The Foundation for the Defence of Citizens Against State Abuses has achieved a definitive victory for patients in Romania in the case regarding the application of Law no. 3/2021 on the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of healthcare-associated infections. The High Court of Cassation and Justice rejected the appeal filed by the Government, thus upholding the decision previously issued by the Bucharest Court of Appeal.
The Supreme Court ruling ends a period of over five years in which the law's implementation was blocked. Although the law has been in place since 2021, it has remained, in the absence of implementing rules, an act with no real effects for patients. During this time, outbreaks of hospital-acquired infections and serious cases, including deaths, have been reported in Romanian hospitals. The lack of strict protocols and well-established responsibilities has maintained a system in which reactions often came after incidents occurred, not before.
While Romania officially reports a nosocomial infection rate of less than 1%, in the other European countries the average is over 7%. The figures suggest that Romanian hospitals are over seven times safer than European ones, but in fact this difference indicates the inability of the Romanian system to correctly identify and report nosocomial infections. In March 2026, outbreaks of nosocomial infections were confirmed in the ICU section of the Piatra-Neamț County Emergency Hospital. Of the seven infected patients officially reported, four died, and the management of the unit admitted that, due to overcrowding, the disinfection of the section could not be carried out in appropriate conditions. And this is just one example. Nosocomial infections claim victims in hospitals in Romania, and the underreporting of cases, antibiotic resistance, insufficient prevention measures and the delay in applying uniform control norms amplify the risks for patients.
The decision of the High Court of Justice confirms the central argument formulated by FACIAS during the trial, according to which the Government has the legal obligation to adopt the necessary norms for the implementation of a law voted by Parliament and cannot block its effects through inaction.
FACIAS calls on the Romanian Government to immediately implement the High Court's ruling and adopt the methodological norms regarding the nosocomial infections law. After years of delays, there is no longer any basis for postponement. Patients in Romania have the right to safer hospitals and to real protection against healthcare-associated infections.
FACIAS will continue to monitor how the Government fulfils their obligation and will inform the public about each step of this process.