 – (1) The emergency placement measure is decided by the
director of the general department for social security and child
protection from the administrative – territorial unit where the foundling
or the child abandoned by the mother in a hospital ward or the
abused or neglected child is located, in case there is no opposition
from the representatives of the legal persons, or from the natural
persons who take care of the respective child and ensure the child’s
protection.
(2) The emergency placement measure is decided by the court in
accordance with the provisions stipulated under art. 94, paragraph
(3).
Art. 66 – (1) In the case of the emergency placement measure
decided by the general department for social security and child
protection, the department has the duty to inform the court of law
within 48 hours from the date when this measure was decided.
(2) The court of law will analyze the reasons based on which the
general department for social security and child protection adopted
the measure and will rule on either maintaining the emergency
placement or replacing it with the placement measure, on the
establishment of the legal guardianship, or on the re-integration of the
child in his or her family. The court of law must also rule on the
exercise of parental rights.
(3) If the emergency placement is decided by the court, the court will
rule in accordance with art. 94, paragraph (4).
SECTION 4
Specialized supervision
Art. 67 – (1) The specialized supervision measure is decided, in
accordance with the present law, for the child who has committed a
criminal act and who is not criminally liable.
(2) In case the parents or the legal guardian have granted their
agreement, the specialized supervision measure is decided by the
27
child protection commission, and in the absence of this agreement,
by the court of law.
SECTION 5
Monitoring the enforcement of the special child protection measures
Art. 68 – (1) The circumstances which led to the establishment of the
special child protection measures, which were decided by the child
protection commission or by the court of law, must be verified on a
quarterly basis by the general department for social security and child
protection.
(2) In case the circumstances stipulated under paragraph (1) have
changed, the general department for social security and child
protection must immediately notify the child protection commission or,
if the case, the court of law, in order to change or terminate the
measure.
(3) The parents or the legal guardian of the child, as well as the child,
have the right of notification stipulated under paragraph (2).
Art. 69 – (1) The general department for social security and child
protection or, if the case, the authorized private institution, must
monitor the way in which the special child protection measures are
enforced, the development and the care provided to the child
throughout the entire duration of the measure.
(2) In fulfilling the duty stipulated under paragraph (1) the general
department for social security and child protection or, if the case, the
authorized private institution drafts reports concerning the evolution of
the child’s physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development
and the way in which the child is taken care of, either quarterly or
every time there is a situation which requires this.
(3) If, based on the report drafted according to paragraph (2), it is
noticed that there is a need to change or, if the case, to terminate the
measure, the general department for social security and child
protection must immediately notify the child protection commission or,
if the case, the court of law.
Art. 70 – When the special child protection measures cease as a
result of the re-integration of the child in his or her family, the public
social security services which is established at the level of cities and
28
towns, the persons who are involved in providing social security
services within the communal local councils, as well as the general
department for social security and child protection, in the case of the
Bucharest sectors, in whose territorial range is located the residence
or, if the case, the domicile of the parents, must monitor the evolution
of the child’s development, as well as the way in which the parents
are exercising their rights and fulfilling their duties towards the child.
To this end, they draft monthly reports for a period of minimum 3
months.
Art. 71 – The child who was subject to a special child protection
measure has the right to maintain personal relations with other
persons, if these persons do not have a negative influence on his or
her physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development.
CHAPTER IV
The protection of refugee children and the protection of children in
case of armed conflict
Art. 72 – (1) The children who request a refugee status, as well as
those who have obtained this status, receive the protection and
humanitarian assistance which are appropriate for the realization of
their rights.
(2) The children referred to under paragraph (1) receive one of the
forms of protection stipulated by the Government ordinance no. 102 /
2000, on the status and treatment of refugees in Romania, approved
through Law no. 323 / 2001, with subsequent additions and changes.
Art. 73 – (1) In case the child who requests the refugee status is not
accompanied by the parents or by another legal representative, the
protection for the child’s interests during the procedure for granting
the refugee status is provided by the general department for social
security and child protection in whose administrative and territorial
range is located the territorial institution of the Ministry of
Administration and Internal Affairs where the petition will be filed.
(2) The petition for granting the refugee status to the child who is in
the situation stipulated under paragraph (1) is analyzed with priority.
(3) In order to adequately protect the interests of the child referred to
under paragraph (1), the general department for social security and
29
child protection appoints a persons with a graduate degree in law or
social work from its own staff or from the staff of an authorized private
institution, who would protect the rights of the child and would
participate together with the child in the entire procedure for granting
the refugee status.
(4) In case it is noticed that the person appointed by the general
department for social security and child protection fails to
appropriately fulfill the duty to protect the interests of the child or
shows ill faith in fulfilling this duty, the National Office for Refugees
may request t