A final decision pronounced by the Bucharest Court of Appeal produces serious shock waves in the Romanian sports car industry. The court found the absolute nullity of several articles of the Statute of the Romanian Motor Sports Federation (FRAS), provisions that limited the access of athletes to common law justice and required the resolution of disputes exclusively within the federation.
CONTEXT:
– The conflict between the two pilots and the FRAS began in 2022, after what the 493 crew contested a decision by which the points obtained at the Moldova Rally were halved. Although the sanction was initially suspended, the action on the merits was rejected at that time for procedural reasons, the court appreciating that the statutory provisions in force prevented the trial of the case.
– Later, FRAS, led by Norris Măgeanu, publicly announced the winning of the litigation and ordered the exclusion of the two athletes from the federation. Faced with the management's refusal to modify the contested provisions, the pilots opened a new action in which they requested the declaration of the absolute nullity of the articles considered abusive.
Meanwhile, the decision handed down on February 12, 2026 in file no. 6586/3/2023, admitted the appeal made by the pilots Elena-Catherine Rădulescu and Bogdan-Emilian Minea, members of crew 493 and of the ACS Chronorally club, completely changing the solution of the first instance.
Practically, the present decision becomes an important precedent for Romanian sport, because reaffirms that the statutes of federations cannot override the fundamental rights of their members. In this way, judicial control over federal acts is reconfirmed.
Free to court for athletes
In short, the judges annulled the articles of the FRAS statute which:
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they prohibited athletes and clubs from going to court to defend their rights;
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provided for the exclusion from the federation of those who sued FRAS;
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they instituted a binding arbitration, carried out exclusively by internal commissions of the federation.
The case that called into question the limits of federal autonomy in sports motoring ended definitively on February 12, 2026.
The Bucharest Court of Appeal admitted the appeal filed by pilots Elena-Catherine Rădulescu and Bogdan-Emilian Minea and found the absolute nullity of several articles of the Statute of the Romanian Motor Sports Federation (FRAS), considered contrary to the right of access to justice.
The solution in short: Rejects as unfounded the cross-appeal declared by the defendant-appellant (no. Romanian Federation of Motor Sports) against the conclusion from the term of 15.11.2023. Admit the main appeal declared by the plaintiff appellants against the civil sentence no. 37/FED/25.07.2025.
Changes the sentence in its entirety, in the sense that: Admits the summons request. Finds the absolute nullity of the provisions of art. 16 para. 3, art. 31 para. 6, art. 32 para. 1 lit. it is also art. 50 para. 5 of the Statute of the defendant. Definitive. Pronounced by making the solution available to the parties through the mediation of the court registry.
– Decision 194/2026 12.02.2026, according to portal.just
Elena Rădulescu periodically protested against FRAS / Photo source: Facebook
“Sportsmen were threatened with exclusion if they wanted to challenge decisions they considered abusive”
“This decision redresses a great injustice and ends an era of intimidation within the FRAS.
Until yesterday, athletes were intimidated and threatened with expulsion if they wanted to challenge decisions they considered abusive. It has been shown that no one is above the law, not even a Sports Federation.
If a federation wants an arbitration system, it must be a truly independent and impartial one, following the model of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) from Lausanne, not a mock justice made through internal commissions directly controlled by those who issue the sanctions”, explained Elena Rădulescu.
Elena Catherine Rădulescu is the first female pilot from us to climb the podium of the European Rally Trophy, ranking third in the overall ranking of the 2023 competition alongside co-pilot Bogdan Minea. Previously, Rădulescu debuted in the National Rally Championship in 2022, achieving notable results in the rookie and RC5 classes
It is well-known in the world of motoring that, for the last three years, Elena Rădulescu has been in a legal conflict with the Romanian Federation of Motor Sports, contesting in court sanctions and statutory provisions that she considered abusive. His actions mainly concerned the right of athletes to go to justice without the risk of suspension or exclusion.
Elena-Catherine Rădulescu / Photo source: Facebook
CNCD: Elena-Catherine Rădulescu, victim of discrimination based on gender
The case was also preceded by a decision of the National Council for Combating Discrimination (CNCD), which, by Decision no. 522 of December 10, 2024, found that the athlete Elena -Catherine Rădulescu was the victim of gender discrimination and a violation of the right of access to justice.
The context? Elena-Catherine Rădulescu was the only female pilot severely penalized for a violation (changing seats with the co-pilot below the threshold of 10% of the route) which, in the case of male pilots, has been tolerated or ignored in the past.
In this sense, the CNCD imposed a fine of 20,000 lei on the Federation (FRAS), also penalizing Norris Măgeanu, the president of the forum, with the sum of 10,000 lei
