In brief

  • The Constitutional Court dismissed, unanimously, the plea challenging the income thresholds of 300 and 600 lei per family member in the old wording of Article 8 of Government Emergency Ordinance no. 51/2008, the act governing legal aid in civil proceedings.
  • The text upheld is no longer in force. Since January 2023 the thresholds are no longer fixed sums but percentages of the minimum wage: 25% for full aid and 50% for half the costs. At the minimum wage of 4,325 lei, applicable from 1 July 2026, that means 1,081.25 lei and 2,162.50 lei per family member respectively.
  • The Court stressed that Article 8(3) of the same ordinance allows aid above the thresholds as well, in proportion to the applicant’s needs, where the cost of the proceedings limits their effective access to justice. That is the safety valve for anyone whose income is slightly over the limit.
Act: CCR Decision no. 169 of 26 February 2026
Published: Official Gazette of Romania (Monitorul Oficial) no. 750 of 4 September 2026
In force from: 4 September 2026, the date of publication

The income thresholds at which the State used to pay for your civil case, 300 lei per family member for full aid and 600 lei for half of it, were constitutional. That is what the Constitutional Court decided in Decision no. 169 of 26 February 2026, published in Official Gazette of Romania no. 750 of 4 September 2026. The plea had been raised by Dan Băzăvan in a case before the District Court of Bucharest Sector 6, and the Court dismissed it as unfounded, unanimously. This is the second time in a matter of weeks that a challenge to the same text has ended the same way, after the decision covered in our article on the Court dismissing the challenge to the old income thresholds of 300 and 600 lei.

Legal aid is the mechanism by which the State advances, in whole or in part, the costs of a civil case for someone who cannot afford them. Government Emergency Ordinance no. 51/2008 lists four forms: the fee of the lawyer providing representation and defence, payment of the expert, the translator or the interpreter, the fee of the bailiff, and exemptions, reductions, staged payment or deferral of court stamp duty. They can be granted separately or together.

The author of the plea attacked precisely the part that decides who is in and who is out: the income thresholds. His argument was that 300 lei net per family member is a ridiculously small sum, close to the child raising allowance, at a time when the gross minimum wage had risen considerably. His conclusion, quoted in the decision, is that the only people still able to obtain aid are those deprived of liberty and those with no income at all. He relied on free access to justice under Article 21 of the Constitution, the standard of living under Article 47 and equality under Article 16, plus Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The second criticism was about a comparison: the State pays a monthly maintenance sum for a prisoner, and certain public authorities are exempt from stamp duty, while a person on a low but not non existent income pays in full. The author also asked, as an intermediate option, for the possibility of paying stamp duty in equal instalments, for example in twelve tranches.

The Court dismissed all of these criticisms. It repeated what it had said in Decision no. 39 of 3 February 2015 and in Decision no. 156 of 17 March 2022, namely that setting income limits, the class of persons entitled and the criteria for granting aid is a matter for the legislature to choose. It cited the European Court of Human Rights in Kreuz v Poland, judgment of 19 June 2001, where it was held that the right of access to a court does not mean an unconditional right to free legal aid in civil matters, nor to free proceedings.

On the head of claim about discrimination against public authorities, the Court answered briefly: the principle of equality does not operate between citizens and public authorities, because they are different categories of legal subject. It added a point few people know. The exemption of authorities from stamp duty does not cover every case, only applications for the recovery of public revenue, under Article 30 of Government Emergency Ordinance no. 80/2013. When an institution sues on a civil or commercial contract, it pays stamp duty like anyone else.

What it changes in practice

The decision is final and generally binding from publication, that is from 4 September 2026. In practice it closes the debate on a text that now produces effects only in old cases still pending, where the application for legal aid was made before 15 January 2023.

For someone applying for legal aid in 2026, the decision changes nothing directly. The rule that applies to them is the current wording of Article 8, amended by Law no. 31/2023, published in Official Gazette of Romania no. 38 of 12 January 2023. There the thresholds are no longer fixed sums, they are calculated as a percentage of the national gross minimum base wage: below 25% of the minimum wage, the State advances the whole amount; below 50%, it advances half.

With the minimum wage of 4,325 lei, set by Government Decision no. 146/2026 and applicable from 1 July 2026, today’s actual figures are 1,081.25 lei and 2,162.50 lei of average net monthly income per family member, calculated over the two months preceding the application. The ceiling remains the one in Article 7: aid granted for a lawyer, an expert and a bailiff cannot exceed, in one year, the equivalent of ten gross minimum wages, that is 43,250 lei at 2026 levels.

The part of the decision with real practical effect is paragraph 17, where the Court recalls that Article 8(3) allows aid to be granted in situations other than those in paragraphs (1) and (2) as well, in proportion to the applicant’s needs, where the certain or estimated costs of the proceedings are such as to limit their effective access to justice. The Court used that paragraph as its main reason for finding no breach of Articles 21 and 47 of the Constitution. In other words, the argument that keeps the thresholds standing is the very existence of a back door.

What has changed compared with the previous situation

The history of the thresholds is worth telling in full, because it explains how the matter ended up in the Constitutional Court. In 2008, when the ordinance appeared, the threshold for full aid was 500 lei and the one for 50% aid was 800 lei. Law no. 251/2011, published in December 2011, brought them down to 300 and 600 lei respectively. The same law also introduced an updating mechanism: the income limits could be changed by government decision.

That mechanism was never used. The thresholds stayed at 300 and 600 lei from December 2011 until January 2023, eleven years in which the gross minimum wage rose from 670 lei to 3,000 lei. Law no. 31/2023 solved the problem another way, through automatic indexation: it tied the thresholds to the minimum wage and repealed the article allowing an update by government decision, which had become pointless.

The same law also rewrote Article 7, keeping the ceiling of ten gross minimum wages a year but tying it expressly to the level of the year in which the application was made. It also amended Article 9, which says what counts towards income: wages, allowances, fees, annuities, rent, profit from independent activity, but also sums paid periodically for basic needs, such as rent and maintenance obligations. The latter are deducted, so someone paying maintenance is not assessed on the gross income on their payslip.

Advantages and disadvantages

What it improves

  • It expressly confirms, in a published decision, that Article 8(3) is a separate route to aid, not a decorative formula. Anyone whose income is slightly above the threshold now has a text to invoke, with the Court’s reasoning attached.
  • It clarifies the limits of the exemption of public authorities from stamp duty. The exemption works only for the recovery of public revenue, under Article 30 of Government Emergency Ordinance no. 80/2013, not for every dispute in which an institution is a party.
  • It closes a series of cases with identical subject matter, raised by the same author, and removes an uncertainty hanging over old applications for legal aid.
  • It is a reminder that the current mechanism, tied to the minimum wage, updates itself, without depending on anyone’s willingness to issue a government decision.

What remains a problem

  • The decision upholds a dead text. The thresholds of 300 and 600 lei went out of force on 15 January 2023, 1,328 days before the decision was published, and the people who ran into them get nothing out of this confirmation.
  • The Court does not answer the substantive criticism at all, that a fixed sum left unchanged for eleven years becomes, by the mere passage of time, something other than what it was when it was adopted. The answer that it is „a matter for the legislature to choose” does not touch the problem.
  • Article 8(3), which the Court invokes as a safety valve, has no written criteria. The court hearing the case is free to decide what counts as costs „such as to limit effective access to justice”, which is exactly what the author of the plea complained about, differing interpretations from one court to another.
  • The request to pay stamp duty in instalments was left without a reasoned answer, even though exemptions, reductions and staged payment are listed in Article 6(d) as a form of aid.
  • The criticisms based on Article 1(5), Article 56 and Article 57 of the Constitution were set aside as unsubstantiated, without examination on the merits.

Practical advice

  1. Check the threshold against the minimum wage as it stands when you apply, not against a figure you remember. On 4 September 2026, the limit for full aid is 1,081.25 lei of average net monthly income per family member, and the one for 50% aid is 2,162.50 lei. The minimum wage changes by government decision, so the thresholds change with it.
  2. Work out your income over the two months preceding the application and divide it by the number of family members. Deduct the sums paid periodically for basic needs, rent and maintenance obligations, because Article 9 takes them into account.
  3. If you come out slightly over the threshold, apply for aid under Article 8(3) and set out in the application which specific costs are blocking you: the amount of the stamp duty, the estimated expert fee, the bailiff’s advance. Decision no. 169/2026 gives you a direct argument for that paragraph.
  4. File the application with the court hearing the case in which you need the aid. If the court cannot yet be determined, jurisdiction lies with the district court for the area where you live.
  5. Attach the documents proving your income, the evidence of maintenance obligations and the statutory declaration about aid received previously. The application is decided without summoning the parties, by a reasoned order given in chambers, so everything you have to say has to be in the file already.
  6. If your application is rejected, you have five days from communication to ask for re-examination. The deadline is short and it runs from communication, not from the moment you find out.
  7. Remember that the aid is an advance from the State, not a gift. The law provides that the applicant is informed in writing that, if they lose the case, they may be ordered to bear the costs. Ask about that explicitly before filing the application.

Frequently asked questions

What exactly is legal aid?
It is the form of support through which the State advances the costs of a civil case for an individual who cannot bear them. It can cover the lawyer’s fee, payment of the expert, the translator or the interpreter, the bailiff’s fee and court stamp duty, in the form of exemption, reduction, staged payment or deferral.
What are the income thresholds in force now?
Below 25% of the national gross minimum base wage, the State advances the whole amount. Below 50% of the minimum wage, it advances half. The calculation uses average net monthly income per family member over the two months preceding the application. At the minimum wage of 4,325 lei, in force from 1 July 2026, the thresholds are 1,081.25 lei and 2,162.50 lei.
My income is slightly over the threshold. Can I really get nothing?
You can. Article 8(3) of Government Emergency Ordinance no. 51/2008 allows aid to be granted in other situations as well, in proportion to the applicant’s needs, where the certain or estimated costs of the proceedings are such as to limit their effective access to justice. The Constitutional Court relies on that paragraph in Decision no. 169/2026 precisely in order to show that the system does not come down to two figures.
Is there a maximum amount of aid?
Yes. Under Article 7, the value of aid granted for a lawyer, an expert, a translator, an interpreter and a bailiff cannot exceed, over a period of one year, the equivalent of ten national gross minimum base wages, by reference to the year in which the application was made. For 2026, at a minimum wage of 4,325 lei, the ceiling is 43,250 lei.
What did the Constitutional Court actually decide?
It dismissed the plea of unconstitutionality as unfounded and found that the provisions of Article 8(1) and (2) of Government Emergency Ordinance no. 51/2008, as worded before Law no. 31/2023, are constitutional by reference to the criticisms made. The decision was taken unanimously and is final and generally binding.
Does the decision change anything for me if I apply for aid today?
Not directly. The text examined, the one with 300 and 600 lei, has not been in force since 15 January 2023. What applies to you is the current wording, with percentages of the minimum wage. What is useful to you from the decision is the Court’s reasoning on Article 8(3), which you can invoke in your application.
Why did the Court rule on a text that is no longer in force?
Because the rule in Decision no. 766 of 15 June 2011, published in Official Gazette of Romania no. 549 of 3 August 2011, applies: the Court also rules on rules that have gone out of force, if they continue to produce effects in pending cases. The text with 300 and 600 lei still governs applications filed before January 2023.
Do public authorities really pay no stamp duty?
Not in every case. The Court states that the exemption in Article 30 of Government Emergency Ordinance no. 80/2013 applies only to applications and actions enforcing budgetary claims, that is recovering public revenue. When an institution has a dispute arising from a civil or commercial contract, it pays stamp duty like any other party.
Where do I file the application and how long does it take?
With the court having jurisdiction over the case in which you are asking for aid, and if that court cannot be determined, with the district court for the area where you live. The application is decided without summoning the parties, by a reasoned order given in chambers. Against that order you can ask for re-examination within five days of communication.
Does the aid cover criminal or administrative offence proceedings as well?
Government Emergency Ordinance no. 51/2008 governs legal aid in civil matters. Other matters are covered by other rules, in other acts, which you have to check separately with a lawyer or at the court’s information desk.

Editorial analysis

The figure that says everything about this case does not appear in the decision. The threshold of 300 lei was set by Law no. 251/2011, in a year when the national gross minimum base wage was 670 lei, set by Government Decision no. 1193/2010. From 1 January 2012, the first full year of application, the minimum wage went up to 700 lei under Government Decision no. 1225/2011. The threshold was then roughly 43% of the minimum wage. In March 2020, when the District Court of Bucharest Sector 6 referred the matter to the Court, the minimum wage was 2,230 lei under Government Decision no. 935/2019, and the same 300 lei had come down to 13.5% of it. That, in figures, is exactly the criticism made by the author of the plea, and the Court does not touch it anywhere in its reasoning.

The second part of the calculation is just as interesting. Law no. 31/2023 tied the threshold to the minimum wage, which fixes the erosion for the future, but set it at 25%, a little over half the ratio it started from in 2012. If the legislature had kept the proportion of 43%, today’s threshold would be around 1,854 lei per family member, not 1,081.25 lei. Indexation stopped the decline but locked in the one that had already happened. And for the 50% threshold the picture is clearer still: 600 lei meant 86% of the minimum wage in 2012, and the limit is now 50%.

The third observation concerns the mechanics of legislation. Law no. 251/2011 did not leave things to chance: it introduced an article allowing the Government to update the income limits by decision. The instrument existed for eleven years and was never used, and Law no. 31/2023 repealed it as pointless. When the Court answers that setting the limits „is a matter for the legislature to choose”, the answer is formally correct, but it sidesteps the fact that the choice had already been made, in the shape of an implicit duty to update that nobody ever carried out.

Then there is the duration. The referring order is dated 13 March 2020, the ruling 26 February 2026, the publication 4 September 2026. That is 2,176 days from referral to ruling and another 190 days from ruling to publication, 2,366 days in total, almost six and a half years. The case on the merits bore the number 18.096/303/2019, so the proceedings in which the plea was raised had started a year earlier. On a head of claim about the very impossibility of paying for a case, the delay has an effect of its own.

What should be changed

  • Written criteria for Article 8(3). The paragraph the Court invokes as a safety valve says nothing about how it is to be assessed that a cost „limits effective access to justice”. A minimum set of benchmarks, for example the ratio between the stamp duty and the family’s monthly income, would turn a text of potential into a predictable right and would reduce the differences from one court to another.
  • Resetting the percentage to the 2012 level. Raising the threshold from 25% to around 43% of the minimum wage would restore full aid to the coverage it had when the fixed sum was set, that is around 1,854 lei per family member in 2026.
  • Republishing the ordinance. Article II of Law no. 31/2023 provides for Government Emergency Ordinance no. 51/2008 to be republished with new numbering. On 4 September 2026, more than three years and seven months after the law entered into force, the legislative portal still displays a consolidated version, not a republished one. Anyone looking for the text comes across versions with 300, 500 or 800 lei, without knowing which one applies to them.
  • A public threshold calculator. The Ministry of Justice could publish a simple page where you enter the family income and the number of members, and the result shows whether you qualify for full aid, for 50% or under Article 8(3). The cost is minimal, and the effect is that people no longer give up at the outset because they cannot make sense of the figure.
  • An internal deadline for publishing the Court’s decisions. One hundred and ninety days between ruling and publication, in a case where the decision takes effect only on publication, are hard to justify. A publicly stated target deadline would make the moment from which a decision can be relied on in court predictable.

Original text of the legal act

The text below is reproduced in Romanian, the official form of publication.

The full text, as published in the Official Gazette of Romania

Official Gazette of Romania no. 750 of 4 September 2026 16 pages PDF, 169 KB the act starts on page 2

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This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For specific situations, consult a licensed attorney or tax advisor.