The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) is forcing the Romanian state to do what it failed to do in the last twenty years on the issue of property restitution, by applying the pilot judgment against Romania.
The Romanian state would have to spend around 21 billion euros of its budget to compensate former owners, stripped of their properties by the communist regime. Lacking the money, the local authorities have in the past twenty years settled for sending former owners into a legislative maze, offering shares in Fondul Proprietatea (Property Fund – FP) as compensation – which are valueless considering that the Fund is yet to be listed five years after its establishment. Swamped with over 1,000 cases on properties nationalised by the Romanian state, the Strasbourg-based Court chose two restitution cases – Atanasiu and Poenaru vs. Romania and Solon vs. Romania – based on which it started the pilot judgment procedure against Romania yesterday. Consequently, all such cases brought before the ECHR are suspended for 18 months, during which time the Romanian state is required to take the legislative, budgetary, and administrative measures necessary in order to award compensation to former owners.
“One needs to look at the positive aspect of this judgement: the Romanian state is given an 18-month grace period to solve its problems related to infringing the right of property,” said Horațiu Radu, the Romanian Government agent with the ECHR.

Subiecte #ECHR#European Court of Human Rights#property restitution