The Romanian legal framework for private companies started more than 20 years ago an effervescent process of renewal, as a result of ending the communist period and changing the general prospective towards the European Union. This process asked for a totally different legal basis for the activity of companies. The legal basis is since quit instable, as it quickly changes according to the demands both on the domestic and European level. Until now, the legal framework for corporate governance in Romania developed in three steps. In 1990 the first modern companies legal framework was adopted. It regulated five types of companies, each with its own particularities in ownership and management. After the official intention to join the European Union (2007), the legal framework supported some adjustments, in order to align to the communities system of law. The corporate governance also registered some positive but also negative influences. In the third phase, as a result of social environment pressure, the legal framework changed dramatically in 2011, when a new Civil Code came into force.

The paper presents a theoretical approach on this process, pointing out the progress that has been done and also the aspects that still need to be improved based on some empirical evidences.