The donation is the gratuitous legal act that requires the existence of at least two contracting parties. One party seeks the gratification of the other by diminishing her own patrimony. This party is called the donor, while the party that receives the donation and increases its fortune by receiving an asset free of charge is called the done.
According to the Romanian Civil Code, article 1011 (1), the donation is concluded by an authentic document, under the sanction of absolute nullity; as such the donation is a solemn contract, the authenticity of the document being required as an essential condition of contract validity, not as evidence.
Manual gifts, indirect donations and disguised donations are excepted from the principle of solemnity of the donation. Corporal movable goods whose value doesn’t exceed 25 000 RON can be the object of a manual gift, with the exceptions laid out by the law. The manual gift is a real contract, being concluded by the agreement of the parties and the material remission of the good. Indirect donations require the donor to have full civil capacity and to intend for the donation to be irrevocable, while disguised donations require a simulated public onerous act and a real act, the donation, which is hidden from the public. As such, disguised donations can be proven using any kind of evidence.
The donation contract that was sanctioned with absolute nullity for failing to adhere to the legal requirements is considered to have never been concluded.
The revocation of a donation can operate in case of ingratitude or for not fulfilling the tasks assumed, when the donor imposed an obligation on the done, which the latter accepted.
As effects of revocation, the good that was donated must either be returned to the donor (free of any rights constituted in the meantime) or the done shall pay its cash equivalent.
As a fun fact, we mention that donations made between husband and wife are revocable only during the marriage.