International Rogatory Commission in the Romanian Law

AuthorMinodora-Ioana Balan-Rusu
PositionAssistant Professor, PhD in progress, 'Dimitrie Cantemir' University of Bucharest, Romania
Pages52-68
ACTA UNIVERSITATIS DANUBIUS Vol. 10, no. 2/2014
52
International Rogatory Commission in the
Romanian Law
Minodora-Ioana BĂLAN-RUSU
1
Abstract: Within this paper it is examined the institution of international rogatory commission in
Romanian law in the light of the latest legislative changes occurred in the Romanian special law and
other legal acts of the European Union. With this paper it is continued our research activity on
European and international legal assistance in criminal matters. The study presents the conditions
under which the Romanian authorities require or enforce a claim for performance of international
rogatory commission, where there is a criminal case, regardless of t he stage at the time of t he
application. The work can be useful to pr actitioners in this field (courts, prosecutors, police and
lawyers) and law school or master st udents. The novelty consists in examining this institution taking
into consideration the latest amendments to the Romanian and European legislation in the field of
international rogatory commission i n criminal matters and the formulation of some critical
observations aiming at improving the legislation in this area.
Keywords: crime; criminal lawsuit; judicial assistance
1. Introduction
In the national law, the rogatory commission, as institution of criminal procedural
law, is governed by the provisions of article 200 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
In the Romanian doctrine, the rogatory commission was defined as the procedural
act that the prosecution or the court, having jurisdiction under the law, requires
another body prosecution or other court, from the same category and degree to
conduct a procedural act necessary for investigating the case, a prosecutor from a
tribunal, a court of another court. (Theodoru, 2007, p. 418)
According to the provisions of article 200 paragraph (1) Criminal Procedure Code,
when a criminal prosecution body or the court is unable to hear a witness to
1
Assistant Professor, PhD in progress, “Dimitrie Cantemir” University of Bucharest, Romania.
Address: 176 Splaiul Unirii, Bucharest 030134, Romania, Tel.: +4021 330 8931. Corresponding
author: oanarusu_86@yahoo.com.
AUDJ, vol. 10, no. 2/2014, pp. 52-68
JURIDICA
53
conduct an investigation at the crime scene, to proceed in lifting objects or perform
any other procedural act, it may appeal to another prosecution body or any other
court, that is able to perform.
Considering the provisions of law, and the definition established by the doctrine,
we can define the rogatory commission as representing the procedural act, which
exudes from a criminal prosecution body to another or a court of law, by which it
calls for the prosecution of another body or court in the same category and the
same degree, to hear a witness, to conduct an investigation at the scene of the
crime, to confiscate objects, or perform any other procedural act, believed to be
necessary in a criminal case which is under instrumentation.
In Romania the rogatory commission, regarded as an institution of criminal
procedural law, is incident both in the criminal investigation stage and at trial,
targeting virtually any procedural act, except some of them expressly provided by
the law.
Thus, the initiation of criminal proceedings, preventive measures, approval of
evidence and other procedural acts arrangement or procedural measures may not be
the object of the rogatory commission. As in the current Criminal Procedure Code
there are not included provisions for international rogatory commission, it will be
achieved according to the special law to which we previously referred.
2. International Rogatory Commission. Concept and Object
Being mentioned in the special law as the first of the forms (ways) of ensuring
international judicial assistance in criminal matters, the international rogatory
commission is provided in article 173 and the following, of this legislative act.
As for the international rogatory commission in criminal matters, the doctrine
sustained that the exact term for the international rogatory commission in criminal
matters is similar to that form the national law, and it consists of the empowering
that a judicial authority of the requesting state gives to an authority of the same or
similar kind, to perform in its name and on its behalf, a procedure act that cannot
be performed in relation to a person who is in the territory of the requesting State.
(Radu, 2008, p. 78)
In the special law the international rogatory commission in criminal matters is
defined as being that form of legal assistance which consists of empowerment that
a judicial authority of a State for a grant of authority in another state, mandated to

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