Camelia Floca, Senior Associate Dragne & Asociatii, commented for the business weekly Capital on the new draft legislation regarding the restitution of property seized by the Communist regime before 1989.
The draft stems from the European Court of Human Rights pilot judgment against Romania, which stated that Romania had an 18-months term, ending on July 12, 2012, to find and implement a coherent, equitable and effective mechanism for compensating the victims of communism. After several postponements, the term has been delayed to May 2013.
The draft legislation created by the Romanian government stipulates that restitutions in kind will be considered a priority, and these restitutions will have to be done by January the 1st 2016. For the remaining properties, the Government will attribute a number of points to the former owners or their heirs. These points will be used to bid for properties from the national fund, and, starting from 2017, the points could be converted into money.
Camelia Floca pointed out that the new draft legislation implies a very complicated procedure, as well as new terms and delays, therefore failing its purpose of offering an equitable and effective compensation for the victims of communism.
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