“Anastasia’s law” passed in Romania with mandatory prison sentences for causing a road death after drinking alcohol or driving without a licence

The Romanian president has signed into law a sentencing change for those that cause a road death as a result of drink-driving or while driving without a licence.

Drivers who kill other road users under such circumstances will no longer have the possibility of a suspended sentence but will face mandatory jail time.

The law has been labelled ‘Anastasia’s law’, in memory of a four-year-old girl who was killed by a driver in June of this year in front of her house.

The changes follow a similar move in Italy which has required, since 2016, mandatory prison sentences in cases of ‘road homicide’, deaths caused by reckless behaviour such as drink-driving. In France, the legal system also now refers to such deaths as ‘road homicide’, whereas they were previously referred to as ‘involuntary homicide’ regardless of the specific circumstances of the crash.