Romania

Previous reports: 2023/24

Principal EBCO concerns

• Romania lacks a law to provide for alternative service and guarantee the rights of conscientious objectors during mobilisation.

From the answer to EBCO's Questionnaire received from the People's Advocate of Romania (National Human Rights Institution):

Developments

An amendment to Law 446/2006 “on the preparation of the population for defence” is currently under review and approval.

Conscription provisions and procedures

Since January 1, 2007, compulsory military service is suspended by law.²

Compulsory military service can be reinstated “during the state of war, a state of mobilisation, or a state of siege”,³ which would oblige all male citizens aged between 20 and 35 years who meet the criteria to perform military service to enlist.⁴

The law exempts:

• those classified as unfit for military service, who are removed from the record according to medical criteria.

• ordained personnel belonging to religious cults recognised by law, personnel officially recognised as servants of such a cult, as well as monks who have been in a monastery for at least two years.

• persons sentenced to custodial sentences, for the duration of the sentence, as well as those remanded in custody or sent to court, until the date of finality of the judgement for the criminal case.⁵

Mobilisation or demobilisation is declared by the President through a presidential decree. The decree requires prior parliamentary approval and must be countersigned by the Prime Minister. In exceptional cases, it can be issued without prior approval, but must be submitted to Parliament for ratification within five days of its implementation.⁶

Romanian male citizens are currently required to present to military centres for registration within 6 months of reaching the age of 18, to declare the manner of performing the military service and receive a registration certificate, or else they face fines.⁷

Conscientious objection provisions and procedures

Romanian law stipulates that “citizens who, for religious or conscientious reasons, refuse to perform military service under arms shall perform alternative service”. However, since a 2012 amendment, such an alternative service can only be introduced by new legislation.⁸

The absence of such a law leaves all alternative service provisions and thus the rights of conscientious objections unregulated in the event of mobilisation.

Voluntary recruitment

Romanian citizens, men and women, between the ages of 18 and 45,⁹ can voluntarily be recruited into the military as soldiers and enlisted ranks. After completing a specialised training module, they sign an initial contract that lasts 4 years.¹⁰

Voluntary reserve service is also available with initial contracts of 4 years and subsequent of up to 3 years.¹¹

Military personnel positions are available to people who are admitted into educational institutions for training and can enter into contracts with the Ministry of National Defence for a period of 8 years from their appointment to their first position, according to the norms established by the orders of the Ministry.¹²

According to the reply, “most recruits and reservists” extend their contracts after the initial period, however no information was available regarding numbers of recruits, age, gender, and retention statistics.

Incentives for voluntary reservists include an installation allowance granted upon signing each contract with a minimum duration of 3 years, equipment, food, social protection, medical care and medicines, reimbursement of travel expenses during call-ups, recovery plans after military missions, pensions, and compensation, in case of disability or death, as a result of events occurring during and due to the activities carried out during the periods of preparation, concentration and mobilisation.

During periods in which they do not participate in training or missions, they benefit from a monthly allowance of 30% of the salary of the position in which they are employed plus the salary of the rank held.¹³

Incentives provided to military personnel include free accommodation, reductions or exemptions from income tax and rent and, upon retirement, access to military clubs, rest homes, and other wellness and recreational facilities.

Family members of active military personnel benefit from free medical care and medicines and survivor's pension. Children of active military personnel, deceased during and due to service, may be transferred to military educational institutions. Spouses that interrupted their activities to move together with active military personnel are entitled to a monthly allowance of 50% of the military personnel's salary.¹⁴

Conscientious objection during and after military service

No specific provisions exist for reservists, soldiers or military personnel who invoke grounds of conscientious objection during or after their service. As mentioned in the 2023 report, this would fall under the right to freedom of thought, opinion, and religious beliefs, as enshrined in Article 29 of the Constitution.t

The law also provides for a possibility of transfer to reserve or direct retirement of military personnel upon their request for well founded reasons or by resignation.¹⁵

Asylum for conscientious objectors

No information was available.

Militarisation of the education system

According to the reply, military personnel is not involved in teaching classes in schools and no preparatory programmes of military nature exist as obligatory parts of education curriculum.

Every year, the Ministry of Education and Research and school inspectorates transmit to military centres the nominal tables of citizens aged between 18 and 35 who have attended courses in special schools, special vocational schools and re-education centers, accompanied by the results of the examinations carried out by the medical expert committees of disabled persons for adults within the public social welfare service.¹⁶

1. Population and armed forces figures are derived from The Military Balance 2025, published by the international Institute for Strategic Studies; military expenditure figures are estimates published by SIPRI (The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute) in April 2025. ⤴
2. Article 2, para. 1 of Law no. 395/2005, as amended.⤴
3. ibid. Article 3.⤴
4. Article 3, para. 5 of Law no. 446/2006, as amended.⤴
5. ibid. Article 6.⤴
6. Article 7 of Law no. 355/2009, as amended.⤴
7. Article 4, para. 1 of Law no. 395/2005, as amended.⤴
8. Article 4 of Law no. 446/2006, as amended by Law no. 128/2012, point 6.⤴
9. Article 2, para. 2 of Law no. 384/2006, as amended.⤴
10. ibid. Article 32.⤴
11. Article 19 of Law no. 270/2015.⤴
12. Article 41, para. 1 of Law no. 80/1995, as amended.⤴
13. Section 2 of Law no. 270/2015.⤴
14. Section 2 of Law no. 80/1995.⤴
15. ibid. Article 85.⤴
16. Article 48 of Law no. 446/2006, as amended.⤴