After a sick cancer patient aroused that the file in which he demanded the compensation of the treatment, vital for him, was suspended at the Bucharest Court of Appeal, against the background of the protests, the SCM issued a statement in which he presented his point of view.
The magistrates suspended the file of a cancer patient, against the background of the protests. Photo: Lawjure
The Bucharest Court of Appeal suspended on Thursday, September 11, the judgment of a file by which a patient with biliary cancer requests the compensation of an essential drug. The court’s decision was motivated by the protest of the magistrates, who had limited their activity as a result of the dissatisfaction with the changes regarding the special pensions provided in the second package of the Bolojan Government.
The life of the patient depends on the requested treatment
The patient’s lawyer explained to Digi24.ro that the file, which had as object a presidential ordinance, disappeared from the list of cases scheduled that day. In the request, it is requested that the Durvalumab drug be granted in 100%compensated, until the final process is resolved.
“Has been requested obliging that drug to be passed in the list of compensated. (…) In my case, the damage would be that that man does not receive his medication and dies, depending on the situation or the severity of the disease ”, the lawyer said.
He added that he tried to obtain clarifications from the court’s auxiliary staff, but because of the protest he received no answer.
From the archive, it would have been told that the process was suspended on the basis of Decision no. 2/26.08.2025 of the General Assembly of the judges of the Bucharest Court of Appeal, which stipulates that the judges will solve only limited cases, related to fundamental freedoms and preventive measures, without including medical emergencies.
The information is confirmed by the minute published on the court portal: “Based on the Decision no. 2/26.08.2025, of the General Assembly of the judges of the Bucharest Court of Appeal, orders the suspension of the settlement of this case.”
Double measure
The lawyer’s patient with cancer is all the more indignant as the same day, September 11, another complete of the Bucharest Court of Appeal judged a similar file, in which a patient demanded the compensation of a vital treatment.
“What is striking is that, another complete, of the same court, gave the right to life. he said.
CSM reaction
Until the editing of this material, the Bucharest Court of Appeal had not yet filed a point of view, on the other hand, following the echoes generated by this case, the Superior Council of Magistracy issued a statement reminding that the responsibility of ensuring vital treatments rests with the Romanian state, not to the courts.
“The right to life of any person is guaranteed both at national level and internationally, the state having the positive obligation to protect and guarantee, including by adopting financial measures, if they depend on the level of protection necessary for the effective exercise of the law”, specifies the institution.
“It is essential to emphasize that the courts cannot replace the responsibility of the state regarding the assurance and guarantee of the right to life and health of patients with serious pathologies that require specific treatments that involve very high costs. The lack of including certain oncological treatments on the list of compensated drugs and delaying the administrative mechanisms of the system, legislative and executive.
Judges, by their duties, cannot supplement the state’s obligation to guarantee the access of patients to vital treatments. In the absence of a clear, unitary and proper financing regulation, the courts are put in a situation to resolve legal actions by which the citizens request what, in reality, should be provided ex officio by the authorized institutions, and this type of cases are increasingly numerous in recent years.
The Superior Council of Magistracy reaffirms that the protection of the life and health of the patients should not be transformed into a legal dispute placed exclusively in the charge of the courts, which are actually the last solution to which citizens in such serious situations can call.
Dramatic cases, such as the one reported in the media, clearly show the need to adopt coherent, predictable public policies and a settlement mechanism that prevents the humiliation of patients and guarantee their right to life and health. Thus, the Council reiterates that the real responsibility for guaranteeing the access to drugs and oncological treatments rests with the Romanian state through the competent authorities ”, The section for judges of the Superior Council of Magistracy is specified in the statement signed.
