Actio pauliana (revocation action) is regulated by Romanian Civil Code, being found in art. 1.562-1.565 and represents legal means by which creditor can request to the court to declare legal acts concluded by debtor in fraud of its rights unenforceable against it. By its nature, it is an action for unenforceability, in sense that challenged act is not annulled, but it becomes unenforceable against plaintiff creditor, within limit of caused damage.
In order to exercise actio pauliana several conditions arerequired, namely: (1) claim must be undisputed at date of filing; (2) challenged act must have caused damage to creditor (must have produced or increased debtor’s insolvency); (3) debtor’s fraud, in sense thatit must have known that it was harming creditor “consilium fraudis”; and (4) third party acquirer must have known debtor’s fraud.
In case of action’s admissibility, effects consist in unenforceability of deed against plaintiff creditor, but also against the rest of creditors which intervened in the case, for which it will be able to pursue asset that has left debtor’s patrimony, as if it had not been alienated. Unenforceability operates only within claim limit. Third party acquirer can keep the asset if it pays debtor’s debt to creditor.
Actio pauliana is subjec to a statute of limitation period of 1 year from date when creditor knew or should have known the damage resulting from contested deed.
