Regulatory Legal Services
Regulatory Legal Services form a substantial part of our practice, as the Romanian legal framework requires various amendments and new enactments with a view to be harmonized with the European Union legislation. We have advised on drafting and/or amending legislation in various areas of law and we have maintained a good working relationship with governmental authorities, as well as with agencies and regulatory bodies in the field of privatisation, public acquisitions, communications, energy and mineral resources.
Our recent instructions include:
- Advising the Ministry of Economy and Commerce on adjusting the regulatory environment applicable to the Office for State Ownership and Privatisation in Industry (OPSPI) with a view to strengthen OPSPI’s abilities to perform its privatisation functions.
- Advising the Government of Romania on various fiscal laws and regulations and drafting amendments to such laws and regulations, as part of a major project for the preparation of the new Fiscal Code of Romania.
- Advising the Romanian Government on drafting and implementing the strategy for the restructuring of a EUR 1 billion debt of S.C. Termoelectrica S.A., the largest electricity producer in Romania.
- Advising Enel Distribuzione SpA in connection with the EUR 112,000,000 privatization of two of the subsidiaries of Electrica S.A. (the largest electricity distribution company of Romania) - Electrica Banat S.A. and Electrica Dobrogea S.A., including drafting the law on certain measures to regulate the activities of companies. We have also advised on the regulatory framework as proposed for public debate by the National Authority for Regulation in the field of electricity.
- Retained by the National Regulatory Authority in Natural Gas Sector (ANRGN) for drafting specific regulation for the project “Strengthening Regulatory Capacity of ANRGN”.
- Retained by the National Agency of Civil Servants for drafting a new civil servants salary law.
- Advising the Romanian Association of International Medicines Manufacturers in connection with the legal analysis of the Draft Law on Social Health Insurance, the Draft Law on National Health Programs and the Framework Agreement on medical assistance within the system of the social health insurances initiated by Ministry of Health – year 2006. We have also drafted legislative proposals on the above-mentioned draft laws.
- Retained by the Romanian Government for reviewing and amending legislation and regulatory framework regarding child protection and child adoption and their harmonization with the UN Convention on Children Rights, the European Convention regarding Child Adoption and the Hague Convention regarding Child Protection and Cooperation on International Adoptions. The revised drafts were discussed with USAID, UNICEF and the Romanian relevant authorities and were submitted by the Romanian Government to the European Commission for further analysis.
- Performing a legal analysis on the Draft Law on Pharmacies initiated by the Romanian Ministry of Health and drafting an extensive assessment of this draft law.
- Advising the Romanian Ministry of Industry and Trade and the European Union in relation with the implementation of the Innogate Umbrella Agreement in Romania. We reviewed and proposed amendments to the Romanian oil & gas-related legislation in close relationship with the regulatory authorities and the major players on the oil & gas market.
- Assisting the Romanian Government in the establishment of the Romanian Agency for Banking Assets Recovery (AVAB). We drafted proposals for legal norms and regulations and consulted with the World Bank, the National Bank of Romania and the Romanian Ministry of Finance, including their comments on the final draft of the proposed relevant regulations.
- Retained by Arcelor Mittal (former Mittal Steel) to assist Mittal Steel Galati S.A. (former Sidex S.A.), the largest Romanian steel producer, in drafting and amending the Emergency Government Ordinance on certain measures for the privatisation of Sidex in order to set out the regulatory framework for the post-privatisation stage, including the incentives Sidex is benefiting due to the privatisation.
- Advising COCIM, an organization representing an important community of Spanish companies with international operations, on the regulatory framework governing various fields (foreign investments, currency and exchange control, forms of business organizations, tax, industrial and intellectual property, banking, labour law, etc.) in order to contribute to the setting-up of its on-line database.
- Retained by the Romanian Ministry of Transport for drafting amendments to the Government Ordinance on the establishment of National Air Company Tarom S.A., the national airline carrier, in order to set the regulatory framework for its privatisation, in line with European Union regulations.
- Retained by the Romanian Government for drafting and amending the Government Emergency Ordinance on establishing certain measures for financial and operational restructuring of Banca Agricola S.A., as a first step towards its privatization.
- Assisting the Romanian Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, General Inspectorate of Communications, Eurostrategies and InterConnect Communications in conducting legal and legislative research as part of a major project for the re-evaluation and harmonization of communications legislation in Romania.
- Retained by the Romanian Ministry of Finance on the establishment of incentive measures by way of a government ordinance issued by for the activity of petroleum agreements holders and their subcontractors operating in maritime blocks.
- Assisting the Romanian Ministry of Finance and the Romanian Authority for Privatisation (APAPS), as part of an international advisory consortium in drafting the concession law and advocating positions on the proposed draft to elected officials.
- Advising the Romanian Ministry of Finance in connection with the preparation of the new legislation on public procurements in line with the European Union relevant regulations.
- Assisting the Romanian Ministry of Finance in drafting the debt-equity swap project for with a view to recover over USD 1,500,000,000 debts owed by several state-owned companies to the budget.
- Retained by the Romanian Ministry of Agriculture and Food in drafting the new regulation on tobacco excises in line with EU relevant regulations. We advised on all aspects regarding the Romanian system of excises, as well as on the European Union regulations for tobacco excises.
- Review of the laws related to public domain, more particularly with respect to public ownership over oil/gas pipelines on behalf of the Presidency of Romania.
- Retained by the State Ownership Fund for providing regulatory support on various matters, including drafting of or reviewing several Government Ordinances and other normative acts concerning privatisations, before their being submitted to the Parliament.
- Assisting Shell and several main foreign investors in oil exploration in the review of the draft of Petroleum Law before being submitted to the Romanian Parliament, including preparation of the submissions to the Government, Economic Commission of the Senate and of the Chamber of Deputies, drafting over 100 amendments in line with foreign investors requirements, promoting and advising on the special customs and fiscal exemptions, as well as other facilities to oil investments in Romania.
- Retained by the export-import bank of Romania (EXIMBANK) for drafting two legislative projects on its activity.
- Advising the National Oil Company Petrom S.A. and Petromidia S.A. on the Romanian regulatory and legal regime concerning the supply of oil and energy-related legislation.
- Retained by the Romanian Government for drafting proposals for the amendment of the Government Ordinance on the establishment of the National Oil Company Petrom S.A. with a particular view to the position of the Romanian State as the majority shareholder.
- Assisting the professional association of Romanian cable TV service providers in the amendment and harmonization of the legal framework applicable to CATV business.
- Retained by Nestlé Joe, Elite Romania and Kraft Romania, leading private companies active in the food, coffee and beverages industry for the preview of Romanian laws related to excise duty and taxes applied to coffee imports and regulating the lacuna harmonization with the EU laws.
- Retained by the State Patrimony and Protocol Administration Agency (RAAPPS) for the review of the legislative framework regarding its operations and management.
- Assisting the Romanian Agency for Development in connection with certain regulatory matters regarding foreign investments and the restructuring of state-owned companies.
- Advising the “Romania at the Crossroads” Forum on oil and energy projects, including the “Caspian Energy to Europe” project, as well as drafting the restructuring strategy for the energy/gas sector to be implemented by the National Agency for Restructuring.
