Law No. 116/2025 amending Law No. 286/2009 on the Criminal Code and amending and supplementing Law No. 26/2024 on the protection order (“Law No. 116/2025“) was published in the Official Gazette of Romania No. 583 of 23 June 2025 and entered into force on 26 June 2025.
A key amendment introduced by Law No. 116/2025 to the Criminal Code consists in the fact that, for offences where the initiation of criminal proceedings is, as a rule, conditional upon the filing of a prior complaint, regardless of whether the proceedings were initiated following such a complaint or, exceptionally, ex officio, the withdrawal of the complaint shall produce legal effects only if it is approved by the public prosecutor.
We recall that, under the Criminal Code, the withdrawal of a prior complaint may be made until a final judgment is rendered.
By way of example, offences for which criminal proceedings are triggered upon prior complaint include certain offences encountered in business-related matters, such as breach of trust or fraudulent management. According to the Criminal Code, where the victim of such an offence is a legal person (e.g., a company) and the perpetrator is the person who legally represents the victim (e.g., the company’s director), criminal proceedings may be initiated ex officio, as an exception from the general rule requiring a prior complaint.
This amendment is therefore relevant in connection with such offences associated with so-called “white collar crime”, as the mere will of the victim to withdraw the prior complaint will, in these cases, become a necessary, but not sufficient condition for terminating the criminal proceedings through a decision to dismiss the case or, as the case may be, to discontinue the criminal trial – regardless of whether the proceedings were triggered by a prior complaint or, under the above-mentioned exception, ex officio. In both scenarios, the prosecutor’s approval will be required as an additional condition.
Under the same Law No. 116/2025, the range for determining the amount of a daily fine has been increased from RON 10–500 to RON 60–600.
Other provisions of Law No. 116/2025 (i) increase the penalties for the offence of assault or other acts of violence (Article 193 of the Criminal Code), and (ii) amend certain specific provisions of Law No. 26/2024 on the protection order.
