EU Court rules Romanian Supreme Court's fraud‑prescription rule incompatible with EU law

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJUE) issued its judgment in case Lin II, concluding that the interpretation adopted by Romania’s Supreme Court of Justice (Înalta Curte de Casație și Justiție – ÎCCJ) – which extended the statute of limitations for fraud cases dated 2014‑2018 – does not comply with EU law. The EU Court held that national courts must not apply the Romanian standard when it creates a systemic risk of impunity for serious fraud affecting the Union’s financial interests, reaffirming the principles of legality and the prohibition of retroactive application of a more lenient national rule (lex tertia).

The ruling is expected to affect thousands of pending criminal cases in Romania that had been dismissed on the basis of the disputed prescription period. Former Justice Minister and USR deputy Stelian Ion described the decision as “an institutional failure”, saying that repeated corrections of Romania’s highest court by the EU Court undermine public confidence in the judiciary and the state’s ability to hold fraudsters accountable.

The CJUE’s clarification obliges Romanian courts to give precedence to Union law in fraud‑related proceedings and provides guidance for future application of the prescription rules.