The bad-faith non-payment of child maintenance constitutes economic violence, and criminal proceedings will be initiated ex officio, according to a draft law submitted to Parliament on Wednesday by Liberal MP Alina Gorghiu, Chair of the parliamentary committee 'Romania without domestic violence.'
'I have submitted to Parliament a draft law amending Article 378 of the Criminal Code, by removing the requirement for a prior complaint in the offence of family abandonment, so that criminal proceedings are initiated ex officio, as an expression of the state's responsibility to protect children and vulnerable persons. The bad-faith non-payment of child maintenance is not a simple disagreement between former partners, but a serious form of economic violence, with direct effects on the standard of living, safety and dignity of the child and of the parent who cares for them, in most cases the mother,' Alina Gorghiu announced in a press release.
According to her, under the current form of the Criminal Code, criminal proceedings for family abandonment are conditional upon the filing of a prior complaint within a restrictive time limit. By Decision No 2/2020 of the High Court of Cassation and Justice, it was established that the three-month time limit runs from the moment the commission of the offence becomes known, namely from the expiry of the three-month period of non-payment. This interpretation, although legally correct, has serious practical consequences: numerous cases are dismissed as time-barred, obligations established by court rulings remain unenforced, victims are penalised for acting in good faith, and bad-faith debtors are encouraged to persist in non-compliance.
Through the draft law submitted, the prior complaint requirement for the offence of family abandonment is removed, criminal proceedings will be initiated ex officio, criminal protection becomes real rather than formal, and economic violence is treated as a matter of public rather than private interest.
'This initiative sends a clear message: obligations towards children are not optional, and depriving them of the means of subsistence represents a form of violence punishable by the state. Justice must protect victims, not leave them alone in the face of abuse,' the Chair of the parliamentary committee 'Romania without domestic violence' said.
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