Electronic Security Interests Archive Becomes Operational

According to Title 6 of Law 99/1999 and the government decision approving the archive's operational procedures and regulations, the archive is essentially a nationwide, online database which ensures that the creation and priority ranking of security interests are registered and accessible to the public.

Subject to the exceptions set forth below, any security interest in certain collateral, other than immovables, must be registered with the archive in the form of a security interest notice.

The registration of security interest notices with the archive is a public service which has been concessioned to authorized operators through the Ministry of Justice.

The registration of a security interest with the archive ensures that the beneficiary's claim has been publicly noted, together with its priority ranking. It therefore guarantees the claim against any subsequent registration by a third party of a security interest in the same property. However, registration does not confer validity to a security interest whose creation is null and void.

There are certain security interests for which registration with the archive is not a valid method of publication:

• security interests in money, securities or titles representing goods, and cheques and promissory notes, which are made public by possession or endorsement of the instrument;
  
  
• security interests over securities listed on the market, which are made public pursuant to mention in the respective market's securities record; and
  
  
• security interests in ships or aircraft, which are made public by registration at the place where the relevant ownership title is registered.

The archive is the exclusive means of publication for security interests in personal property, regardless of when these interests were established. In order to preserve the priority ranking of security interests created prior to the archive becoming operational, a 120-day term has been provided by law for the registration of the appropriate security interest notices.

For further information on this topic please contact Adriana Gaspar at Nestor Nestor Diculescu Kingston Petersen by telephone (+40 1 201 1200) or by fax (+40 1 201 1210) or by e-mail ([email protected]).