The Parliament of Romania

Law no. 10 of 18/01/1995

regarding quality in constructions

The Parliament of Romania adopts this law. CHAPTER I General provisions Art. 1. Quality in constructions is the result of their behavior performance in operation, for the purpose of meeting the requirements of users and collectivities during their entire existence. The requirements regarding the quality of technical production plants and equipment are established and met based upon specific regulations in every line of business. Art. 2. The provisions of this law apply to constructions of all categories and to their related plants irrespective of the type of ownership or destination hereinafter referred to as constructions, as well as to their modernization, change, transformation, reinforcement and repair works. Residential buildings with ground floor and ground floor plus one floor and appurtenances situated in the rural environment and in the villages belonging to towns, as well as provisions constructions, shall be excluded. Art. 3. This law establishes the quality system in constructions, which shall result in the execution and operation of constructions of proper quality, for the purpose of protecting the lives of people, their goods, the society and the environment. Art. 4. The quality system in constructions applies differently according to the construction importance categories, according to the regulations and procedures for implementing each system component. The classification into construction importance categories shall be made according to complexity, destination, use, level of risk as regards safety, as well as economic considerations. Art. 5. - In order to obtain constructions of proper quality, the meeting and maintenance, throughout the entire existence of constructions, of the following key requirements is mandatory: a) mechanical resistance and stability; b) fire safety; c) health, safety and environmental; d) operating safety; e) sound protection; f) energy economy and thermal insulation. __________ The article was amended by sole art., item 1 of Law no. 123/2007. Art. 6. The obligations provided under the previous paragraph shall fall upon the parties involved in the design, execution and operation of constructions, as well as in their post-use, according to the responsibilities of each of them. These parties are: investors, researchers, designers, project examiners, manufacturers and suppliers of construction products, contractors, owners, users, technical supervisors, technical experts, as well as the relevant public authorities and professional associations. Art. 7. In the contracts concluded or, as the case may be, the provisions or permits issued, the parties provided under the previous paragraph shall include the clauses regarding the construction quality level corresponding to the essential requirements, as well as the material securities and other provisions resulting in the fulfillment of such clauses. No essential quality levels and requirements lower than the regulations in force shall be included in contracts, as regards the essential requirements provided under art. 5.

CHAPTER II Quality system in constructions Art. 8. - The quality system in constructions represents the set of organizational structures, responsibilities, regulations, procedures and means used to achieve construction quality in all the stages of their design, execution, operation and use. Art. 9. - The quality system in constructions is made of: a) technical regulations in constructions: b) the quality of products used in executing constructions; c) technical agreements for new products and procedures; d) review of the projects, the execution of works and inspection of projects and constructions; e) quality management and assurance in constructions; f) authorization and accreditation of laboratories for analyses and tests in the construction activity; g) metrological activity in constructions; h) acceptance of constructions; i) operating behavior and interventions in time; j) post-use of constructions; k) State control of quality in constructions. Art. 10. - Technical regulations are established by means of rules and procedures and refer to the design, calculation and composition, execution and operation of constructions. Technical regulations mainly establish the minimum quality requirements for constructions, products and procedures used in constructions, as well as the way to establish and check them. Art. 11. Certification of the quality of products used in constructions shall be performed by care of the manufacturer, in compliance with the methodology and procedures established based upon the law. In construction works, it is prohibited to use products without certification of their quality, which shall ensure the quality level corresponding to essential requirements. Art. 12. The technical agreements for new products, procedures and equipment in constructions establish, according to this law, the use ability, the conditions for their manufacturing, transportation, storage, putting into operations and maintenance. In construction works that have to ensure a quality level according to the essential requirements, traditional products, procedures and equipment shall be used, as well as new ones for which there are adequate technical agreements. Art. 13. The examination of projects for the execution of constructions, as regards compliance with the technical regulations regarding the essential requirements, shall be performed only by certified project examiners, other than the expert project designers. The implementation of projects and execution details not examined according to the provisions of the previous paragraph shall be prohibited. The examination of the construction execution quality is mandatory and shall be performed by investors through specialized inspectors or specialized consulting economic agents. The technical examinations of projects and constructions shall be performed only by certified technical experts. Art. 14. - Quality management and assurance in constructions represents the obligation of all the parties participating in the design, execution and operation of constructions and involves an adequate strategy and specific measures to guarantee their quality. The economic agents executing construction works shall ensure the quality level corresponding to requirements, by means of their own personnel and certified technical supervisors of the construction, as well as by their own designed and developed system. Art. 15. The authorization and accreditation of laboratories for analyses and tests in constructions shall be performed in compliance with the legal provisions. Art. 16. The performance of metrological activity in constructions shall be done according to the legal provisions on calibrating, checking and maintaining in working condition the measuring and control devices used in this industry. Art. 17. - Acceptance of constructions represents the certification of their execution based upon their direct examination, in compliance with the building documents and the documents contained in the building log book. The building log book contains the construction documents and the documents regarding the building construction and operation. It is prepared by the care of the investor and handed over to the building owner,

who has the obligation to keep and update it; the building log book provisions regarding operations shall be mandatory for the owner and user. The acceptance of constructions shall be performed by the investor owner, in the presence of the designer and the contractor and/or the specialized representatives legally appointed by them. Art. 18. The constructions behavior in operation shall be monitored throughout their entire existence by means of a series of activities regarding direct examination or investigation with specific means of observation and measure, for the purpose of maintaining the essential requirements. Interventions to the existent constructions refer to rebuilding, reinforcement, transformation, expansion, partial demolition, as well as repair works, which are executed only based upon a project endorsed by the initial designer of the building or a technical survey drafted by a certified technical expert and shall be recorded mandatorily in the building log book. Art. 19. - The post-use of constructions includes the activities of decommissioning, disassembling and demolishing constructions, reconditioning and reusing recoverable elements and products, as well as recycling waste by ensuring environmental protection according to the law. Art. 20. The State control of quality in constructions comprises inspections to the investors, the units for the design, execution, operation and post-use of constructions, with regard to the existence and compliance with the quality system in constructions. The State control of quality in constructions is exercised by the State Inspection in constructions, public works, urban planning and land management, which is in charge with exercising State control regarding the unitary implementation of the legal provisions in the field of construction quality. CHAPTER III Obligations and liabilities Section 1 Obligations and liabilities of investors Art. 21. Investors are natural persons or legal entities financing and making investments or interventions in the existent constructions according to the law and have the following main obligations regarding quality in constructions: a) to establish the quality level to be achieved by design and execution based upon technical regulations, as well as the surveys and research carried out; b) to obtain the consents and approvals required by law, as well as the building permit; c) to ensure the examination of projects by certified specialists and project examiners; d) to ensure the examination of the correct execution of construction works by specialized inspectors or specialized consulting economic agents, throughout the entire duration of the works; e) to take actions for correcting non-compliances, flaws appeared during the execution of works, as well as project deficiencies; f) to ensure the acceptance of construction works upon completion of the works and expiry of the warranty period; g) to draft the building log book and deliver it to the owner; h) to survey the constructions by means of certified technical experts, in the situations where works similar to those provided under art. 18, paragraph 2 of this law, are executed at these constructions. Section 2 Obligations and liabilities of designers Art. 22. - The building designers shall be liable for meeting the following main obligations regarding quality in constructions: a) to specify the construction importance category in the project; b) to ensure by projects and construction details the quality level corresponding to essential requirements, by complying with the technical regulations and contractual clauses; c) to submit the projects prepared to the certified project examiners, appointed by the investor, as well as to remedy any non-conformities or inconsistencies notified; d) to prepare the tender books, the technical instructions regarding the execution of works, operation, maintenance and repairs, as well as, as the case may be, the follow-up projects regarding the behavior in

time of constructions; The documentation regarding the post-use of constructions is drafted only upon the owners request; e) to establish, through the project, the execution phases determined for the works related to the essential requirements and to participate in the quality checks related thereto on the site; f) to establish the manner of dealing with the flaws that appear during execution, due to the designers fault, in the constructions that need to ensure a quality level corresponding to the essential requirements, as well as to monitor the implementation of the solutions adopted on the site, after the certified project examiners approve them, upon the investors request; g) to participate in preparing the building log book and in the acceptance of works executed. Section 3 Obligations and liabilities of contractors Art. 23. The contractor of the construction works shall have the following main obligations: a) to notify the investors on the non-conformities or inconsistencies found in the projects, for the purpose of their correction; b) to start the execution of works only to constructions authorized according to the law and only based upon and in compliance with projects examined by certified specialists; c) to ensure the quality level corresponding to essential requirements by means of their own quality system designed and developed with their own personnel, with certified technical works in charge with the execution; d) to convene the parties that need to participate in the examination of the works reaching determining execution stages and to ensure the conditions required for their execution, for the purpose of obtaining approval to continue the works; e) to correct any nonconformities, defects and inconsistencies occurred during the execution phases, by using only the solutions established by the designer with the investors consent; f) to use, in the execution of works, only the products and procedures provided for in the project, certified or for which there are technical agreements, resulting in meeting the essential requirements, as well as to manage the blank tests; to replace the products and procedures provided for in the project with other meeting the specified requirements and only based upon the solutions established by the designers with the investors consent; g) to comply with the projects and construction details in order to achieve the quality level corresponding to the essential requirements; h) to notify the State Inspection in constructions, public works, urban planning and land management within 24 hours in case technical accidents occur during the execution of woks; i) to submit for acceptance only the constructions meeting the essential quality requirements and for which they delivered to the investor the documents required for preparing the construction log book; j) to achieve, within the agreed periods, the measures decided in the inspection documents or the construction works acceptance documents; k) to repair, at their own expense, the quality defects occurred due to their fault, both during the construction period and during the warranty period established according to the law; l) to restore the land temporarily occupied to its initial condition, upon completion of the execution of works; m) to establish the liabilities of all the participants in the production process persons in charge, collaborators, subcontractors in compliance with their own quality assurance system adopted and the legal provisions in force. Section 4 Obligations and liabilities of certified project examiners, technical supervisors of the construction and technical experts Art. 24. The certified project examiners are liable, together with the designer, for ensuring the quality level corresponding to the essential requirements of the project. The certified technical supervisors of the construction are liable, according to the tasks falling upon them, for achieving the quality level corresponding to the essential requirements, at the construction works for which they are employed. The certified technical experts employed for the survey of projects, construction works or constructions in operation, are liable for the solutions given.

The obligations of certified specialists are established by law enforcement regulations. Section 5 Obligations and liabilities of construction owners Art. 25. Construction owners shall have the following main obligations: a) to carry out in time the maintenance and repair works falling upon them, according to the legal norms in the construction log book and resulting from the activity of monitoring the behavior in time of constructions; b) to keep and update the construction log book and to hand it over to the new owner, upon delivery of the construction; c) to ensure the monitoring of the behavior in time of constructions, according to the log book provisions and the technical regulations; d) to carry out, as the case may be, rebuilding, reinforcement, transformation, expansion, partial demolition, as well as repair works to the construction only based upon projects drafted by natural persons or legal entities authorized and verified according to the law; e) to ensure the execution of intervention works to the constructions, required by legal regulations; f) to ensure the execution of construction post-use works, by complying with the legal provisions in force. Section 6 Obligations and liabilities of construction administrators and users Art. 26. The construction administrators and users shall have the following main obligations: a) to use the constructions according to the operation instructions provided in the construction log book; b) to carry out in time the maintenance and repair works falling upon them according to the contract; c) to carry out intervention works to the existent construction according to the provisions of art. 18, paragraph 2, only with the owners consent and by complying with the legal provisions; d) to carry out the monitoring of the behavior in time of constructions according to the construction log book and the contract concluded with the owner; e) to notify, within 24 hours, the State Inspection in constructions, public works, urban planning and land management, in case of technical accidents at the constructions in operation. Section 7 Obligations and liabilities in the research activity Art. 27. The units performing construction research activities shall have the following main obligations: a) to carry out preliminary theoretical and experimental research, in order to substantiate technical regulations in constructions; b) to substantiate, draft and experiment technical solutions, new products and procedures for constructions; c) to check and inspect the new products and procedures upon the manufacturers request, in order to issue technical agreements according to the legal provisions. Section 8 Joint obligations and liabilities Art. 28. The liability for the execution and maintenance, throughout their entire existence, of constructions of adequate quality, as well as for the fulfillment of obligations provided by the procedures and regulations drafted according to the provisions of this law, shall fall upon the parties participating in their design, execution, operation and post-use. Art. 29. The designer, the certified project examiner, the manufacturers and suppliers of construction materials and products, the contractor, the certified technical supervisor of the construction, the specialized inspector, the certified technical expert shall be liable, according to the obligations falling upon them, for the hidden defects of the construction occurring within 10 years after the acceptance of the work, as well as after this period, throughout the entire existence of the construction, for defects of the construction load-

bearing structure resulting from non-compliance with the design and execution standards in force as at the date of its execution. Section 9 Obligations and liabilities of the State Inspection in constructions, public works, urban planning and land management Art. 30. The State Inspection in constructions, public works, urban planning and land management in the Ministry of Public Works and Land Management and its subordinated county and Bucharest inspections in constructions, public works, urban planning and land management, as well as the other similar bodies with tasks established by legal provisions, shall be liable for exercising the State control regarding the unitary implementation of legal provisions in the field of construction quality, in all the stages and components of the quality system in constructions, as well as for finding contraventions, enforcing the penalties provided by law and, as the case may be, stopping the works executed inappropriately. The State control of construction quality for constructions in the secrete locations established by orders of the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Interior and the Romanian Intelligence Service, shall be carried out by their own bodies authorized for this purpose. The organization and operation of the State Inspection in constructions, public works, urban planning and land management shall be established by a Government decision within 90 days after this law comes into force. CHAPTER IV Penalties Art. 31. The design, examination, survey, execution of a construction or the execution of changes thereto, without complying with technical regulations regarding stability and structural strength, shall represent a crime and shall be punished with 5 to 10 years of imprisonment and the interdiction of rights in case it may produce one of several of the following consequences: loss of human lives, serious injury to the body or health of one or several people, total or partial destruction of a construction, destruction or damage of important plants or machines, or other extremely serious consequences. The action provided under the previous paragraph shall be punished with 10 to 20 years of imprisonment and the interdiction of rights in case it resulted in the total or partial destruction of a construction, the death or serious injury to the body or health of one or several people, destruction or damage of important plants or machines, or other extremely serious consequences. Art. 32. The continuance of construction works executed inappropriately and stopped by orders of the control bodies shall represent a crime and shall be punished with 3 months to 2 years of imprisonment or with a fine in all the cases in which they affect the stability and structural strength. Art. 33. The following actions shall represent an infringement of the provisions of this law unless they were committed under such conditions that, according to the law, they represent crimes, and shall be punished with a fine: I. From 15,500,000 lei to 93,000,000 lei: a) execution of changes to the construction or its demolition by infringing the provisions regarding the authorization and execution thereof; b) failure to comply with the obligations of monitoring the behavior in time of constructions of a special complexity and importance, as regards stability and structural strength. II. From 15,500,000 lei to 77,000,000 lei: a) execution of constructions without any projects or based upon projects not examined by specialists certified according to the legal provisions; b) failure to comply with the obligations of monitoring the behavior in time of constructions, of maintenance, repair and reinforcement works; c) execution of changes, transformations, modernizations, reinforcements that may affect the essential requirements, without a project examined by specialists certified according to the legal provisions; d) the inappropriate organization and failure to implement the quality management and assurance system, including the execution of constructions without technical supervisors of the construction certified according to the provisions of art. 14. III. From 7,700,000 lei to 46,500,000 lei:

a) draft of incomplete projects or projects comprising inconsistencies between their various sections, which may result in the failure to achieve the construction quality level corresponding to the essential requirements, as well as their approval by the certified project examiners; b) infringement of the provisions in the technical regulations regarding the essential requirements of the construction; c) acceptance of the construction by infringing the legal provisions; d) failure to fill in and keep the construction log book according to the legal provisions; e) adoption of solutions, during the survey of execution projects or construction works, which may result in the failure to achieve the construction quality level corresponding to the essential requirements; f) failure to develop the land occupied temporarily in order to bring it to its initial condition, upon completion of the construction works; g) failure to ensure the examination of the execution of works by specialized inspectors or specialized consulting economic agents, according to the provisions of art. 21; h) interdiction or prevention of performing quality control in constructions, failure to submit the documents and papers requested by the persons with control duties, according to the legal provisions. IV. From 3,000,000 lei to 12,500,000 lei: a) failure to specify in the project the construction importance category and failure to establish the determining stages subject to quality control; b) provision in the project or use of uncertified products or products for which there are no technical agreements to works that must ensure the quality level corresponding to the essential requirements; c) failure to comply with the quality level and the other contractual provisions regarding the essential requirements in the projects; d) failure to comply with the maintenance and repair obligations falling upon the owners according to the law, which affects the quality level corresponding to the essential requirements; e) failure to convene the parties that need to participate in the examination of the works reaching determining execution stages and to ensure the conditions required for examination. V. From 1,500,000 lei to 3,000,000 lei: a) unjustified absence from the examination of works reaching determining stages, following the convocation made by the contractor, as well as unjustified convocation of the interested parties by the same; b) the investors or contractors failure to request solutions to remedy the defects occurring during the execution in relation to essential requirements; c) the designers failure to fulfill the obligation of developing solutions to remedy the defects occurring during the execution in relation to essential requirements; d) the contractors failure to put into practice the solutions developed by the designer or the expert in order to remedy non-conformities, defects or inconsistencies occurring during execution; e) failure to notify the State Inspection in constructions, public works, urban planning and land management in case of the occurrence of technical accidents to the constructions under execution, as well as to the constructions in operation; f) failure to comply, within the agreed period, with the actions provided in the inspection documents. __________ Clauses I-V were amended by the sole art. of the Government Decision no. 498/2001. Art. 34. Penalties provided under art. 33 shall apply to natural persons and legal entities. Art. 35. The finding of infringements provided under art. 33 and the application of penalties shall be performed by persons with control duties in the State Inspection in constructions, public works, urban planning and land management, and in the cases provided under art. 30, by the persons authorized by the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Interior and the Romanian Intelligence Service. Art. 36. Infringements provided under art. 33 shall be governed by the provisions of Law no. 32/1968 on ascertaining and punishing infringements. CHAPTER V Final and transitory provisions Art. 37. - The regulations and procedures for the classification of constructions into categories of importance and for the components of the quality system in constructions provided under art. 9 shall be drafted by the Ministry of Public Works and Land Management, in consultation with bodies having duties established by legal provisions, within 90 days after the effective date of this law. Art. 38. The regulations provided under art. 37 shall be approved by Government decisions.

The procedures provided under art. 37 and the standards for drafting and applying the components of the quality system in constructions shall be approved by order of the Minister of Public Works and Land Management. Art. 39. The building permit for the works provided under art. 3, letters a), b), c), d) and e) of Law no. 50/1991 shall be issued only for the projects examined by the certified project examiners, subject to the exception provided under art. 2, paragraph 2 of this law. Art. 40. Investors or owners shall pay monthly to the State Inspectorate in Constructions - I.S.C., under the Ministry of Public Works, Transports and Housing, an amount equivalent to a 0.70% share of the expenses for the execution of constructions and works provided under art. 2 and for which building permits are issued, according to the law, except for the owners - natural persons executing reinforcement and repair works to the houses under their ownership. The calculation and transfer of such amounts shall be made in installments, at the same time with the payment of construction works. The State Inspectorate in Constructions - I.S.C. uses 70% of the fund such established for the fulfillment of duties, according to the legal provisions, and transfers 30% of this fund to the account of the Ministry of Public Works, Transports and Housing, which uses it for: a) drafting the technical regulations in constructions, urban planning, land management and habitat, as well as the research, tests, documentations, studies, audit, databases and developing the prototypes required to substantiate the regulations specific to the industry. The types of regulations and related expenses shall be established by a regulation drafted by the Ministry of Public Works, Transports and Housing and approved by Government decision; b) executing, through Compania Naional de Investiii - C.N.I. - S.A. intervention works of primary urgency to vulnerable constructions and constructions representing a public danger, in order to meet the stability and structural strength requirement, to prevent and mitigate the effects of natural risks caused by earthquakes, floods, landslides, soil settlements and/or land gaps and, as the case may be, for surveying and designing the necessary works. The criteria and manner of allocating the amounts shall be established by methodological rules drafted by the Ministry of Public Works, Transports and Housing and approved by Government decision. Delays in the payment of shares by the investor or owner, as provided under paragraph 1, shall be penalized with 0.15% per day of delay, without exceeding the amount owed. The expenses required for the activity of technical-professional certification of construction specialists shall be paid by the interested party. The available funds at the end of the year from off-budget revenues are brought forward to the next year and have the same destination. The expenses required for certification of the quality of products and procedures, issue of technical agreement for the new materials, procedure and equipment, authorization and accreditation of laboratories, examination of the projects and the execution of construction works, quality management and assurance, metrological examinations, acceptance of works, monitoring the behavior in operation and interventions in time, as well as for the post-use of constructions, shall be paid by the parties interested, except for the expenses made according to paragraph 1, letter b). __________ Paragraph (1) was amended by the sole art., item 1 of Law no. 587/2002. - Paragraph (5) was amended by the sole art., item 2 of Law no. 587/2002. Art. 41. As at the effective date of the provisions of this law, Law no. 8/1977 regarding the provision of durability, operational safety, functionality and quality of constructions, the Government Ordinance no. 2/1994 regarding quality in constructions, as well as any other contrary provisions, shall be abrogated. This law was adopted by the Chamber of Deputies in the session of 27 December 1994, in compliance with the provisions of art. 74, paragraph (1) of the Constitution of Romania. p. PRESIDENT OF THE CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES MARIAN DAN This law was adopted by the Senate in the session of 29 December 1994, in compliance with the provisions of art. 7, paragraph (1) of the Constitution of Romania.

PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE Prof. OLIVIU GHERMAN, PhD Bucharest, 18 January 1995. No. 10.