Venue transfer request annulled as unenforceable due to lack of mandatory stamp duty

The High Court of Cassation and Justice (ICCCJ) annulled as unenforceable a request for venue transfer (strămutare) filed by the petitioner against Case No. 871/296/2009 of the Oradea Court of Appeal, effectively leaving the original jurisdiction intact and denying the petitioner's bid to change the forum; the dispute concerned a procedural application to transfer civil proceedings, where the material facts revealed that the request lacked the mandatory stamp duty and was accompanied by an order to pay 4 RON judicial tax and 5 RON stamp duty, with the underlying case having a scheduled hearing date of October 11, 2012; the decisive legal basis for the annulment was the procedural requirement of proper stamping (timbrare) for court filings, specifically the failure to comply with the financial prerequisites for initiating the transfer request, as emphasized by the assistant magistrate and supported by the prosecutor’s motion for annulment.