The extinction of the maintenance contract in Romanian law

Abstract

After a long period, during which it functioned only as an unnamed contract, the Romanian legislator has expressly regulated, within the Civil Code, the maintenance contract, a contract which is frequently used in practice and analysed in the courtrooms and lawbooks.

The new regulation contains no new provisions regarding its validity conditions and effects, as it merely copies the provisions regarding lifelong maintenance. However, concerning the dissolution of the contract, the lawmaker seems to understand the social categories who enter into such a contract, thus choosing to protect them by regulating a precise mechanism regarding its dissolution, regulated by imperative provisions from which the parties cannot derogate.