Competența în cauzele maritime și fluviale sub imperiul Legii nr. 304/2022: o chestiune de drept în căutarea unui răspuns unitar
Jurisdiction in maritime and fluvial matters under Law no. 304/2022: a question of law in search of a uniform answer

Summary/Abstract: This article examines a subject matter jurisdiction issue that has generated divergent case law among Romanian courts: determining which court has first-instance competence in maritime and fluvial law disputes – the district court or the regional court – under Law No. 304/2022 on judicial organisation. The pivotal provision is Article 47 of that law, which establishes special territorial circumscriptions for the Constanța and Galați regional courts in maritime and fluvial matters, without expressly defining the relevant subject matter or explicitly conferring material jurisdiction on the tribunal. The article applies a full methodological framework –grammatical, systematic, teleological, and historical interpretation – examining the special rule alongside the general first-instance jurisdiction provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure (Art. 94–95) and the principle of specialia generalibus derogant. It is further highlighted that under the architecture of the Code of Civil Procedure, the tribunal is the court of general (default) jurisdiction in first instance, while the district court’s jurisdiction is established only expressly and exhaustively by law. The article concludes that Article 47 of Law No. 304/2022 establishes a special and exclusive material jurisdiction in favour of the tribunal for all maritime and fluvial disputes, displacing the value-based thresholds of the Code of Civil Procedure. The absence of uniform case law underscores the urgency of a ruling from the High Court of Cassation and Justice – whether through a recourse in the interest of law or a preliminary ruling on a point of law.

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