SPP - Law no. 191/1998

LAW NO. 191/1998

on the organization and functioning of
the Protection and Guard Service
modified and added by the Emergency ordinance
no. 103 in 2002 approved with modifications and additions
by Law no. 67/2003

CONTENTS
Chapter I GENERAL PROVISIONS
Chapter II THE LEADERSHIP, ORGANIZATION AND FUNCTIONS OF THE PROTECTION AND GUARD SERVICE
Section 1 The Leadership of The Protection and Guard Service
Section 2 The Organization of The Protection and Guard Service
Section 3 The Functions of The Protection and Guard Service
Chapter III THE PERSONNEL OF THE PROTECTION AND GUARD SERVICE
Chapter IV THE LOGISTICS AND FINANCIAL SUPPORT
Chapter V FINAL PROVISIONS
Annex no 1 THE MODEL OF THE SERVICE BADGE
Annex no 2 THE DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBLEM OF THE PROTECTION AND GUARD SERVICE

CHAPTER I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Art. 1. — (1) The Protection and Guard Service is a state body with functions in the field of national security, specialized in providing protection for the Romanian dignitaries, the foreign dignitaries during their stay in Romania, and their families, within its legal competence. It also provides guard for the headquarters and residences of the above-mentioned dignitaries in accordance with the decisions of the Supreme Council of National Defense.

(2) The Protection and Guard Service has a military structure and is a component of the national defense system.

Art. 2. — The Protection and Guard Service carries out its activity in compliance with the Constitution of Romania and the laws of the country, the decisions of the Supreme Council of National Defense, as well as the military regulations.

Art. 3. — (1) The activity of The Protection and Guard Service is organized and coordinated by the Supreme Council of National Defense and is controlled by Parliament through the Committees for Defense, Public Order and National Security.

(2) On an annual basis or upon request by Parliament, the Director of The Protection and Guard Service forwards reports on the level of achievement of the functions which The Protection and Guard Service is mandated to carry out.

Art. 4. — (1) In order to carry out its functions, The Protection and Guard Service collaborates with the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of the Interior, the Romanian Intelligence Service, the Foreign Intelligence Service, the Special Telecommunications Service, with other specialized ministries and bodies of the central and local public administration.

(2)The institutions stipulated in paragraph (1) are bound to grant, within legal competences, the necessary support for The Protection and Guard Service to carry out its functions given by the law.

Art. 5. — The protection of the Romanian dignitaries, outside the national territory, is provided by The Protection and Guard Service in cooperation with special services from the host countries.

Art. 6. — The Protection and Guard Service can establish collaboration relations with similar foreign bodies, with the preliminary approval of the Supreme Council of National Defense.

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CHAPTER II

THE LEADERSHIP, ORGANIZATION AND FUNCTIONS
OF THE PROTECTION AND GUARD SERVICE

Section 1

The Leadership of The Protection and Guard Service

Art. 7 . — (1) The Protection and Guard Service is led by a Director, with the rank of Secretary of State, appointed by the President of Romania, at the proposal of the Supreme Council of National Defense.

(2) On appointment, the Director takes the following oath in front of the President of Romania: “ I ... , swear to carry out my tasks as the Director of The Protection and Guard Service, in good faith and impartiality, and in compliance with the Constitution and the laws of the country”.

Art.8. — (1) The Director of The Protection and Guard Service organizes and leads the activity of the Service and represents it in its relations with the ministries and other bodies of the public administration, with institutions and organizations from the country, as well as with similar foreign bodies.

(2) The Director of The Protection and Guard Service engages the Service in the relations with the natural persons and corporate bodies. In this respect, he can authorize other subordinate personnel.

(3) Exercising his functions, the Director of The Protection and Guard Service is authorized, by law, to issue orders and instructions.

Art. 9. — (1) The Director of The Protection and Guard Service has, in his immediate subordination, both a first-deputy who is his legal substitute as well as Chief of Staff, and a deputy.

(2) The first - deputy and the deputy have the rank of undersecretary of state and are appointed by the President of Romania, following the proposal of the Director of The Protection and Guard Service, with the authorization of the Supreme Council of National Defense.

Art. 10. — (1) Inside The Protection and Guard Service, functions the Board of Directors, as a deliberative body.

(2) The operative management of The Protection and Guard Service and the assurance of the fact that the decisions of the Board of Directors have been carried out are fulfilled by the Executive Department of the Service.

(3) The tasks, the way of functioning and the members of the Board of Directors, on the one hand and of the Executive Department, on the other hand, are established by the Regulations of organization and functioning of The Protection and Guard Service.

Section 2

The Organization of The Protection and Guard Service

Art. 11. — The Protection and Guard Service is made up of a Staff and operative structures which carry out the tasks stipulated by law: these are hierarchically subordinated only to the leadership of the Service.

Art. 12. — (1) The organizational structure, the forces during peace and at war and the Regulation of organization and functioning of The Protection and Guard Service are approved by the Supreme Council of National defense, following the proposal of the Director of The Protection and Guard Service.

(2) The Director of The Protection and Guard Service can modify the approved organizational structure.

Art. 13. — (1) The Protection and Guard Service has its own mobilization structure and keeps record of its military and civilian personnel, during peacetime, as well as of the reservists according to the law in force.

(2) The regulations of the structure's functioning, stipulated in paragraph (1), the mobilization activity and the record of the reservists are established by mutual agreement with the General Staff.

Section 3

The Functions of The Protection and Guard Service

Art. 14. — (1) The Protection and Guard Service, through its specialized structures, has the following functions:

a) organizes and carries out activities in order to prevent and annihilate any action that might be a threat to the life, physical integrity, freedom of action and health of the persons whose protection is in its charge; carries out the guard and defense of these persons' headquarters and residences;

b) organizes and carries out, overtly or under cover, activities of gathering, checking and using the necessary intelligence, only with a view to completing the functions stipulated in art.1 paragraph (1) in the conditions established by the law. Any information of a different operative value will be immediately transmitted to the authorities that are legally qualified to check and use it;

c) carries out exchange of intelligence and cooperates with intelligence services as well as with similar departments both within the country and abroad in order to fulfil the specific missions stipulated by art.1 paragraph (1);

d) carries out checks, under Law no 51/1991 on the national security of Romania, through: requesting and obtaining objects, documents or official relations from public institutions; consulting specialists or experts; receiving notifications or reports; recording operative moments through technical means or personal reports;

e) puts forward requests to the prosecutor, in founded cases and in compliance with the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code, to authorize some activities according to Law no 51/1991, for the purpose of gathering information necessary to fulfil specific missions. The technical operations for the fulfilment of these activities are carried out by the Romanian Intelligence Service;

f) records the results of the activities provided for at letters d) and e) in minutes drafted in compliance with the Code of Criminal Procedure and which can constitute evidence;

g) organizes and conducts, during the missions of protection and guard, the activity of all the participating forces within the institutions provided for in art. 4 paragraph (1);

h) intervenes, independently or in cooperation with other institutions designated by the law in order to prevent or counteract the actions that may endanger the life, physical integrity, health or freedom of action of the protectees as well as the security of the guarded objectives. It also intervenes to capture or annihilate the terrorist and aggressive elements;

i) carries out independently or in cooperation with other specialized institutions, actions of search, identification and annihilation of the suspect objects which can be dangerous for the protected persons or guarded objectives;

j) undertakes, in cooperation with the specialized authorities, measures for providing the prophylactic, therapeutical medical care for the dignitaries whose protection is its duty and takes the antiepidemic measures through its own means. These antiepidemic measures prevent the infecto-contagious and chemical toxic diseases, or those caused by the ionizing radiations. The Protection and Guard Service also performs other similar activities at its permanent and temporary objectives;

k) organizes, according to the law, its own activity to safeguard the secret of state and to prevent the leaking of information that is not to be made public;

k¹) endorses the access of the personnel destined to carry out permanent or temporary activities at objectives within the competence of the Service;

l) carries out other functions stipulated by the law, specific to its field of activity.

(2) The persons entitled to be protected and the objectives whose protection is provided by The Protection and Guard Service are established through a decision of the Supreme Council of National Defense.

(3) The Protection and Guard Service can supplement, within the boundaries of the approved strengths, the forces and means destined by law for the protection of foreign dignitaries during their stay in Romania, upon request and for a certain charge.

(4) The Protection and Guard Service can provide protection for certain dignitaries and former dignitaries, different from the ones established by the decision of the Supreme Council of National Defense, upon request and for a certain charge; with the approval of the Supreme Council of National Defense, it can also provide protection for other persons, in the same conditions.

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CHAPTER III

THE PERSONNEL OF
THE PROTECTION AND GUARD SERVICE

Art. 15. — (1) The personnel of The Protection and Guard Service consist of military personnel and civil employees.

(2) During the fulfilment of their tasks, the operative personnel is invested with the exercise of public authority.

(3) The military and civil personnel with specific functions in carrying out operative activities will belong to the first and second group of work.

(4) The criteria of entering the first and second group of work and the persons who benefit from the first and second group of work are established by the order of the Director of The Protection and Guard Service.

Art. 16. — (1) The military personnel of The Protection and Guard Service have all the rights and duties established for the militaries of the armed forces and they do their duties in the conditions established by the law and the military regulations.

(2) The civil employees are applied the provisions of the Code of Labor and other legal provisions, as well as the specific regulations for The Protection and Guard Service.

(3) The conscripts necessary to The Protection and Guard Service are selected through the military centers in Bucharest and in the country, within the boundaries established by the decisions of the Supreme Council of National Defense, on the basis of the requests addressed to the General Staff.

Art. 17. — (1) The personnel of The Protection and Guard Service who carry out, conduct or coordinate operative missions or contribute to their completion benefit from a 30% bonus applied to the basic pay or to the basic salary, respectively.

(2) The categories of personnel who benefit from the bonus stipulated in paragraph (1) are established by the order of the Director of The Protection and Guard Service.

(3) The personnel of The Protection and Guard Service is provided, free of charge, with protection equipment adequate to the specific missions which they carry out and if, as a consequence of carrying out their duties, their personal goods have been destroyed or damaged, they have the right to an equivalent compensation given by the institution.

(4) The personnel of The Protection and Guard Service involved in operative missions that take more than four hours is given a free food supplement which represents the equivalent of 2000 calories per every day of mission.

(5) The personnel of The Protection and Guard Service who have in possession dogs from the service have the right to 0,5% bonus from the basic salary for that period of time.

(6) The damages caused to the vehicles belonging to The Protection and Guard Service whose drivers are in a mission of protection and guard are not supposed to be paid, as they are supported by The Protection and Guard Service.

Art. 18. — (1) The personnel who, for reasons of health disorder, accidents or other similar events, occurred during, because or about the service, cannot carry out their duties any longer are transferred to another position within the service, and may keep their previous pay and other financial rights.

(2) The personnel who have lost, partly or completely, their ability to work during, because of or about the service, and belong to the first or second degree of invalidity, receive, during invalidity, a pension equal with their net pay or, on a case-by-case basis, their basic net salary, that they had when their invalidity occurred. The personnel benefit only once from a compensation which can be 10 times their net pay or, according to the case, 10 times their basic net salary.

(3) The personnel who have lost partly their ability to work in conditions mentioned at paragraph 2, and who belong to the third degree of invalidity, personnel who are still able to perform their profession benefit from a pension which is equal to at least half of their net pay or net salary, according to the case, from the last month of activity and only once do they benefit from a compensation equal to five times their pay or basic net salary. The personnel have the right to get, under law conditions, the salary from another activity besides the pension.

(4) The descendants of the deceased during, because or about the service, benefit from a pension which is equal to the basic pay or, according to the case, to the salary that the deceased received in his last month of activity. The descendants also benefit, only once, from a monetary compensation which is equal to 15 times the basic net pay or, according to the case, the basic net salary at the date of the demise.

Art. 19. — (1) The military personnel of The Protection and Guard Service are selected from the graduates of the military education institutions. In case of specific positions, for which the military institutions cannot provide specialists, the employees can be taken from the civil education institutions, if they correspond to the legal conditions.

(2) The specific training of the personnel is performed through its own training system or inside military units and special institutions belonging to the Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of the Interior and to the Romanian Intelligence Service, or inside civil institutions. The training can also be performed within certain similar institutions abroad.

(3) The Protection and Guard Service can train the personnel and can provide specialized assistance to the authorized firms whose domain of activity is the physical protection of persons, for a certain charge.

(4) With the approval of the Supreme Council of National Defense, the Service of Protection and Guard can train the personnel of counterpart institutions abroad, for a certain charge or on a mutual basis.

(5) Upon request by the interested persons, for a charge and in accordance with the tariffs approved by an order of the Director of The Protection and Guard Service, The Service of Protection and Guard can rent or put at the disposal, for a temporary use, the mobile and immobile assets which it administrates, according to the juridical status of the respective assets.

(6) The Protection and Guard Service can carry out periodical technical inspections on the cars that it is equipped with, in its own stations. These inspections are authorized by law. The Protection and Guard Service can carry out, upon request, overhauling and repairings for the cars that belong to other natural persons or corporate bodies, established by the Regulation of organization and functioning of The Protection and Guard Service. The technical inspections, overhaulings and repairings, as well as the activities and services stipulated in paragraphs (3) — (5) and in art.14 paragraphs (3) and (4) are provided on the basis on the costs approved through an order of the Director of The Protection and Guard Service, under law stipulations.

Art. 20. — (1) The military and civil personnel of The Protection and Guard Service have the obligation to keep the secret of state and the service secret, under law conditions.

(2) The disclosure, in any way, of the information and data that represent the activity of The Protection and Guard Service is forbidden and is punished according to the law.

Art. 21. — The personnel of The Protection and Guard Service identify themselves with the service ID papers and, during the operative missions, with the service badge as well. The model of the badge is given at the annex no.1.

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CHAPTER IV

THE LOGISTICS AND FINANCIAL SUPPORT

Art. 22. — The Protection and Guard Service carries out the following activities:

a) elaborates and lays the basis of the project for its own budget, for incomes and expenses, and assures this budget implementation, after it was approved by the Parliament; the Director of The Protection and Guard Service has the capacity of main credit coordinator;

b) approves the technical-economical documentation for its own works of investments and repairing according to its competence; The Protection and Guard Service sees to it that these works are finished in due time;

c) plans and carries out the equipment with weapons, ammunition, technics, devices and other materials, by contracts with internal and external partners or by other legal means;

d) establishes, in accordance with the legal provisions, the catalogue of materials, rules of equipment and consumption, depositing, using, maintenance and repairing rules, of declassification and cassation, of discount, record and control of the material and financial means;

e) concludes, under law conditions, optional assurances for the personnel who are on specific missions and for the technical means that are used.

Art. 22¹. — The incomes obtained from the activities and services stipulated in this law are totally held by The Protection and Guard Service as extra-budgetary incomes and they will be used to finance the material and capital expenses. The available funds remained at the end of each year will be carried forward to the next year and used for the same purpose.

Art. 22². — (1) The personnel of The Protection and Guard Service with a ten-year length of service in the Armed Forces, five of them spent in The Protection and Guard Service, that hold a renting contract for a duty dwelling can purchase the respective dwelling. The sums cashed through the sale of the duty dwellings are integrally retained by The Protection and Guard Service and are used to buy other housing with the same destination.

(2) The descendants of those deceased in the line of duty, as well as the retired, benefit from the provisions of paragraph (1), according to the law.

Art. 23. — (1) The estates, the buildings, the workspaces, depositing and accommodation areas necessary for the functioning of The Protection and Guard Service are provided by the Government, in the conditions stipulated by law.

(2) The buildings belonging to The Protection and Guard Service are considered public domain of national interest and are out of the civil circuit.

Art. 24. — (1) In order to exercise its leading function and to accomplish its specific missions, The Protection and Guard Service organizes its own transmission system, using for this purpose the forces and means at its disposal.

(2) During the specific missions, the transmission system mentioned above can also be used by the persons stipulated in art 1 paragraph (1).

Art. 25. — The Protection and Guard Service has its own park of means of transport, meant for carrying out the specific missions.

Art. 26. — (1) In order to carry out certain missions that cannot be delayed or fulfilled otherwise, the personnel of The Protection and Guard Service have the right to use any means of transport and telecommunication, public or private property, except those belonging to the diplomatic corps.

(2) The discount of the expenses on such occasions is made within 60 days, at the request of the owners. These discounts are provided by the funds of The Protection and Guard Service or by the persons who caused the intervention, according to the case.

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CHAPTER V

FINAL PROVISIONS

Art. 27. — The personnel of The Protection and Guard Service are authorized, according to the case, to carry and use firearms, weapons and other means of protection and intimidation in order to accomplish the missions assigned by the Service as well as for self-defense purposes, in the conditions stipulated by the law.

Art. 28. — (1) When the objectives whose security is provided on a permanent or temporary basis by The Protection and Guard Service are in danger or when there is information that certain actions are being organized and these actions could endanger the objectives, The Protection and Guard Service, together with the public authorities and other special units which, according to the law, have a competence in the field, establish protection areas in the proximity of the objectives. Access to these areas can be denied or limited, according to the case.

(2) The protection areas of the objectives are outlined with visible marks by The Protection and Guard Service with the special help of the public authorities and other entitled bodies.

(3) The protection areas have the same status as the objectives whose security is being provided.

(4) When carrying out a mission, the personnel of The Protection and Guard Service is authorized to proceed to the identification and, on a case-by-case basis, to the immobilization of the persons who illegally penetrate into forbidden- or restricted-access areas, and to hand them over to the authorized bodies immediately, together with the minutes. Under such circumstances, the personnel of The Protection and Guard Service have to identify themselves.

Art. 29. — (1) On ascertaining a flagrant offence, attempts or preliminary acts punishable by law, which endanger the life, physical integrity or health of the protected persons stipulated in art.1 paragraph (1) or the guarded objectives, the personnel of The Protection and Guard Service can immobilize the perpetrator who is to be handed over to the authorized bodies immediately, together with the minutes and exhibits.

(2) The Protection and Guard Service cannot perform criminal investigation, cannot take the measure of preventive detention or arrest, and does not have its own spaces for detention or arrest.

Art. 30. — The institutions which the natural persons benefiting from protection and guard belong to, as well as the institutions which own the objectives guarded in compliance with the provisions of art.1 paragraph (1) will provide The Protection and Guard Service with the necessary spaces and utilities for carrying out the missions on the basis of a preliminary convention, free of charge.

Art. 31. — (1) The operative activity of The Protection and Guard Service constitutes a state secret.

(2) The documents of The Protection and Guard Service will be stored in its own archive and can be consulted, under law conditions and with the approval of the Director of The Service of Protection and Guard.

Art. 32. — In order to be identified and distinguished, The Protection and Guard Service use the emblem whose model and description are presented in appendix no.2. The emblem is the branch symbol of The Protection and Guard Service.

Art. 33. — (1) On the date of the entering into force of the present law, any contrary provisions are abolished.

(2) Annexes no. 1 and no. 2 are an integral part of the present law.

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Annex no 1

THE MODEL OF THE SERVICE BADGE

“THE PROTECTION AND GUARD SERVICE REQUESTS THAT THE AUTHORITIES OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND JUSTICE, AND THE CITIZENS OF THE COUNTRY SHOULD PROVIDE THE OWNER OF THIS BADGE WITH THE NECESSARY SUPPORT FOR DISCHARGING HIS/HER LEGAL FUNCTIONS.”

Annex no 2

THE DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBLEM OF THE PROTECTION AND GUARD SERVICE

In the middle of the drawing there is a blue shield, with two crossed golden swords positioned with their points downwards. The shield is stamped by a red-beaked, golden eagle, carrying a golden cross.

The supporters of the shield ore two lions with red tongue and claws.

The motto written in white letters on a red scarf has the words “SEMPER FIDELIS”.

The emblem is surrounded above by the name of the country, “ROMANIA”, and at the bottom by the initials of the instituions — “The Protection and Gurd Service”.

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