In brief

  • All four non-custodial educational measures applicable to minors are being extended: the civic training course, supervision, weekend confinement and daily assistance.
  • Daily assistance rises from a maximum of six months to one year, and weekend confinement from a maximum of 12 weeks to 24 weeks.
  • Where placement in an educational centre or in a detention centre is replaced with daily assistance, the new measure may run for up to one year, rather than up to six months.
Act: Law no. 158/2026
Published: Official Gazette of Romania (Monitorul Oficial) no. 588 of 20 July 2026
In force from: 23 July 2026

A minor placed under daily assistance can now stay under the watch of the probation service for a full year, twice the term that applied until now. Law no. 158/2026, published in Official Gazette of Romania no. 588 of 20 July 2026, amends six provisions of the Criminal Code, all of them in the chapter on educational measures applicable to minors. It is the most substantial intervention in that chapter in recent years, and it appeared in the same issue as the law on the e-SănătateaMea portal.

The Romanian criminal justice system does not impose punishments on minors who are criminally liable. It applies educational measures instead, a separate category of sanction built around correction rather than punishment. Four of them are non-custodial, while two involve placement, either in an educational centre or in a detention centre. The new law touches the duration of all four non-custodial measures and two situations in which placement is replaced by a lighter measure.

The law was passed by the majority required for an organic law, under Article 76(1) of the Constitution, as any amendment to the Criminal Code must be.

What it changes in practice

The first change concerns the civic training course. The programme the minor is required to attend, so as to understand the legal and social consequences of his or her acts, may now run for up to six months. The rest of the text is unchanged, including the fact that the probation service coordinates the course and the rule that it must not interfere with the minor’s schooling or vocational training.

The second change concerns supervision. The measure consists of monitoring and guiding the minor within his or her daily routine, and it is now imposed for a period of between four months and one year. Its purpose is the same as before: attendance at school or vocational courses, and prevention of activities or contacts with people that could undermine the minor’s rehabilitation.

The third change concerns weekend confinement. The minor is required not to leave home on Saturdays and Sundays for a period of between 8 and 24 weeks, which means between two and six months of weekends. The exception stands: if the court has ordered the minor to attend certain programmes or carry out certain activities, he or she may leave home for them.

The fourth change concerns daily assistance, the most intensive of the non-custodial measures. It is now imposed for a period of between six months and one year, under the coordination of the probation service.

The fifth change concerns the way out of placement. Where a person held in an educational centre has shown consistent interest in learning and made clear progress, the court may replace the placement with daily assistance once at least half of the term has been served. The new measure lasts as long as the unserved part of the placement, but for no more than one year, provided the person has not yet turned 18.

The sixth change is identical, but applies to placement in a detention centre, the stricter regime, with guarding and surveillance. There too, the replacement measure of daily assistance may run for up to one year.

What has changed compared with the previous situation

Set against the original text of the Criminal Code, published in Official Gazette of Romania no. 510 of 24 July 2009, the comparison shows a near uniform doubling of the periods.

The civic training course was capped at four months; it now reaches six. Supervision was imposed for a period of between two and six months; it is now imposed for between four months and one year, so both the floor and the ceiling go up. Weekend confinement ran for between 4 and 12 weeks; it now runs for between 8 and 24. Daily assistance was imposed for between three and six months; it is now imposed for between six months and one year.

In the two situations in which placement is replaced, the original text provided that daily assistance could not exceed six months. The ceiling is now one year in both cases.

The point of the change is plain: Parliament takes the view that the 2009 periods were too short for an educational intervention to have any effect. A four month programme, or two months of supervision, leaves little room for a change in behaviour.

What does not change is the architecture of the system. The measures remain the same four, their order of severity is unchanged, and the powers of the probation service are untouched. Neither the duration of placement in an educational centre, between one and three years, nor that of placement in a detention centre is amended.

Nor does the law alter the obligations that may be imposed on the minor for the duration of the measure, set out in Article 121 of the Criminal Code, or the consequences of breaching them in bad faith.

Advantages and disadvantages

What it improves

  • It gives the probation service real working time with the minor, instead of interventions lasting a few months, too short for an educational programme.
  • A one year ceiling on daily assistance turns that measure into a credible alternative to placement, rather than a formality.
  • On the way out of placement, a longer period of daily assistance covers the transition back to life in the community more thoroughly.
  • Raising the minimum periods, and not only the maximum ones, reduces the risk of token measures set at the shortest term available.
  • It keeps the logic of the system intact: no new measure, no punishment, only a recalibration of the periods.

What remains a problem

  • Probation services are already understaffed, and doubling the periods means a far larger caseload of active files, with no additional staff provided for in the law.
  • Weekend confinement lasting 24 weeks means almost half a year of weekends spent at home, which for a teenager can lead to isolation.
  • The law sets no criteria for fixing the length of a measure within the new ranges, so differences in practice between courts may widen.
  • There are no transitional provisions for measures already being carried out on the date the law enters into force.
  • The longer periods come with nothing at all on the content of the educational programmes, which is precisely the part the outcome depends on.

Practical advice

  1. If you are the parent of a minor under criminal investigation, discuss with the lawyer the specific length of the measure sought by the prosecutor. The ranges have widened, and so has the room for argument.
  2. Bear in mind that educational measures are not punishments and do not create a criminal record in the sense of a conviction. They follow a separate regime.
  3. For minors in placement, check whether at least half of the term has been served. That is the condition for asking to have it replaced with daily assistance.
  4. The age condition matters: placement may be replaced with daily assistance only if the person held has not yet turned 18.
  5. If the court has imposed obligations on the minor under Article 121 of the Criminal Code, complying with them remains essential. Breaching them in bad faith leads to the replacement being reversed.
  6. For schools and local authorities: weekend confinement does not prevent attendance at programmes ordered by the court. Working with the probation service is useful.
  7. Check the date of the offence. The more lenient criminal law applies under the rules in the Criminal Code, and longer periods are not, as a rule, more lenient.

Frequently asked questions

What are educational measures?
They are the sanctions applicable to minors who are criminally liable. The Criminal Code lays down no punishments for them, but educational measures, four of which are non-custodial and two of which involve placement.
How long does daily assistance last now?
Between six months and one year, under the coordination of the probation service. In the original text of the Criminal Code, the period ran from three to six months.
How long can weekend confinement last?
Between 8 and 24 weeks. The minor may not leave home on Saturdays and Sundays, except where he or she is required to attend programmes or activities ordered by the court.
Does the duration of placement in an educational centre change?
No. The law leaves the duration of placement untouched. It amends only the limit up to which placement may be replaced with daily assistance, raised from six months to one year.
What happens to measures already being carried out?
The law contains no transitional provisions. The application of criminal law over time follows the general rules in the Criminal Code on the more lenient criminal law.
Can the minor go to school while these measures are in force?
Yes. The text keeps the rule that the civic training course must not interfere with the school or vocational timetable, and supervision is aimed precisely at attendance at courses.
Why was an organic law majority needed?
Because amending the Criminal Code falls within the field reserved to organic laws. The law expressly cites Article 76(1) of the Constitution.

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. 588 of 20 July 2026 16 pages PDF, 110 KB the act starts on page 13

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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.