Conflict of interest lawyer in Bucharest
Have you received an assessment report from the National Integrity Agency or are you criminally investigated for conflict of interest?The administrative report and the criminal file are different procedures, and the defense must be built on both, in parallel.
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What is your situation right now?
Tell me which procedure the problem started from, because the deadlines are different.
You received an integrity assessment report
I analyse the report, the challenge deadline and the chances of annulment before the administrative court, before it becomes final.
You were notified that you are criminally investigated
I check whether the act performed falls within the criminal text and whether the benefit claimed is of a patrimonial nature.
You signed a contract with a related company
I check the family or business relationship invoked, the commercial dealings of recent years and the exceptions provided by law.
What I analyse immediately in the file
- The concrete act performed in the exercise of official duties.
- The existence of a patrimonial benefit for you, for relatives or for persons you had business dealings with.
- The degree of kinship and the period of the commercial relations invoked.
- Whether the situation falls within the exceptions expressly provided by law.
- The relationship between the administrative integrity procedure and the criminal file.
What documents you should send me
I need the documents showing who decided and under what conditions.
The contested act
The contract, order, decision or resolution signed, together with the underlying documentation.
The assessment report
The report received, proof of its communication and any challenge already filed.
Documents about the relationship invoked
Civil status documents, corporate records, earlier contracts showing the real nature of the dealings.
What conflict of interest means in criminal law
The criminal text, named use of office to favour certain persons, sanctions the act of a public official who, in the exercise of their duties, performed an act through which a patrimonial benefit was obtained for themselves, for their spouse, for a relative or an in-law up to the second degree inclusive. The offense is set out in art. 301 of the Criminal Code.
The law also provides an express exception, for situations involving the issuing, approval or adoption of normative acts.
The difference between the integrity procedure and the criminal file
The assessment report drawn up in the administrative integrity procedure may find a state of conflict of interest without the act automatically being an offense. The report is challenged before the administrative court, within the statutory deadline.
The criminal file has its own, stricter conditions regarding the act performed, the patrimonial benefit and the circle of favoured persons. The two procedures run in parallel, and the defense must be coordinated between them.
When the act is not an offense
Not every overlap of interests amounts to an offense. It must be proven that an act was actually performed in the exercise of official duties, that a concrete patrimonial benefit resulted, and that the beneficiary belongs to the circle of persons set out by law.
Outside the criminal text remain situations of abstention from voting or signing, preparatory acts producing no effects, non-patrimonial benefits, as well as the issuing or adoption of normative acts, expressly exempted by law.
What you risk if the accusation is confirmed
- Imprisonment and a ban on holding public office.
- Annulment of the administrative acts or contracts concluded in conflict of interest.
- Termination of the mandate or of the service relationship, in the integrity procedure.
- A ban on holding an elected position for the period provided by law.
The same files frequently also contain the accusation of defective exercise of duties, which is why the defense must be built as a whole.
How I build the defense
- I check whether the act complained of falls within your official duties.
- I challenge the patrimonial character of the benefit or its very existence.
- I analyse the degree of kinship and the duration of the commercial relations invoked.
- I argue for the application of the exceptions expressly provided by law.
- I coordinate the criminal defense with the challenge against the integrity report.
Where the file also contains accusations about benefits received directly, the situation is analysed together with corruption charges proper.
Frequently asked questions
Does an integrity report automatically mean a criminal file?
No. An administrative finding of a conflict of interest does not equate to the elements of the offense being met.Which persons fall within the circle set out by law?
The spouse, relatives and in-laws up to the second degree inclusive, according to the criminal text.Does abstaining from the vote protect me?
In principle, yes. If you did not perform the act generating the benefit, the material element of the offense is missing.Does the text apply to normative acts?
No. The law expressly exempts the issuing, approval or adoption of normative acts.Can the signed contract be annulled?
Yes. Acts concluded in breach of the conflict of interest rules can be null and void.Can I challenge the assessment report?
Yes, before the administrative court, within the statutory deadline from its communication. The deadline is short, so you must act quickly.
Contact | Free initial assessment
Tell me in a few sentences what happened and I will tell you concretely what the next steps are. The first assessment discussion is free.
Official resources
- Criminal Code - art. 301 on the use of office to favour certain persons. (Legislation)
- Law 78/2000 on corruption offenses and assimilated acts. (Legislation)