House restitution Law was deferred, probably sine die

“Temporary” withdrawal of the nationalised houses Law from the Senate’s agenda, until parliamentary groups’ leaders reach an agreement on certain “principles” PDSR wants in the text, will postpone by at least a week the resumption of debates on this draft, which has been argued upon for more than a year.

As long as the problem of nationalised houses is still not solved, this might cause the Romanian state damages amounting to several million dollars.

PDSR chairman Ion Iliescu told the party’s press conference that he was working on a letter addressed to the other political parties in which he suggests preliminary discussions concerning this law but also the laws on tenants’ protection and former state-owned farms’ privatisation.

The latter was submitted to the Senate a year ago, but debates stopped after the government released an ordinance regulating the same matter. The three drafts mentioned by Iliescu are deemed by PDSR as the current session’s priorities.

“We do not have major disagreements over the ownership issue,” Ion Iliescu maintains. However, he says that another problem that has to be solved is the situation of public institutions, such as hospitals, kindergartens and cultural institutions.

Citizens discontented with Romanian courts rulings can address the European Court for Human Rights in Strasbourg. For the time being, there are 92 cases calling to court the Romanian State for decisions on the issue of nationalised buildings.

So far, the only decision was pronounced in the case Brumarescu versus Romania, ruling in favour of the owner.

According to Cristina Tarcea, head of governmental agents and human rights department within the Justice Ministry, the plaintiffs are usually asking for restitution in kind of buildings or for their market value, which may vary between 100,000 and more than 300,000 USD and has to be paid by the State.