4.1. Do one or more matrimonial property registers exist in your country? Where?

Marriage contracts have to be registered with the National Matrimonial Property Regimes Registry kept by the National Union of Notaries of Romania (Uniunea Naţională a Notarilor Publici din România), the civil status registry in place at the institution where the marriage is concluded, and other publicity registries, depending on the nature of assets (Trade Registry, Land Register, etc.).

4.2. Which documents are registered? Which information is registered?

A copy of the marriage contract has to be filed with the National Matrimonial Property Regimes Registry and the civil status registry as well as the other registers mentioned.

4.3. How and by whom can the information in the register be accessed?

Any person may query the National Matrimonial Property Regimes Registry and may request the issuance of excerpt certificates (Art. 334 para. 5 of the Civil Code), without being held to justify any interest.

4.4. What are the legal effects of registration (validity, opposability)?

A marriage contract is only opposable to third parties if it has been registered.

4.5. Can a matrimonial contract concluded in a foreign state according to foreign law be registered in your country? If yes, under which conditions or formalities?

[This information is valuable in respect of third parties, see art. 28 of the European Regulation (EU) 2016/1103 of 24 June 2016. When a matrimonial contract is registered in your country it can be invoked against third parties. An interconnection of matrimonial property registers in Europe is not existing and therefor the registration of the matrimonial contract must be undertaken in all countries separately, where the spouses have property or conclude contracts. Only then the spouses can invoke their matrimonial contract against third parties in that country.]

In order to be enforceable against third parties, matrimonial conventions shall be registered în the National Notarial Register of matrimonial regimes (R.N.N.R.M.), organized according to the law. The special law to which this regulation refers to is the Law No. 36/1995 on civil-law notaries and notarial activity, republished, according to which at the Union’s level is operating, among other registers, the National Notarial Register of matrimonial regimes (R.N.N.R.M.), where the matrimonial property regime chosen by the spouses is registered, in order for it to be enforceable against third parties.

In Romania, a marriage convention concluded in another State can be registered in the National Notarial Register of matrimonial regimes (R.N.N.R.M.); according to the law, the matrimonial conventions concluded by foreign civil – law notaries or other foreign authorities shall be registered only by the administrators of R.N.N.R.M., with prior consultation of the Commission of Experts in Notarial Matters.

The procedure through which a matrimonial convention concluded abroad can be registered is laid down in the Romanian law.

Several situations can be distinguished, namely:

• if both the marriage and the matrimonial convention are concluded abroad and at least one of the spouses is a Romanian citizen, he / she shall request the transcription of the marriage certificate to the competent authority: either at the civil status in whose district at least one of them is domiciled, or at the Civil Status of Sector 1 of Bucharest, if none of them is domiciled in Romania. The application for the transcription of the marriage certificate shall be accompanied by the authenticated translation of the matrimonial convention, apostilled, or where appropriate, over-legalized; the civil status officer or either spouses shall request the RNNRM to fulfil the publicity conditions of the marriage certificate by mentioning the chosen matrimonial property regime.
• when the marriage is concluded abroad and at least one of the spouses has Romanian nationality, he / she shall request to the civil – law notary to authenticate the marriage convention after the marriage certificate has been sent, in compliance with the jurisdiction.
• when the registration of a matrimonial agreement is requested for spouses or future spouses (none of which has a habitual residence in Romania or Romanian nationality), the registration in the RNNRM shall be done if they submit the convention for the choice of law applicable to the matrimonial property regime, from the content of which it should result that they have chosen the Romanian law to be the law applicable to the matrimonial property regime and as the law of the state where they will establish their first common habitual residence.

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