News

Case #131: Access rights for the family of a minor in the care of a father under investigation for child abuse

September 1, 2023

Vulnerable group: children Human rights area: children's rights A new case was taken over through The Pro Bono Network for Human Rights. The applicant is a lady whose sister died two years ago, leaving two minor children: a girl from her first marriage, whom she has in her care by court order, and a boy from a cohabiting relationship, […]

Case Study #2 Pro Bono Legal Aid: Access to Justice for People with Disabilities - Disability Misclassification

August 29, 2023

The following story is completely real and belongs to a beneficiary of ACTEDO's pro bono legal assistance program, The Pro Bono Network for Human Rights, the largest pro bono clearinghouse in the country, dedicated to vulnerable people whose fundamental rights have been violated. The request for legal assistance came from Ioana, from Timișoara, whose mother […]

Case Study #1 Pro bono legal aid: Failure of judicial bodies to investigate a serious case of physical violence against a woman attacked on the street by a stranger

August 29, 2023

The following story is completely real and belongs to a beneficiary of ACTEDO's pro bono legal assistance program, The Pro Bono Network for Human Rights, the largest pro bono legal clearinghouse in the country, dedicated to vulnerable people whose fundamental rights have been violated. About 3 years ago, Elena was attacked and assaulted on the […]

First National Pro Bono Forum in Romania, a major conference dedicated to fundamental rights and social justice, organized in Cluj-Napoca

June 15, 2023

14 June 2023, Cluj-Napoca. The Equality and Human Rights Action Centre (ACTEDO), in partnership with the Centre for Legal Resources (CRJ) and with the support of the Cluj Bar Association, organised on Tuesday 13 June the first National Pro Bono Forum in the country, a large-scale conference dedicated to fundamental rights and social justice. The […]

Case #130: Stalled criminal investigation for victim of violent crime

June 2, 2023

Vulnerable group: victims of violence Human rights area: the right to have criminal proceedings disposed of within a reasonable time A new case was taken over through The Pro Bono Network for Human Rights. It concerns a man who, several years ago, was walking his flock of sheep near some houses when his dogs killed a puppy belonging to […]

NATIONAL PRO BONO FORUM: Fundamental rights and social justice in Romania in the context of the shrinking of civic space, Cluj-Napoca, June 13

May 25, 2023

In recent years, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the energy crisis, social and political polarization has been more pronounced than ever before, and many fundamental rights, especially those of minorities, have come under fierce attack from many social and political actors. At the global level, there is a stagnation or even […]

Case #129: Intersectional discrimination in accessing banking services

May 18, 2023

Vulnerable group: roma people Human rights area: discrimination (criterion: Roma ethnicity, level of education) A new case was taken over through The Pro Bono Network for Human Rights. It is about a Roma man who, trying to open a salary account at a banking institution, was refused on the grounds that he "cannot read and write", so it was […]

Case #128: Obtaining the accompanying allowance in court

May 16, 2023

Vulnerable group: people with disabilities Human rights area: rights of people with disabilities A new case was taken over through The Pro Bono Network for Human Rights. The request came from a lady who has a son who is classified as permanently blind and without a personal assistant. The lady tried in court to obtain the attendant's allowance by […]

Case #127: Legal assistance in a rape case

May 8, 2023

Vulnerable group: women Human rights area: crime against sexual freedom and integrity A new case was taken over through The Pro Bono Network for Human Rights. The case concerns a young female student who filed a criminal complaint with the police for the crime of rape. After attending an art exhibition, she went with several people she knew to […]

Case #126: Sexual and moral harassment in the workplace

April 26, 2023

Vulnerable group: women Human rights area: sexual harassment, moral harassment Bucharest A new case has been taken up through the Pro Bono Human Rights Network. The request came from a lady, a victim of sexual harassment in the workplace from 2021 until now. The requester reported the issue to her manager twice: the first time she was […]

Case #125: Legal assistance in the succession process for a survivor of domestic violence

March 22, 2023

Vulnerable group: women, children Human rights area: tenancy rights Bucharest A new case was taken over through The Pro Bono Network for Human Rights. The petitioner who contacted us is a survivor of domestic violence, escaping a marriage that ended in divorce, with the lady obtaining sole custody of her only child and a protection order against her ex-husband, […]

Case #124: Minor physically and emotionally abused by his father seeks residence with maternal grandparents

February 16, 2023

Vulnerable group: minors Human rights area: children’s rights, domestic violence, emotional abuse County: Satu-Mare A new case was taken over through The Pro Bono Network for Human Rights. It is about a 10-year-old minor, who was taken last year by DGASPC Satu-Mare, from the custody of his father who physically and emotionally abused him for 3 years. A restraining order […]

Case #123: At-risk single parent sued by neighboursCase #123:

January 13, 2023

Vulnerable group: single parent family, people with disabilities Human rights area: the right of persons with disabilities Bucharest A new case was taken over through The Pro Bono Network for Human Rights. The request came from a man who was being sued by his neighbors, and the reason was that his severely disabled son was causing noise nuisance. Although the plaintiff tried […]

Case #121: Legal advice for a refugee from Ukraine

January 12, 2023

Vulnerable group: refugees Human rights area: refugees' rights A new case was taken over through The Pro Bono Network for Human Rights. The request came from a refugee from Ukraine who arrived in Moldova when the war started. The applicant worked on a boat and the company that employed him promised to issue him with the necessary documents, but this […]

Case #118: Legal assistance for acquiring Romanian citizenship

December 12, 2022

Vulnerable group: refugees Human rights area: acquisition of citizenship A new case was taken over through The Pro Bono Network for Human Rights. It concerns a family of Ukrainian origin, whose members are currently refugees in Bulgaria. The person contacted us because she needs legal assistance to see if there is a possibility for her husband to acquire Romanian […]

Case #117: Discharge of a mortgage on a property by an employer of a disabled person

December 12, 2022

Vulnerable group: people with disabilities Human rights area: workers' right to information and consultation within the undertaking County: Brașov A new case was taken over through The Pro Bono Network for Human Rights. The request came from a man who was employed as a delivery driver, whose job duties included collecting the value of goods delivered. The employer required him to conclude […]

RECOMMENDATIONS Free access to justice for vulnerable groups in a democratic judicial system

November 22, 2022

In November, ACTEDO and the Center for Legal Resources (CRJ) launched a study on access to justice for vulnerable groups, which identifies a series of legislative gaps in the field and proposes concrete measures, including legislative changes, to improve access to justice. The study is designed for lawyers, magistrates and other legal professionals, as well […]

REPORT Free access to justice for vulnerable groups in a democratic judicial system

August 14, 2023

"Globally, it is estimated that almost four billion people live outside the protection of the law, mostly because of poverty or because they are marginalized by society.[1] In Romania, in 2020, 35.8% of the population lived at the poverty line and at risk of social exclusion, the highest proportion in the European Union, where the […]

Case #116: Legal procedures for a mother from Ukraine who wants to settle in Romania

November 18, 2022

Vulnerable group: women, refugees Human rights area: refugees' rights A new case was taken over through The Pro Bono Network for Human Rights. The request came from a lady from Ukraine who wants to settle in Romania after fleeing Ukraine as a result of Russia's war against Ukraine. She has reached out to us for […]

Round table, Cluj Bar: Free access to justice for vulnerable groups, in a democratic judicial system

November 17, 2022

Equality and Human Rights Action Centre (ACTEDO), the Center for Legal Resources (CRJ) and the Cluj Bar Association will organise on Thursday, November 24, 2022, between 1:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m., at the headquarters of the Cluj Bar Association, on Pavel Roșca Street, no. . 8, a round table, entitled: Free access to justice for […]

Case #113: Asylum in Romania for Nigerian citizen, displaced by Russia's war in Ukraine

October 13, 2022

Vulnerable group: refugees Human rights area: right to asylum A new case was taken over through The Pro Bono Network for Human Rights. The request came from a person displaced by Russia's war in Ukraine. The applicant is a Nigerian citizen who had been living in Ukraine together with his partner, a Ukrainian national. The man came to Romania following […]

Case #111: Erroneous Disability Certificate

September 13, 2022

County: Timis Vulnerable group: people with disabilities Human rights area: rights of people with disabilities A new case was taken up through The Pro Bono Network for Human Rights. The request came from the lady's daughter, whose mother suffers from Parkinson's stage 4 and is almost totally dependent on another person. Following the disability assessment, she was awarded […]

Case #108: Sexual and psychological harassment at the workplace

August 9, 2022

Vulnerable group: women Human rights area: sexual harassment, psychological harassment, labour law A new case was taken up through The Pro Bono Network for Human Rights. It is about a woman from Bucharest who works for a state institution and is sexually harassed and constantly threatened by a work colleague. She reported this behaviour to […]

The Pro Bono Network for Human Rights is expanding: 132 member lawyers

July 25, 2022

From the beginning of 2022 until July, 24 lawyers from all over the country joined the Pro Bono Network for Human Rights, thus the total number of ACTEDO's collaborating lawyers reached 132. They became members following training activities conducted by our organization, the thematic workshops held this year, following a recommendation from other lawyers who […]

Case #107: The right to remuneration for work done and harassment from an employer

July 25, 2022

Vulnerable group: women Human rights area: labour law, harassment A new case was taken up through The Pro Bono Network for Human Rights. It is about a woman from Bucharest who started working with an association at the beginning of the year, and the proposed contract did not have clear elements defined in terms of payment and […]

Human rights training sessions (March-April 2022)

April 20, 2022

In March and April 2022, ACTEDO, with the support of CRJ, organized a series of three training sessions of two days each in three cities in the country (Cluj-Napoca, March 25-26; Constața, April 8-9, and Brașov, April 15-16). The sessions were entitled Protection of fundamental human rights in the current context and were addressed to […]

Case #105: Erroneous Disability Certificate

March 21, 2022

Vulnerable group: people with disabilities Human rights area: administrative law, disability benefits County: Dolj A new request for pro bono legal assistance has been taken over through The Pro Bono Network for Human Rights. Until 2002, the person in question held a certificate of disability attesting the accentuated degree of his disability (second most severe […]

Case #104: Pregnancy discrimination in the workplace

March 21, 2022

Vulnerable group: women Human rights area: labour law City: Bucharest A new case was taken over through The Pro Bono Human Rights Network. The case it is about a lady who was fired immediately after she declared that she was pregnant. The lady was physically and verbally assaulted by the employer and was pressured by […]

Case #103: Divorce due to Psychological Violence

March 18, 2022

Vulnerable group: women, children Human rights area: domestic violence, psychological violence This case is about a woman from Cluj county who retired due to health reasons and wants to get a divorce. Her husband is abusive towards her, provoking quarrels, refusing to cover the necessary expenses, and constantly complaining that the woman doesn't bring enough income, even […]

ACTEDO provides pro bono legal assistance for refugees from Ukraine

March 3, 2022

March 3, 2022. Equality and Human Rights Action Centre (ACTEDO), a human rights organization from Romania stands in solidarity with Ukraine and the Ukrainian people and provides pro bono legal assistance to people affected by the war started by Russia, joining the campaign "Lawyers for refugees ” of the National Union of Romanian Bar Associations. […]

Case #100: Exclusive custody of children for a mother abused by her ex-husband

January 19, 2022

Vulnerable group: women, children Human rights area: domestic violence, family law, children's rights The case it is about a divorced mother from Dâmbovița county who take cares of three children, two of whom are minors. The lady lives with her children in a rented place, because she was evicted by her ex-husband from the house where […]

Case #99: Disability benefits for a child

December 20, 2021

Vulnerable group: children, people with disabilities Human rights area: disability benefits This case is about a woman living in Brasov county, mother of a disabled child and also his personal assistant, who needs legal assistance for pending trials and a lawsuit she wants to file. The issues that she intends to tackle are: (1) Two trials […]

Case #98: Single parent family facing foreclosure

December 20, 2021

Vulnerable group: single parent families Human rights area: housing rights, foreclosure A young man from Sălaj County, who lives with his father and brother, has contacted us after the forclosure proceedings were initiated illegally - according to him - regarding the property of his father. The latter has a criminal record, which has also contributed to a difficult situation in which the family […]

Lawyers who joined The Pro Bono Network for Human Rights in 2021

December 30, 2021

In 2021, 9 lawyers from all over the country became members of the Pro Bono Network for Human Rights, the largest pro bono clearinghouse in Romania, dedicated to vulnerable people. In total, ACTEDO collaborates with 108 lawyers at the national level to resolve various cases of violations of fundamental rights. The lawyers who joined in […]

"Strategic Human Rights Cases. Justice in Support of the Citizen"- Official Launch of the project INTEGRIS: Integrated Support for Human Rights

November 25, 2021

On the occasion of European Pro Bono Week*, on November 25th, 2021, ACTEDO and the Center for Legal Resources (CRJ), with the support of ACCEPT, ANAIS and The Pro Bono Network for Human Rights, officially launched the project INTEGRIS: Integrated Support for Human Rights, with an online event called: Strategic Human Rights Cases. Justice in […]

Workshop: Inclusion and Nondiscrimination of LGBTQ People

November 5, 2021

Thursday, November 4th, 2021, ACTEDO, together with the Center for Legal Resources (CLR), with the support of [H]LGBTQ United Brasov, organized a workshop dedicated to support service providers for people in vulnerable situations, entitled: Inclusion and Nondiscrimination of LGBTQ People. The workshop was built around the main issues that the LGBTQ minority (lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender people, queer […]

Workshop: Good Practices for the Protection and Support of Survivors of Domestic Violence

October 29, 2021

Thursday, October 28th, 2021, ACTEDO, together with the Center for Legal Resources (CLR), with the support of The Eastern European Institute of Reproductive Health (IEESR) and the Association for Liberty and Equality of Gender (A.L.E.G.), organized a workshop dedicated to support service providers for people in vulnerable situations, entitled: Good Practices for the Protection and […]

Workshop: The Roma Minority - (Non)discrimination, Housing Rights and Hate Speech.

October 22, 2021

Thursday, October 21st, 2021, between 17:00 and 19:00, ACTEDO, together with the Center for Legal Resources (CLR), organized a workshop dedicated to providers of support services for people in vulnerable situations, entitled: The Roma Minority: (Non)discrimination, Housing Rights and Hate Speech. The workshop was built around current problems and solutions to ensure the inclusion of […]

Case #92 Gender-based discrimination (pregnancy) at the workplace

October 4, 2021

Vulnerable group: women Human Rights Area: discrimination, labour law Mrs. S. lives in Dolj County and is a victim of her employer's abusive behavior, which began when she became pregnant. After returning from her parental leave she was fired. Mrs. S challenged the dismissal in court and she won the case, so as a result […]

Case #91 Consumer rights

September 27, 2021

Vulnerable group: Roma people, families with more than two children at risk Human rights area: social inclusion, consumer rights A Roma family with an extremely low income had to subscribe to an internet service provider in order for their children to be able to participate in online classes. Later on, the internet service provider company […]

ACTEDO launches a database with assistance services at the national level for people in vulnerable situations

September 16, 2021

ACTEDO provides a database with national assistance services for people in vulnerable situations, for example: The database contains the following types of services – most of them free – grouped as follows: [1] The information in this section comes from research carried out by the Center for Legal Resources (CRJ) within the project VICToRIIA: Best […]

Case #90 Intimate partner violence: sexual assault

January 11, 2022

Vulnerable group: women Human rights area: sexual violence, gender-based violence, domestic violence The case concerns a woman who is a victim of sexual assault by his ex-boyfriend. She was sexually assaulted by him several times, the episode for which she contacted us taking place in April. She intends to file a criminal complaint and believes […]

Case #87 Housing rights for a person with disabilities

January 11, 2022

Vulnerable group: people with disabilities Human rights area: housing rights, social rights, disability The case concerns a gentleman from Brașov with a physical disability who, between 2011 and 2018, filed several requests to local authorities in order to have access to social housing, which he finally received in 2018. However, the building was in a […]

Case #86 The right to pension

January 11, 2022

Vulnerable group: elderly people Human rights area: pension rights The case concerns a 68-year-old gentleman from Olt county diagnosed with Parkinson's. In his workbook, the years 1989-1990 are not included. Following several requests to the archives of the former job for recognition of years worked, the applicant did not receive a favorable response, which he […]

INTEGRIS Project: Integrated Support for Human Rights

April 8, 2021

On April 1st, the project titled "INTEGRIS - Integrated Support for Human Rights'', coordinated by ACTEDO and implemented in partnership with the Centre for Legal Resources (CRJ), was launched. The project aims to support and strengthen the capacity of vulnerable groups to exercise and defend their fundamental rights and to combat discrimination. The main beneficiaries […]