Author
The law defines an applicant in need of special procedural guarantees as an applicant whose ability to benefit from the rights and fulfil their obligations is limited as a result of individual circumstances that may be due, inter alia, to age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, serious illness, mental illness or disorder, or torture, rape or other serious forms of psychological, physical or sexual violence etc.[1] This clause may be interpreted as a non-exhaustive list of persons who may be considered in need of special procedural guarantees.
Article 5^1(2) of the Asylum Act lists the following categories of vulnerable persons: minors, unaccompanied minors, disabled people, elderly people, pregnant women, single parents with minor children, victims of human trafficking, persons suffering from serious illnesses, people with mental disorders and persons who have been subjected to torture, rape or other serious forms of psychological, physical or sexual violence, or persons in other special circumstances.
Screening of vulnerability
Romanian law provides that the assessment of who belongs to a category of vulnerable people is done after an asylum application has been lodged, as soon as possible, by IGI specialists, based on an individual assessment. In order to carry out the individual assessment and take appropriate measures to ensure the rights and guarantees provided by this law, the competent authorities shall provide special support at the request of IGI.[2]
The Asylum Decree completes this provision by stating that the specialised personnel of IGI cooperates with UNHCR and relevant NGOs to identify asylum seekers who may be included in the category of vulnerable persons referred to in Article 5^1(2) of the Act.[3] In order to assess the vulnerability of asylum seekers, specialists within IGI, in cooperation, where appropriate, with experts from other institutions and authorities competent in the field, make an assessment of the special needs of foreigners.[4]
Depending on the specific needs of each asylum seeker identified as a vulnerable person, IGI-DAI notifies and cooperates with authorities and specialised agencies to provide necessary assistance.[5] IGI-DAI may collaborate with NGOs to assist asylum seekers identified as vulnerable.[6]
There are no further explanations in the law on how the individual assessment is carried out in practice or who are the specialists conducting the assessments. The law also does not include guidelines on how the cooperation between the IGI-DAI and UNHCR, on the one hand, and IGI-DAI and NGOs on the other hand, should work in practice in order to adequately identify such persons.
In practice, there is a special form that is filled in from the moment an application is lodged, while the preliminary interview and personal interview also have questions related to vulnerabilities. IGI-DAI has internal guidelines on early identification, but these guidelines are only for internal use and are not publicly available. According to the Director of Regional Centre of Timișoara, the identification mechanism has been developed together with UNHCR Romania. UNHCR Romania confirmed that in 2013 it worked together with IGI-DAI in developing a pilot mechanism to identify, refer and assist vulnerable asylum seekers, defined as such by the recast Reception Conditions and Asylum Procedures Directives. At that time, all staff of IGI-DAI dealing with reception and procedures were trained by UNHCR and other agencies. Further information was not provided by UNHCR or IGI-DAI in 2023. According to UNHCR, IGI is using a format to identify vulnerabilities. EUAA organized trainings in 2024 which aimed at 1) strengthening capacity to identify victims of trafficking and 2) identification of and support to vulnerable children, directed to immigration officials as well as border police (for the first one). [7]
As of 2022, the majority of the stakeholders interviewed by the author in Bucharest, Şomcuta Mare Timișoara and Rădăuţi said that they are still not aware of the content of the IGI-DAI identification mechanism in place to systematically identify vulnerable asylum seekers.
Article 12^1of the Asylum Act prescribes that staff training programs shall include, inter alia, methodology on the assessment of asylum applications made by vulnerable persons and identification mechanisms and assistance for vulnerable persons.
In 2022, IGI-DAI reported 2,586 minors, of whom 268 unaccompanied minors, seven persons with disabilities, 509 elderly persons, five pregnant women, 506 single parent families, one victim of human trafficking, six persons with mental disabilities, and eight persons who had experienced torture, rape or other serious forms of psychological, physical or sexual violence were identified.[8]
In 2024, IGI-DAI reported 544 vulnerable persons: 348 minors, separately 157 unaccompanied minors, 10 elderly persons, 10 pregnant women, 18 single parent families, 1 persons subjected to a form of violence (the type of violence was not specified). IGI-DAI mentioned that in 2024, in the case of vulnerable persons, more precisely unaccompanied minors, there were no situations of asylum applications examined under the accelerated procedure.[9]
In 2024, CNRR highlighted that IGI has a mechanism for the early identification of vulnerable individuals. They also pointed out that each applicant’s file includes an observation sheet, which records information provided by the applicant regarding factors such as age, gender, family situation (e.g., single-parent family, potential risk of gender-based violence, elderly person living alone, etc.), pregnancy, physical or mental health issues/diagnosed conditions, disabilities, substance abuse, experiences of torture (if the applicant has indicated any such experiences), or human trafficking (based on the applicant’s statements or indications). Additionally, the sheet includes other concerns, such as difficulty concentrating, emotional distress, agitation, crying, etc. This information is gathered at various stages of the procedure, including at the time of the asylum application submission, during accommodation at the Reception Centre, through the preliminary questionnaire, the interview, or the court phase. The caseworker will evaluate whether it is necessary to inform the integration officer about the case to implement any special assistance measures.[10]
Age assessment of unaccompanied children
The Asylum Act foresees that an age assessment can be carried out in case there are doubts as to the alleged age of the applicant or if the unaccompanied minor cannot prove their age.[11] In these cases, before a decision is delivered at first instance, IGI-DAI requests forensic expertise to assess the applicant’s age, with the prior written consent of the minor and their legal representative.[12]
If the asylum seeker and/or the legal representative refuse to carry out the age assessment examination and no conclusive evidence regarding age is provided, the applicant shall be considered an adult.[13] The person shall be deemed to have reached the age of 18 at the time of lodging the asylum application.[14] However, if a psychologist of IGI-DAI determines, after an evaluation, that the grounds for refusal to carry out the age assessments examination are well-founded, the asylum seeker will not be considered an adult.[15]
The law provides that the interpretation of the examination results shall be carried out taking into account the principle of the best interests of the child.[16]
The asylum application cannot be refused on the sole ground that the person did not consent to the age assessment and cannot prevent IGI-DAI from granting international protection to the respective asylum seeker.[17]
According to the law, IGI-DAI informs the legal representative and the asylum seeker unaccompanied minor in writing, in a language that the latter understands or is reasonably supposed to understand, about the possibility of carrying out an age assessment. This information should also include details of the medical examination methods, the possible consequences of the outcome of the examination and the effects of any refusal to undergo medical examination.[18] The law also prescribes that the medical examination shall be carried out in full respect of the minor’s dignity, using the least invasive methods to obtain, as far as possible, a reliable result.[19]
The Asylum Act does not, however, prescribe for a method on how the age assessment should be carried out. When an age assessment is ordered by IGI-DAI, this is carried out by the National Network of Legal Medicine, which comprises of the National Institute of Legal Medicine “Mina Minovici” in Bucharest (NIML), 5 Institutes of Legal Medicine (IML) in Iași, Cluj-Napoca, Craiova, Târgu Mureș and Timișoara, 36 County Legal Medicine Services and 11 Forensic Offices.[20]
According to the Procedural Rules on expert assessments and findings and other forensic work for establishing the age of a person, the forensic findings and forensic expertise related to living persons, at the request of the judicial bodies, consist of clinical and complementary radiological, haematological, serological, bacteriological, anthropological, dermatological, genetic exams and other.[21] The Procedural Rules also prescribe that minors are examined in the presence of one of the parents, or their legal representative or, in their absence, in the presence of an adult family member of the same sex.[22]
According to the stakeholders interviewed by the author, the method used by IML to assess age in all cases is bone measurement.
The law does not prescribe the possibility to challenge the age assessment decision. However, it is possible to request a new expert opinion, which will be also conducted by IML and the cost should be covered by the person requesting it. There has been no such case in practice.
As of 2024, the Institute of Legal Medicine (IML) in Romania continues to primarily utilize bone measurements for age assessments. This approach involves radiographic analysis of skeletal development to estimate an individual’s age. However, recent studies have explored alternative methods, such as analysing Hounsfield Units (HU) from pelvic CT scans, which may offer non-invasive and potentially reliable means for age estimation in the Romanian population.[23] Despite these advancements, the current legal framework in Romania does not mandate a multidisciplinary approach to age assessment. The law does not prescribe the possibility to challenge the age assessment decision. In summary, while bone measurement remains the standard procedure for age assessment in Romania as of 2024, there is a growing recognition of the need for a more holistic, multidisciplinary approach to align with international standards and improve the accuracy of such assessments.[24]
In 2023, IGI-DAI reported that 5 age assessments were made at IML Galati county hospital[25]. No further details and explanations were provided on why such a low number of age assessments were performed in 2023. In 2024, no information is available from IGI‑DAI regarding the number or outcome of age assessment examinations.
[1] Article 2(1) (b^1) Asylum Act.
[2] ibid. Article 5^1(3).
[3] Article 5(1) Asylum Decree.
[4] Article 5(2) Asylum Decree.
[5] ibid. Article 5(3).
[6] ibid. Article 5(4).
[7] Information provided by UNHCR in March 2025.
[8] Information provided by IGI-DAI, 22 February 2023.
[9] ibid. 23 January 2025.
[10] Information provided by CNRR, 3 February 2025.
[11] Article 41(2) Asylum Act.
[12] ibid.
[13] ibid. Article 41(3).
[14] ibid. Article 41(4).
[15] ibid. Article 41(5).
[16] ibid. Article 41(6).
[17] ibid. Article 41(7).
[18] ibid. Article 16(4)(c) in conjunction with Article 22 Asylum Decree.
[19] ibid. Article 16(4^1).
[20] National Network of Legal Medicine, Tipuri de expertize medico-legale, available in Romanian here.
[21] Article 26(a) Procedural Rules of 25 May 2000 on expert assessments and findings and other forensic work.
[22] ibid. Article 14(2).
[23] Stan E, Enache A, Muresan CO, Ciocan V, Ungureanu S, Motofelea AC, Voicu A, Costachescu D. Age Estimation through Hounsfield Unit Analysis of Pelvic Bone in the Romanian Population. Diagnostics (Basel). 2024 Sep 23;14(18):2103, available here.
[24] Information provided by JRS representative in February 2025.
[25] Information provided by IGI-DAI, 18 January 2024.