Valentin Huculici
Seal of Dreptul la Adevăr: a white D inside a gold ring, with the words Drepturi și libertăți

A publication by Valentin Huculici

Dreptul la Adevăr

The right to truth. Verified information about your rights.

Human rights explained from the primary sources: judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, Romanian law and European Union law. In plain language, with a link to every source and the practical steps you can take.

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Lead article

The Strasbourg file

A life in State care: two Romanian cases in which Strasbourg is now asking for answers

A man raised in the orphanages of the 1980s and a woman who has lived in institutions for 37 years. In August 2026, the European Court asked the Romanian Government to explain itself in both cases.

17 October 2026, 4 min readRead the article →

Case law

Recent European Court judgments concerning Romania

Short summaries of judgments delivered by the European Court of Human Rights in cases against Romania. The official text is the one published in the HUDOC database.

16 June 2026

M.S. and Others v. Romania

Application no. 27737/22 · Articles 3 and 8Judgment on HUDOC ↗
What happened
A mother reported to the police and to child protection services that the father was abusing their two children, including behaviour of a sexual nature towards their daughter. The criminal investigation lasted almost five years and was closed without charges. The girl was examined by psychiatrists in the presence of the father she accused, and the five-year-old boy was also interviewed in his presence.
What the Court decided
The investigation was neither prompt nor effective and lacked the diligence required in cases involving child victims. The Court criticised interviewing the children in front of the alleged abuser and raised serious concerns about the training of the professionals involved. The State must pay the two children 15,000 and 10,000 euros.
Why it matters
A child who reports abuse must be heard without delay, by trained professionals, and never be made to face the person they accuse.
16 July 2026

Rădulescu Dobrogea and Ciurea v. Romania

Applications nos. 63972/19 and 16056/20 · Article 11 read in the light of Article 10Judgment on HUDOC ↗
What happened
On 10 March 2018 two men protested peacefully outside the Palace Hall in Bucharest, where a governing party was holding an extraordinary congress. The gendarmerie fined them 500 and 1,000 lei for taking part in a “counter-demonstration”, and the courts upheld the fines.
What the Court decided
The protest was peaceful, static, held on a street open to the public and concerned a matter of public interest, so very strong reasons were needed to restrict it. The Court recalled that authorities must show tolerance towards peaceful gatherings and found a violation of the freedom of assembly.
Why it matters
A peaceful protest on a matter of public interest enjoys strong protection, even when it bothers its targets.
15 December 2025

Danileţ v. Romania (Grand Chamber)

Application no. 16915/21 · Article 10Judgment on HUDOC ↗
What happened
In 2019 the Superior Council of Magistracy disciplined a judge, cutting his pay by 5% for two months, over two messages he had posted on Facebook.
What the Court decided
By ten votes to seven, the Grand Chamber found a violation of freedom of expression. Judges may speak publicly on matters of general interest, especially when democracy and the rule of law are at stake, and the authorities had not given relevant and sufficient reasons for the sanction.
Why it matters
The judgment sets the European standard for how freely judges may speak in public, including on social media.

Sections

What we publish

Your rights in Romania

What Romanian law says and what you can actually do, step by step.

Europe and you

The rights the European Union gives you and how to use them.

The Strasbourg file

What the European Court of Human Rights decides and asks in cases about Romania.

Cases that changed Europe

The judgments that moved the boundaries of rights, told through the people behind them.

Rights and the future

Climate, technology and the questions that will shape the next decade.

Calendar

The rights calendar

International days worth knowing, and what they stand for.

  • International Day for the Eradication of Poverty

    Extreme poverty is also a rights issue: housing, health, education, access to justice.

  • World Children's Day

    Anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted in 1989.

  • International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

    The 16 Days of Activism campaign begins and runs until 10 December.

  • International Day of Persons with Disabilities

    Accessibility, independent living and equal participation.

  • Human Rights Day

    Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted in 1948.

  • International Holocaust Remembrance Day

    Remembering the victims and the duty not to repeat history.

  • International Women's Day

    Equal opportunity, from pay to safety.

  • International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

    Equality before the law, whatever your origin.

  • International Roma Day

    Recognising the history, culture and rights of Roma communities.

  • Europe Day

    Your rights as a citizen of the European Union.

How we work

Editorial standards

About the publication: who we are, corrections and independence

Primary sources

Every article starts from the text of the judgment, law or treaty: HUDOC for the European Court of Human Rights, legislatie.just.ro for Romanian law, EUR-Lex for EU law. Sources are listed at the end of each article.

Corrections in the open

When we get something wrong, we correct it and note at the end of the article what changed and when. Mistakes are never removed quietly.

Independence

The publication belongs to no political party and publishes no paid or sponsored content.

Information, not legal advice

Articles explain rights in general and do not replace a lawyer's advice on your own situation. For immediate help, see the Resources page.

Spotted a mistake, or a story that needs telling?

Write to contact@valentinhuculici.com. Every correction received is checked and, if well founded, published.