15/04/2024
Dear all,
I am glad to announce that Romania just passed an anti-alienation law. This was approved by both chambers of the Parliament and waits now to be promulgated by the President. Here you can see the changes with some explanations in English, provided by ARPCC (Romanian Association for Joint Custody). You can google whatever is written in the 3rd column.
Please kindly pass this to all other members of your distribution list.
Cătălin Bogdan
www.arpcc.ro
Some links on the new agency:
Romanian link to news agency
https://www.agerpres.ro/viata-parlamentara/2024/04/09/camera-deputatilor-lege-privind-reglementarea-instrainarii-parintesti-ca-forma-a-violentei-psihologice--1278224
Translated link to news agency.
https://www-agerpres-ro.translate.goog/viata-parlamentara/2024/04/09/camera-deputatilor-lege-privind-reglementarea-instrainarii-parintesti-ca-forma-a-violentei-psihologice--1278224?_x_tr_sl=ro&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp
Key changes that will be operated on the Child Protection Act (Law 272/2004 with all its subsequent changes):
1. The term “parental estrangement” is defined inside the Child Protection Act. As per the initiators, they preferred this legal term rather than the term parental alienation because parental alienation is more in relation with psychology . We, ARPCC, will add that sometimes the mild alienation does not become visible as “estrangement” .. so it makes sense for the state to react to more complicated alienation cases and not to the mild alienation cases which likely will fade away). As per the definition of the law, the parental estrangement is that form of psychological violence by which one of the parents [or other people] intentionally, trough pursued or assumed actions, generates, accepts or takes advantage of a situation in which the child ends up showing unjustified or disproportionate restraint or hostility towards any of the parents;
2. The law makes explicit that the “parental estrangement” is important by listing it explicitly, immediately after “abuse”, “neglect”, “exploitation”. This appears in all places where abuse/neglect/exploitation enumeration happens. Such change was needed because the local Child Protection agencies used to ignore the parental alienation claims from the alienated parent, because the “alienation“ was not explicit in the law. The alienation was, of course, included in the very general term “other form of violence against children” but for the Child protection folks it was a nice pretext to ignore such requests from the alienated parents.
3. Because of point 2) very minimal changes were needed in the body of the text. As the child protection agency had procedures for intervention in case of abuse, neglect, “exploitation” that can be activated also in case of alienation. This may include actions that start with counseling and monitoring up to taking the child in the custody of the Child Protection (if the child cannot be left with the alienator but also refuses to go with the alienating parent) and of stripping the alienator from parental rights.
4. In several articles the law makes gets stronger in term of replacing words as “child protection agency may do X” to “child protection agency is obliged to do X” – very important because in Romania we suffer mostly of incapacity and unwillingness of state agents (being them police, child protection specialists, city halls employees) to act and apply the law (on the principle you risk less if you do not act) when it was about the non-violent parental conflicts about visitation programs.
5. The law grew 3x the (already high) financial sanctions for the people who do not respect the contact orders (but the procedure was/is quite long, efficient in taking the money of the alienator but not into restoring the contact)
6. The law also comes with one innovation which we believe is a good one: the reversal of the duty for child transportation in case of visitation programs. Generally, is the non-residential obliged to go and pick the child for the visitation and return the child at the end of the visitation period. This historically prevented non-residential parent to see the child because residential parent could move the child to other address, not open the door or, worse, making child telling “I do not want to see my mother” – moment when even with the bailiff the procedure was cancelled (moving to the one described in point 5, inefficient to actually make the contact parent-child possible). Such a statement, from a child (“I do not want to see my mother”) was rarely or never considered by state authorities (judge, bailiff, police, prosecutor) that the alienator opposed. Now, the judges are stimulated to reverse this “obligation” making it simpler for State authorities (bailiff or child protection) to identify whether the alienator respected or not his duties. If the obligations are not respected than the very clear guilt (and sanction) will be with the resident parent.
History of the law process creation:
If you want to see the process of approving the law, you can monitor here:
https://www.cdep.ro/pls/proiecte/upl_pck2015.proiect?idp=20151
Some “google translated” text describing the procedures:
- In accordance with Art. 95 of the Regulation of the Chamber of Deputies, republished, with subsequent amendments, the Legal, Discipline and Immunities Commission was referred to the Draft Law for the amendment and completion of Law no. 272/2004 on the protection and promotion of children's rights, for debate on the merits, sent with address no. PL-x 698 of November 2, 2022, registered with no. 4c-13/1018 of November 2, 2022.
- The Senate, as the first referred Chamber, adopted the legislative initiative in the meeting of October 31, 2022, under the conditions of article 75, paragraph (2), thesis III of the Constitution of Romania, republished.
- The Chamber of Deputies is a decision-making Chamber, in accordance with the provisions of art. 75 para. (1) and (3) of the Constitution of Romania, republished and of art. 92 paragraph (9) point 2 of the Regulation of the Chamber of Deputies, republished, with subsequent amendments.
- The object of the draft law is to amend and complete some provisions of Law no. 272/2004 for the amendment and completion of Law no. 272/2004 on the protection and promotion of children's rights. According to the Statement of Reasons, the legislative approach aims at defining the notion of parental alienation, establishing the ways in which it can be ascertained, the legal effects of establishing the existence of parental alienation, measures will be instituted in the context of the increase in the number of legal disputes between parents regarding the exercise in common parental authority, regarding the manner of preserving the personal relations between the children and the parent with whom they do not live constantly, as well as regarding the establishment of the manner in which each of the parents will contribute to the child's raising and education expenses.
- The Legislative Council favorably approved the legislative initiative, with observations and proposals, according to address no. 871 of July 25, 2022.
- The Economic and Social Council favorably approved the draft normative act, with one observation, according to address no. 4134 of July 5, 2022.
- The Commission for Human Rights, Religions and the Issues of National Minorities favorably approved the draft law, in the meeting of November 8, 2022, with a majority of votes, according to address no. 4c-6/754 of November 9, 2022.
- The Commission for equal opportunities for women and men approved the draft law favorably, in the meeting of November 7, 2022, with unanimous votes, according to address no. 4c-20/611/2022.
- The Commission for Health and Family favorably approved the legislative initiative, in the meeting of November 14, 2022, with unanimity of votes, according to address no. 4c-10/604 of November 14, 2022.
- The Committee for Labor and Social Protection favorably approved the draft law, in the meeting of November 8, 2022, with unanimous votes, according to address no. 4c-9/967/2022.
- In accordance with the provisions of art. 62 and art. 132 of the Regulation of the Chamber of Deputies, republished, with subsequent amendments, the members of the Legal, Discipline and Immunities Commission examined the draft law in the meeting held in a mixed system, from April 2, 2024.
- At the meeting of the Legal, Discipline and Immunities Commission, the deputies were present according to the attendance list.
- Pursuant to the provisions of art. 56 and art. 57 of the Regulation of the Chamber of Deputies, republished, with subsequent amendments, representatives of civil society and Mrs. Doina Pârcălabu - state secretary in the Ministry of Family, Youth and Equal Opportunities.
- Following the debates, the members of the Legal, Disciplinary and Immunities Commission decided, with unanimity of votes, to propose to the plenary session of the Chamber of Deputies, for debate and adoption, a report on the adoption of the Draft Law for the amendment and completion of Law no. 272/2004 on the protection and promotion of children's rights, with the amendments admitted in the Annex to this report.
- In relation to the object and content of the regulation, the draft law falls under the category of organic laws, the provisions of art. 73 paragraph (3) letter being incidental. p) from the Constitution of Romania, republished.
Proiect de Lege pentru modificarea şi completarea Legii nr.272/2004 privind protecţia şi promovarea drepturilor copilului
