LAW 10 08/02/2001
Print
Law No. 10/February 8, 2001Law on the legal regiune of certain properties abusively taken over during the period March6, 1945 - December 22, 1989*)ISSUED BY: PARLIAMENTPUBLISHED IN: OFFICIAL GAZETTE OF ROMANIA, Part I, No. 75, February 14, 2001. * Law No. 10/2001 was published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, No. 75 of February 14, 2001. The Constitutional Court pronounced on the constitutionality of the law through the Decision No. 43/2001, published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, No. 75 of February 14,Chapter 1 General provisionsArticle 1
(1) The properties abusively taken over by the state, by the cooperative organizations or by any other juristic persons during March 6, 1945 - December 22, 1989, as well as those taken over by the state on the basis of the Law No. 139/1940 on requisitions and not restored, shall be restored, as a rule, in kind, under the terms of the present law.(2) In the cases in which the restoration in kind is not possible, reparative measures through an equivalent shall be established. The reparative measures through an equivalent shall consist of compensation with other goods or services offered as an equivalent by the holder, with the agreement of the entitled person, of granting shares in trading companies transacted on the capital market, of face value securities used exclusively in the privatization process, or of pecuniary compensation.(3) The reparative measures through an equivalent can be combined.Article 2
(1) Within the meaning of the present law, by properties abusively taken over shall be understood:a) the properties nationalized through Law No. 119/1948 on the nationalization of the industrial, banking, insurance, mining and transport enterprises, as well as those nationalized without valid title;b) the properties taken over by confiscation of the fortune, as a result of a conviction for crimes of a political nature, provided for in the penal legislation, committed as a manifestation of the opposition to the totalitarian communist system;c) the properties donated to the state or to other juristic persons on the basis of some special normative acts adopted during the period March 6, 1945 - December 22, 1989, as well as other properties donated to the state, if the action for the rescission of the deed of gift or for the acknowledgement of nullity of the gift by a final and absolute judgement was admitted;d) the properties taken over by the state for non-payment of taxes for reasons independent of the owner's volition, or those considered as abandoned, on the basis of an administrative order or of a judgement, during the period March 6, 1945 - December 22, 1989;e) the properties taken over by the state on the basis of certain laws or other normative acts unpublished on the date of the takeover in the Official Gazette or the Official Bulletin;f) the properties taken over by the state on the basis of Law No. 139/1940 on requisitions, and which were not been restored or for which the owner did not receive equitable compensation;g) any other properties taken over by the state with valid title, such as it is defined in art. 6 para (1) in Law No. 213/1998 on public property and the legal regime thereof;h) any other properties taken over without valid title or without the observance of the legal provisions in force on the date of the takeover, as well as those taken over without legal grounds by decision documents issued by the local organs of the power or of the state administration.(2) The persons whose properties were taken over without valid title maintain the quality of owner they had on the date of the takeover, which they shall exercise after the receipt of the decision or judgement of restoration, in accordance with the provisions of the present law.Article 3
Within the meaning of the present law, there are entitled to reparative measures which consist of the restoration in kind or, as the case may be, through an equivalent:a) the natural persons, owners of the properties on the date of the abusive takeover thereof;b) the natural persons, partners of the juristic person owning the properties and other assets on the date of the abusive takeover thereof;c) the juristic persons, owners of the properties abusively taken over by the state, by cooperative organizations or by any other juristic persons after March 6, 1945; the entitlement to the reparative measures stipulated in the present article is subject to the continuation of the activity as juristic person until the coming into force of the present law or to the circumstance that their activity was forbidden or interrupted during the period March 6, 1945-December 22, 1989, and that they resumed the activity after December 22, 1989, if by judgement it is found that they are the same juristic person as the one dissolved or forbidden, as well as the political parties whose activity was forbidden or interrupted during March 6, 1945-December 22, 1989, if they resumed the activity under the terms of the law.Article 4
(1) In case the restoration is demanded by several entitled persons, the right of property is found or established in ideal quotas, according to common law.(2) The inheritors of the entitled natural persons also benefit from the provisions of the present law.(3) The persons entitled to succeed, who after March 6, 1945 did not accept the inheritance, are put back, by right, within the term of acceptance of the succession for the possessions that form the subject of the present law. The petition for restoration has the value of acceptance of the succession for the possessions whose restoration is requested on the grounds of the present law.Article 5
The persons who received compensation according to the international agreements concluded by Romania regarding the settlement of the financial matters in suspense, enumerated in the annex that is an integral part of the present law, are not entitled to restoration or to other reparative measures.Article 6
(1) By properties, within the meaning of the present law, shall be understood the land, with or without buildings, with any of the destinations they had on the date of the abusive takeover, as well as the movables which became immovable property by incorporation into these buildings, including the land without buildings affected by approved investment works of public interest, if the construction thereof had not started.(2) The reparative measures also concern the equipment and installations taken over by the state or by other juristic persons at the same time with the property, except for the case in which they were replaced, no longer in use or destroyed.Article 7
(1) As a rule, the properties abusively taken over are restored in kind.(2) If the restoration in kind is not possible, the entitled person cannot opt for reparative measures through an equivalent excepting the cases expressly stipulated by the present law.Article 8
(1) The land whose legal regime is regulated by the Land Law No. 18/1991, republished, and by Law No. 1/2000 on the reconstitution of the right of property over agricultural and forest land, requested according to the provisions of the Land Law No. 18/1991 and of Law No. 169/1997 do not fall under the influence of the present law.(2) The legal regime of the properties that belonged to religious cults or to the communities of national minorities, taken over by the state or other juristic persons, shall be regulated by special normative acts. Until the adoption of such regulations, the alienation of the properties involved or the change of their destination shall be forbidden.Chapter 2 The restoration in kind or reparative measures through an equivalentArticle 9
(1) The properties abusively taken over, irrespective in whose possession they are at present, shall be restored in kind in the state in which they are on the date of the petition for restoration and free of any charges.(2) In the case of properties which had another destination than that of dwelling, and which were demolished or whose restoration in kind, total or partial, is not possible, the restoration by reparative measures through an equivalent shall be made by the granting of face value securities used exclusively in the privatization process, of shares in trading companies transacted on the capital market, or by compensation with other goods or services offered as an equivalent by the holder, with the agreement of the entitled person.Article 10
(1) In the case of properties abusively taken over and totally or partly demolished, the restoration in kind shall be provided for the free land and for the buildings left nondemolished, by observing the legally approved urbanism documentation, while for the demolished buildings and the occupied land the reparative measures shall be established through an equivalent.(2) In case on the land of the properties abusively taken over buildings have been raised, the entitled person may obtain the restoration in kind of the piece of land remained free, by observing the legally approved urbanism documentation.(3) The land on which unauthorized buildings were raised under the conditions of the law after January 1, 1990, as well as light buildings or that can be dismantled shall be restored in kind.(4) In the case of properties abusively taken over and destroyed as a result of natural disasters, the entitled person benefits from the restoration in kind for the free land. If the land is not free, the reparative measures shall be established through an equivalent.(5) The provisions of para (4) also apply accordingly to the properties requisitioned on the basis of Law No. 139/1940 and destroyed during the war, if no compensation was paid.(6) The corresponding value of the buildings taken over abusively and demolished shall be established in accordance with the normative acts in force on the date of demolition, updated with the inflation index on the date of the actual payment.(7) The value of the land, as well as of the non-demolished buildings abusively taken over, that cannot be restored in kind, shall be established according to the normative acts in force.(8) In the cases stipulated in paras (1), (2) and (4) the reparative measures through an equivalent are those stipulated in art. 9 para (2), depending on the option of the entitled person.(9) In the cases stipulated in paras (1), (2) and (4), for the properties that had only another destination than that of dwelling, the reparative measures through an equivalent shall be established according to art. 9 para (2).Article 11
(1) The expropriated properties and whose buildings were not demolished, may be restored integrally in kind to the entitled persons, provided they were not alienated, with the observance of the legal provisions. If the entitled person received compensation, the restoration in kind is conditioned by the reimbursement of an amount representing the value of the received compensation, updated with the inflation index.(2) In case the expropriated buildings were totally or partly demolished, but the works for which expropriation was ordered had not been carried out, the free land shall be restored in kind with the remaining buildings, while for the demolished buildings the reparative measures shall be established through an equivalent. If the entitled person received compensation, the restoration is conditioned by the reimbursement of the balance between the value of the compensation received and the value of the demolished buildings, updated with the inflation index.(3) In case the expropriated buildings were totally demolished, and the works for which expropriation was ordered partly occupy the land, the entitled person may obtain the restoration in kind of the piece of land remained free, while for the one occupied by new buildings and the one needed for the proper utilization thereof, the reparative measures shall be established through an equivalent.(4) In case the works for which expropriation was ordered functionally occupy the entire land concerned, the reparative measures shall be established through an equivalent for the entire property.(5) The value of the buildings expropriated in view of demolition shall be established in accordance with the normative acts in force on the date of the expropriation, and shall be updated with the inflation index on the date of the actual payment.(6) The value of the land belonging to the expropriated properties in view of demolition shall be established in accordance with the normative acts applicable on the date of coming into force of the present law.(7) In the cases stipulated in paras (2), (3) and (4) the value of the reparative measures through an equivalent shall be established by deducting the updated value of the compensation received for the land, respectively for buildings, from the corresponding value of part of the expropriated property - land and buildings - that cannot be restored in kind, established according to paras (5) and (6).(8) For the cases stipulated in paras (2), (3) and (4) the reparative measures through an equivalent consist of the granting of face value securities used exclusively in the privatization process or of shares in trading companies transacted on the capital market, depending on the option of the entitled person.(9) In the cases stipulated in paras (2), (3) and (4), for the properties that had only another destination than that of dwelling the reparative measures through an equivalent shall be established in accordance with art. 9 para (2).Article 12
(1) In the case of properties taken over with valid title, held by the state, by a cooperative organization or by any other juristic person, if the entitled person received compensation, the restoration in kind is conditioned by the reimbursement of an amount representing the value of the received compensation, updated with the inflation index.(2) The entitled person may opt, in the cases stipulated in para (1), if the compensation received does not correspond to the value of the property, for the completion through an equivalent of the compensation starting from the value updated with the inflation index up to the corresponding value of the property.(3) The corresponding value for buildings shall be established according to the provisions of art. 11 para (5), while that for the land shall be established according to the provisions of art. 11 para (6).(4) The reparative measures through an equivalent for the cases stipulated in para (2) shall be established by the granting of face value securities used exclusively in the privatization process or of shares in trading companies transacted on the capital market, depending on the option of the entitled person.Article 13
(1) In the case of properties restored by the administrative procedures stipulated in the present law or by judgement, shall be applicable the provisions regarding the leases contained in the Government Expeditious Ordinance No. 40/1999 on the protection of tenants and the establishing of the rent for the spaces with a dwelling destination.(2) The leases for the properties restored in kind, occupied by diplomatic missions, consular offices, branches of the international inter-governmental organizations accredited to Romania and the foreign personnel thereof shall be extended by right for a period of 5 years, with the renegotiation of the other clauses of the contract.Article 14
(1) If the property provided for in art. 13 para (1) forms the subject of a contract of concession, of a hired location, a special partnership or a leasing operation, the entitled person may opt for the restoration in kind or for reparative measures through an equivalent.(2) In the case of the option for the restoration in kind the entitled person shall subrogate for the rights of the state or of the holding juristic person in the contracts stipulated in para (1), if these contracts were concluded according to law.Article 15
(1) The leases stipulated in art. 6 of the Government Expeditious Ordinance No. 40/1999 shall be concluded for a period of 5 years. In case the tenant shall be offered another corresponding dwelling, he is obliged to immediately vacate the occupied dwellling.(2) The non-conclusion of the new lease in the case stipulated in arts 9 and 10 of the Government Expeditious Ordinance No. 40/1999, caused by the non-agreement on the amount of the rent asked by the owner or by his demand for the restriction of the rental area for the persons provided for in art. 32 para (1) of the same ordinance brings about the prolongation, by right, of the lease until the conclusion of the new lease.(3) ) For the tenants natural persons from the properties restored in kind, as well as for those from the dwellings stipulated in art. 26 para (1) of the Government Expeditious Ordinance No. 40/1999, whose net monthly income per family member is between the average net monthly income per economy and the double thereof, the maximum level of the rent cannot exceed 25% of the net monthly income per family. The provisions of art. 31 para (2) and of art. 33 of the Government Expeditious Ordinance No. 40/1999 shall apply accordingly. In case the rent thus calculated is smaller than that calculated according to arts 26-30 of the Government Expeditious Ordinance No. 40/1999, the owner shall be exempted from the tax on building, on land, and on rent, and shall be exonerated from liability for the obligations incumbent on him for the duration of the respective lease.(4) For the disabled persons, for the persons stipulated in Law No. 42/1990 on the honouring of the heroes-martyrs and the granting of certain rights to their successors, to the wounded, as well as to the fighters for the victory of the December 1989 Revolution, in Law No. 44/1990 on war veterans, as well as on certain rights of the invalids and war widows, and in Decree-law No. 118/1990 on the granting of certain rights to the persons persecuted for political reasons by the dictatorship established as from March 6, 1945, as well as to those deported abroad or considered as prisoners, upon the compulsory exchange stipulated in chap. II of the Government Expeditious Ordinance No. 40/1999 the dwelling offered has to ensure conditions of use similar to those existing in the held dwelling.(5) The tenants whose leases have not been renewed for the reasons stipulated in art. 14 para (2) let. a) and b) of the Government Expeditious Ordinance No. 40/1999 have priority in the granting of the facilities stipulated in Law No. 114/1996 on dwellings, republished, as well as of those stipulated in Law No. 152/1998 on the setting up of the National Agency for Dwellings.------------- * The provisions regarding the exemption from the tax on rent provided for in art. 15 para (3) shall be abrogated as from January 1, 2002, according to the Government Ordinance No. 7/2001, published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, No. 435 of August 3, 2001.Article 16
(1) In the case of properties occupied by budgetary education units, health units, socio-cultural establishments or public institutions, headquarters of legally registered political parties, by diplomatic missions, consular offices, branches of international inter-governmental organizations accredited to Romania, as well as by the personnel thereof with diplomatic rank, necessary in view of continuing their activity of public, socio-cultural or general interest, the former owners shall be granted reparative measures through an equivalent, under the terms of the present law.(2) The competent ministries, as well as the other interested public institutions shall propose, and the Government shall establish by decision the properties that shall not be restored in kind and for which reparative measures through an equivalent shall be granted according to para (1).(3) In case the property is no longer necessary according to the established legal purpose, the former owners who benefit from reparative measures through an equivalent, in the cases stipulated in para (1), shall be notified in order to opt in the future for the restoration in kind. In such cases the persons benefiting from reparative measures shall return the amounts received or the equivalent of the goods or services, updated with the inflation index.(4) The provisions of paras (1) and (2) shall not apply to the properties taken over without valid title.(5) The disputes shall be settled in accordance with common law, with celerity.Article 17
(1) The state, as well as the public institutions, the education units or the socio-cultural establishments that occupy the property with a lease, have the right of preemption in purchasing it.(2) This right may be exercised, under pain of losing it, within 90 days from the date of receipt of the notification regarding the intention to sell.(3) The notification is made through the executor, according to law.(4) The sale-purchase contracts concluded by infringing the right of pre-emption shall be rendered void.Article 18
The reparative measures shall be established only through an equivalent in the following cases as well:a) the entitled person was a partner of the juristic person - owner of the properties and of the assets on the date of the abusive takeover thereof, except for the case in which the entitled person was the sole partner or the associated entitled persons were members of the same family;b) the property no longer exists on the date of coming into force of the present law, except for the properties destroyed as a result of some natural disasters;c) the property was transformed, so that it became a new property in relation to the one taken over, unless the parties agreed otherwise;d) the property was alienated to the former tenant with the observance of the provisions of Law No. 112/1995 on the regulation of the legal status of certain properties with a dwelling destination, passed in the ownership of the state.Article 19
(1) The persons who received compensation under the terms of Law No. 112/1995 may claim only the restoration in kind, with the obligation of returning the amount representing the compensation received, updated with the inflation index, if the property has not been sold until the date of coming into force of the present law.(2) In case the entitled person opted for compensation and the property was sold with the observance of the provisions of Law No. 112/1995 before the coming into force of the present law, the entitled person has the right to reparative measures through an equivalent for the corresponding value of the entire property, land and buildings. If the entitled persons received compensation, they have the right to the balance between the amount received, updated with the inflation index, and the corresponding value of the property, which is covered by granting face value securities used exclusively in the privatization process, or by shares in trading companies transacted on the capital market, depending on the option of the entitled natural or juristic person. If for the entitled person a compensation was established according to the provisions of Law No. 112/1995 and he did not cash it, the value thus established shall be granted to him in pecuniary compensation, while the balance up to the corresponding value of the property shall be covered by the granting of face value securities used exclusively in the privatization process or by shares in trading companies transacted on the capital market, depending on the person's option.(3) In case the value of the compensation has not been established yet according to the provisions of Law No. 112/1995, the calculation and the payment of the reparative measures shall be established according to para (2).(4) The entitled persons who did not draw up petitions according to Law No. 112/1995, as well as those whose petitions were rejected or not solved until the coming into force of the present law, have the right to draw up such a petition under the conditions of the present law.Chapter 3 Restoration proceduresArticle 20
(1) The properties - land and buildings abusively taken over, irrespective of destination, which are held on the date of coming into force of the present law by an autonomous r�gie, a national society or company, a trading company in which the state or an authority of the central or local public administration is a shareholder or majority associate, by a cooperative organization or by any other juristic person, shall be restored to the entitled person in kind, by decision or, as the case may be, by a motivated order of the directing bodies of the holding unit.(2) The provisions of para (1) are also applicable in case the state or a central or local public authority, or a cooperative organization is a shareholder or minority associate of the unit that holds the property, if the value of the shares held is bigger than or equal to the corresponding value of the property the restoration in kind of which is requested.(3) In the case of local councils the restoration in kind or through an equivalent to the entitled person shall be made by motivated order of the mayors, respectively of the mayor general of Bucharest Municipality.(4) Making en exception from the provisions of paras (1) and (2), in the case of goods held by a cooperative organization, the entitled person may also opt for reparative measures through an equivalent, which shall consist of compensation with other goods or services, or pecuniary compensation.Article 21
(1) The entitled person shall notify, within 6 months*) from the coming into force of the present law, the holding juristic person, requesting the restoration in kind of the property. In case several properties are requested, a notification shall be made for each property.(2) The notification shall include the name and address of the notified person, the identification elements of the entitled person, the identification elements of the requested immovable property, as well as its estimated value.(3) The notification shall be communicated through the executor attached to the court within the judicial district of which the requested property is located or within the district of which the juristic person holding the property has its headquarters. The executor shall register the notification and communicate it to the notified person within 7 days from the registration.(4) The registered notification fully proves before any authorities, natural or juristic persons, the observance of the term stipulated in para (1), even if it was addressed to another unit than that which holds the property.(5) The non-observance of the term of 6 months for the sending of the notification brings about the loss of the right to put in a claim for reparative measures in kind or through an equivalent.----------- *) The term was prolonged by 3 months through the Government Expeditious Ordinance No. 109/2001, published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, No. 460 of August 13, 2001 and approved by Law No. 469/2001, published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, No. 545 of September 3, 2001.Article 22
The documents proving the right of property, as well as, in the case of inheritors, the documents that attest to this capacity shall be filed as annexes to the notification at the same time with it or within maximum 18 months*) from the coming into force of the present law.----------- *) The term was prolonged by 3 months through the Government Expeditious Ordinance No. 109/2001, published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, No. 460 of August 13, 2001 and approved by Law No. 469/2001, published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, No. 545 of September 3, 2001.Article 23
(1) Within 60 days from the registration of the notification or, as the case may be, from the filing of the relevant documents, according to art. 22, the holding unit is obliged to pronounce by decision or, as the case may be, by motivated order on the petition for the restoration in kind.(2) The entitled person has the right to uphold before the directing bodies of the holding unit the petition for the restoration in kind. For this purpose the person shall be invited in writing, in due time, to participate in the proceedings of the directing body of the holding unit.(3) The decision or, as the case may be, the motivated order shall be communicated to the entitled person within maximum 10 days from the adoption.(4) The decision or, as the case may be, the approval order for the restoration in kind of the property proves the ownership of the entitled person, has the probative force of an authentic deed, and represents the writ of execution for the putting into possession, after the carrying out of the formalities of real estate publicity.(5) The decision or, as the case may be, the order stipulated in para (4) has to be applied within 3 years from the date of its receipt by the entitled person.(6) The provisions of paras (1) - (5) are also applicable to the orders issued by mayors according to art. 20 para (3).Article 24
(1) If the restoration in kind is not approved or is not possible, as the case may be, the holder of the property is obliged by decision or, as the case may be, by motivated order, to make to the entitled person an offer of restoration through an equivalent, corresponding to the value of the property, within the term stipulated in art. 23 para (1).(2) In the case of properties with a dwelling destination, if the restoration in kind is not possible, the offer of restoration through an equivalent may be made under the form of pecuniary compensation. The entitled person may opt for the other forms of restoration through an equivalent, corresponding to the value of the property.(3) Within 60 days from the receipt of the offer the entitled person is obliged to reply in writing whether he accepts or rejects the offer. The lack of the written reply is equivalent to the rejection of the offer.(4) If the accepted offer consists of immovables, the provisions of art. 23 para (4) are applicable.(5) If the accepted offer consists of movables or services, the provisions of common law in the matter are applicable, as the case may be.(6) If the accepted offer consists of face value securities used exclusively in the privatization process or, as the case may be, of shares, the entitled person shall follow the procedure stipulated in chap. IV.(7) If the offer is rejected according to para (3), the entitled person may institute legal proceedings against the decision stipulated in para (1) within 30 days from the communication thereof.(8) The solving competency falls to the civil division of the court within the judicial district of which the headquarters of the holding unit is located. The judgement of the court is subject to the legal proceedings.Article 25
(1) The provisions of art. 23 are also applicable in case the notified juristic person holds only part of the requested immovable property. In such case the holding juristic person shall issue the motivated decision of retrocession only for that part of the property it is holding.(2) The notified juristic person shall communicate to the entitled person all the data regarding the natural or juristic person holding the other part of the requested property. At the same time, it shall also append to the communication copies of the deeds of conveyance or, as the case may be, of the administration documents. In case it does not have these data, the notified juristic person shall communicate this fact to the entitled person.(3) The communication stipulated in para (2) and, as the case may be, the enclosed documents shall be transmitted to the entitled person by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt.(4) The term of 6 months stipulated in art. 21 para (1) lapses in this case as from the date of receipt of the communication stipulated in para (3).(5) The provisions of paras (2), (3) and (4) apply accordingly also in case the notified unit does not hold even part of the requested property, but communicates to the entitled person the identification data of the holding unit.(6) The provisions of art. 24 shall apply accordingly.Article 26
(1) In case the entitled person does not know the holder of the requested immovable property, the notification shall be sent to the local council within the radius of which the property is located, respectively to the Town Hall of Bucharest Municipality. The term of 6 months stipulated in art. 21 para (1) lapses, as the case may be, as from the date of coming into force of the present law or the date of receipt of the communication stipulated in art. 25 para (3).(2) Within 30 days the notified local council is obliged to identify the holding unit and to communicate to the entitled person identification data thereof.(3) In case the holding unit was not identified, the entitled person may sue the state, through the Ministry of Public Finance, within 90 days from the date the term stipulated in para (1) expired, if the communication from the local council was not received, or from the date of the communication requesting the restoration in kind or, as the case may be, reparative measures through an equivalent in the forms provided for by the present law.Article 27
(1) For the properties taken over with valid title, recorded in the patrimony of a privatized trading company with the observance of the legal provisions, the entitled person has the right to reparative measures through an equivalent, which consist of goods or services, shares in trading companies transacted on the capital market or face value securities used exclusively in the privatization process, corresponding to the value of the requested property.(2) The notification by which the restoration is requested according to para (1) is referred to the public institution involved that carried out the privatization - the Authority for Privatization and Administration of the State's Shares (the former State Property Found), the competent ministry, the local public administration authority - within the radius of which the property is or was located, irrespective of its value.(3) In the case of immovables taken over with valid title, alienated under any form from the patrimony of the central or local public administration, the entitled person shall notify the directing bodies thereof. In such case the reparative measures through an equivalent shall be those stipulated in art. 9 para (2), depending on the option of the entitled person.(4) For the properties taken over with valid title, that were held by a cooperative organization and then were alienated by it with the observance of the law, the entitled person has the right to reparative measures through an equivalent, which consist of goods or services, or pecuniary compensation. The notification shall be referred to the cooperative organization that held the property, irrespective of its value.Article 28
(1) Within 60 days from the date of receipt of the petition of the entitled person, the directing bodies of the public institution involved in privatization, stipulated in art. 27 para (2), respectively of the cooperative organization stipulated in art 27 para (4) shall establish by decision or, as the case may be, by motivated order the value and the modality of granting the corresponding reparative measures agreed upon by negotiation.(2) The term of 60 days stipulated in para (1) may be prolonged only at the request of the entitled person, in view of completing the necessary proofs, or in case of impossibility of the entitled person to be present, proved with documents. The prolongation of the term in view of completing the necessary proofs cannot exceed 18 months from the date of registering the notification, under penalty of solving the petition on the basis of the documents in support existing in the file.Article 29
The decision or, as the case may be, the motivated order of the directing body of the public institution involved in privatization, respectively of the cooperative organization, shall be issued on the basis of the advice of the territorial organs of the Ministry of Public Finance and shall be communicated to the entitled person within 15 days from the date of adoption.The territorial organs of the Ministry of Public Finance shall issue the advice, with the observance of the conditions of substance and form provided for by the present law.Article 30
(1) Within 6 months from the receipt of the decision or, as the case may be, of the motivated order that confers the right to receive face value securities used exclusively in the privatization process, the entitled person is obliged to request the Ministry of Public Finance to release these securities, under penalty of diminishing by 10% the established value in case of delay.(2) Within 3 months from the receipt of the petition of the entitled person, the Ministry of Public Finance is obliged to release the face value securities used exclusively in the privatization process, guaranteed by the state, under pain of paying penalties for delay of 0.1% per day from the value of the total amount.Article 31
(1) If within the term established in art. 28 para (1) there is no agreement upon the corresponding value and the modalities of granting reparative measures, an official report of divergence shall be concluded.(2) Within 6 months from the date of the official report of divergence, the entitled person may address the civil division of the court within the judicial district of which are located the headquarters of the juristic person with which it is in dispute, under the sanction of losing the right to the reparative measures stipulated by the present law.(3) The petition shall be tried with celerity. Upon the receipt of the petition a first term shall be set with the summoning of the parties to the court chambers, where an expert appraisal shall be ordered having as object to establish the corresponding value of the property in view of granting the reparative measures through an equivalent, and a technical expert or a chartered accountant shall be designated, as the case may be. The corresponding value of the property shall be established only on the basis of the expert appraisal, which shall also take into account the charges of the property, both upon the takeover and upon the restoration.(4) If the entitled person opts, by petition, for face value securities used exclusively in the privatization process, the Ministry of Public Finance shall also be summoned in the case.(5) The judgement of the court is subject to the legal proceedings.(6) In case the entitled person opted in the petition for shares, the court shall ascertain, by judgement, the corresponding value established by expert appraisal and shall oblige the public institution involved in privatization to issue a decision or, as the case may be, a motivated order on the grounds of which the entitled person shall receive shares.(7) If the entitled person opted in the petition for face value securities used exclusively in the privatization process, the court shall ascertain, by judgement, the corresponding value established by expert appraisal and shall oblige the Ministry of Public Finance to issue the respective securities.Article 32
(1) The persons that had the capacity of partner of the juristic persons nationalized through Law No. 119/1948 or other normative acts, have the right to reparative measures consisting of shares granted especially in the trading company that took over the patrimony of the nationalized juristic person or priority shares in another trading company transacted on the capital market.(2) The natural or juristic persons that received compensation until the date of coming into force of the present law under the terms of art. 5 do not benefit from the provisions of para (1).(3) The shares shall be granted, at the request of the entitled person, by the public institution involved in the privatization of the trading company mentioned in para (1).(4) The recalculation of the value of the shares shall be done by the public institution involved in privatization on the basis of the value of the net assets in the latest balancesheet, published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part IV, or registered with the Trade Register before nationalization, by using the discount rate established by the National Bank of Romania and the inflation index established by the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies.(5) Within 30 days from the date of coming into force of the present law the National Bank of Romania shall establish the discounted present value of the leu as from June 11, 1948 until the date of coming into force of the present law.(6) Within 60 days from the date of receipt of the entitled person's petition or within the prolonged term according to art. 28, the public institution involved in privatization shall establish by decision or, as the case may be, by motivated order the recalculated value of the shares.(7) If the entitled person requests shares, the public institution involved in privatization shall establish, following the negotiation, by decision or, as the case may be, by motivated order, the trading companies and the number of shares corresponding to the recalculated value.(8) The entitled person may also negotiate with the public institution involved in privatization other forms of reparative measures through an equivalent.Article 33
(1) In the case of properties for which the restoration through an equivalent was established in arts 10 and 11, the entitled person shall send the notification stipulated in art. 21 para (1) to the local council within the radius of which the property had been located, respectively to the Town Hall of Bucharest Municipality.(2) The reparative measures through an equivalent shall be established by motivated order of the mayor, respectively of the mayor general of Bucharest Municipality, with the advice of the territorial organs of the Ministry of Public Finance, given after the verification of the conditions of substance and form stipulated in the present law.(3) The provisions of arts 21-26 shall apply accordingly.Chapter 4 Reparative measures through an equivalent under the form of face value securities or sharesArticle 34
(1) Within 30 days from the date of coming into force of the present law, the Ministry of Public Finance shall draw up methodological norms regarding the issuing, registration and utilization of the face value securities.(2) The face value securities issued by the Ministry of Public Finance according to art. 30 para (2) may circulate on the market and may be used exclusively in the privatization process.(3) The public institutions involved in the privatization process, as well as the Authority for Privatization and Administration of the State's Shares (the former State Property Fund) are obliged to receive as payment the face value securities stipulated in para (2) for the purchase of shares and assets of the trading companies which are in the process of privatization.(4) The term for the turning to account of the face value securities used exclusively in the privatization process is of at least 7 years from the date of issuing the security, at the discounted present value in relation to the inflation index.Article 35
(1) In case the reparative measures through an equivalent are made through shares, the entitled person shall send a petition to one of the public institutions involved in privatization, and provided for in art. 27 para (2), within 60 days from the receipt of the decision or, as the case may be, of the motivated order.(2) The public institution involved in privatization is obliged to invite the entitled person, within 60 days from the receipt of the petition, to negotiate the reparative measures through an equivalent.Chapter 5 Reparative measures through an equivalent under the form of pecuniary compensationArticle 36
(1) The pecuniary compensation shall be granted in accordance with the provisions of the present chapter.(2) The notifications by which the entitled person requests the granting of pecuniary compensation or opts for pecuniary compensation, shall be referred to the prefect's office within the radius of which the abusively taken over property is or was located, within the term and under the conditions settled by art. 21.(3) In case the entitled person requested the restoration in kind, but this was not approved or is not possible, according to law, the holding unit or, as the case may be, the local council shall transmit the decision, respectively the order regarding the offer of granting pecuniary compensation to the prefect's office within the radius of which the property is located, within 60 days from receipt of the notification. If the value of the property was established by expert appraisal, a copy of the expert appraisal shall also be appended, and if the offer was not accepted and the entitled person went to law, this shall be specified.(4) In case no expert appraisal was carried out in order to establish the value of the property, the decision or, as the case may be, the order mentioned in para (2) shall compulsorily include the estimated value thereof.Article 37
After the centralization of the notifications and offers of granting pecuniary compensation, the prefecture's offices shall transmit the synoptic tables, together with the materials received to the Ministry of Public Finance.Article 38
In order to appraise the pecuniary compensation that is to be granted to the entitled persons, an interministerial committee shall be set up through decision of the Prime Minister, within 6 months from the date of the coming into force of the present law, made up of 2-3 representatives of the Ministry of Public Works, Transport and Housing, the Ministry of Public Finance and the Ministry of Public Administration.Article 39
The secretariat of the interministerial committee shall be ensured by the Ministry of Public Works, Transport and Housing.Article 40
The methods, amount and procedures of granting the pecuniary compensation, which can be limited, shall be established by a special law, on the basis of the appraisal of the pecuniary compensation, within one year after the expiration of the term of 6 months*) stipulated by law for the submission of the notifications.----------- * The term was prolonged by 3 months through the Government Expeditious Ordinance No. 109/2001, published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, No. 460 of August 13, 2001 and approved by Law No. 469/2001, published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, No. 545 of September 3, 2001.Chapter 6 Final and transitory provisionsArticle 41
The infringement of the provisions of the present law brings about, as the case may be, disciplinary, administrative, civil or penal responsibility.Article 42
(1) The destruction and the damage caused to the properties, that form the subject of the present law, after its coming into force and until the moment of the actual handing over to the entitled person, are the responsibility of the property holder.(2) The property holder, in the presence of the entitled person, shall conclude an official report regarding the actual state of the property, within maximum 15 days from the date of the request.(3) In case of non-observance by the property holder of the term stipulated in para (2), the entitled person may address the executor, who shall draw up the official report regarding the real situation of the property.(4) In view of recovering the expenses incurred by the entitled person for the drawing up of the official report regarding the actual state of the property through the executor, the authenticated copy of the official report represents a writ of execution against the property holder.Article 43
(1) The properties which, following the procedures stipulated in chap. III, are not restored to the entitled persons, remain under the administration of the present holders.(2) The properties with another destination than that of dwelling, stipulated in para (1), may be alienated according to the laws in force. The holders with valid title on the date of coming into force of the present law have the right of preemption.(3) The properties with a dwelling destination, stipulated in para (1), may be alienated according to the laws in force, the tenants having the right of pre-emption.(4) The amounts cashed as a result of the sale of the properties stipulated in para (3) shall feed the fund stipulated in art. 13 para (6) in Law No. 112/1995.Article 44
(1) The tenants who, on the grounds of art. 9 paras 1-4 in Law No. 112/1995, purchased the apartments in which they were living, with the observance of the provisions of that law, have the right to alienate them under any form before the end of the term of 10 years from the date of purchase, only to the entitled person, former owner of that dwelling.(2) The selling prince cannot be higher than the updated value of the price paid by the tenant upon the purchase of the dwelling on the basis of Law No. 112/1995, except for the cases when the parties agree otherwise.(3) Within 90 days from the date of coming into force of the present law, the entitled person has to notify the purchaser the intention of buying the dwelling and the address where he can be found.(4) The entitled person that received pecuniary compensation for the property is obliged to return to the state, if the case arises, the updated balance between the value of the compensation received and the purchasing price paid to the former tenant.Article 45
(1) The persons that were restored in kind a property with a dwelling destination and who hold, as tenants, in the same locality, a dwelling from the public housing resources, are obliged to put that dwelling at the disposal of the local council on the date of the actual removal to the restored property. The vacated dwellings from the public housing resources shall form a special housing resource meant for the tenants from the properties restored to the former owners.(2) The families with financial means below the level of the minimum income per economy, the invalids, the pensioners and the disabled persons shall be ensured council housing built out of a fund set up in a 2% quota from the amounts obtained from privatization and which shall be annually provided for in the law of the state budget.Article 46
(1) The legal acts of alienation, including those made within the privatization process, having as object properties which are subject to the provisions of the present law, shall be valid provided they were concluded with the observance of the laws in force on the date of alienation.(2) The legal acts of alienation, including those made within the privatization process, having as object properties taken over without valid title, are rendered void, except for the case in which the act was concluded in good faith.(3) The legal acts of alienation, including those made within the privatization process, having as object the properties stipulated in art. 2 para (1) let. b), are rendered void, the good faith not being possible to be put forward in such cases.(4) The legal acts of alienation, including those concluded within the privatization process, having as object properties taken over with valid title, are rendered void if they were concluded by infringing the imperative provisions of the laws in force on the date of alienation.(5) By derogation from common law, irrespective of the cause of nullity, the right of action shall be prescribed within one year*) from the date of coming into force of the present law.------------ * The term was prolonged by 3 months through the Government Expeditious Ordinance No. 109/2001, published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, No. 460 of August 13, 2001 and approved by Law No. 469/2001, published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, No. 545 of September 3, 2001.Article 47
(1) The provisions of the present law shall also be applicable to the proceedings in progress, the entitled person having the possibility to opt for this law, giving up the trial of the case or requesting the suspension of the case.(2) In the case of actions formulated in accordance with arts 46 and 48, the restoration procedure started on the grounds of the present law shall be suspended until the solving of those actions by final and absolute judgement. The entitled person shall immediately inform the notified person, according to art. 21 para (1).(3) In case the entitled person's action regarding the restoration in kind of the requested possession was rejected by final and absolute judgement, the notification term stipulated in art. 21 para (1) lapses as from the date the judgement remained final and absolute.Article 48
The entitled persons as well as the persons prejudiced in their right, whose actions having as object possessions abusively taken over by the state, by cooperative organizations or by any other juristic persons were rejected by final and absolute judgement until the date of coming into force of the present law, may request, irrespective of the nature of the solutions passed, reparative measures in kind or through an equivalent, under the conditions of the present law.Article 49
(1) The tenants are entitled to compensation for the additional value brought to the properties with a dwelling destination through the necessary and useful improvements.(2) In case the property to be restored was taken over with valid title, the obligation to grant compensation stipulated in para (1) is incumbent upon the entitled person.(3) In case the property to be restored was taken over without valid title, the obligation to grant compensation is incumbent upon the state or the holding unit.(4) The value of the compensation stipulated in para (1) shall be established on the basis of an expert appraisal.(5) By improvements, within the meaning of the present law, shall be understood the necessary and useful expenses. The amount of the compensation shall be established based on the updated value of the expenses, by deducting the degree of wear and tear of the improvements, in relation to their normal lifespan, and shall be borne by the tenants.Article 50
The secretaries of the territorial-administrative units shall take measures for the keeping of all the files constituted by the committees for the application of Law No. 112/1995, shall issue, upon request, copies of the documents existing in the file and shall provide the information requested by the entitled persons.Article 51
The petitions or the actions at law, as well as the transcription or the registration of the title-deeds, linked to the application of the provisions of the present law and to the possessions that form the subject thereof, are exempt from stamp duties.Article 52
On the date of coming into force of the present law, any other provisions to the contrary shall be abrogated. ANNEX L I S T containing the agreements concluded by Romania with other states regarding the settlement of the financial matters in suspensea) Agreement between Romania and the Republic of Austria, signed in Bucharest on July 3, 1963, come into force on April 27, 1965, ratified by Decree No. 784 of December 31, 1963, published in the Official Bulletin, Part I, No. 25 of December 31, 1963;b) Agreement between the Government of Romania, on the one hand, and the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, on the other hand, signed in Bucharest on November 13, 1970, come into force on September 9, 1971, approved by Decision of the Council of Ministers No. 197 of March 2, 1971;c) Agreement between Romania and the Kingdom of Denmark, signed in Bucharest on March 17, 1960, come into force on September 12, 1960, ratified by Decree No. 173/1960, published in the Official Bulletin, Part I, No. 8 of June 17, 1960;d) Agreement between Romania and the French Republic, signed in Bucharest on February 9, 1959, come into force on the date of signing, ratified by Decision of the Council of Ministers No. 353 of March 25, 1959;e) Agreement between Romania and Greece, signed in Athens on September 2, 1966, come into force on the date of signing, ratified by Decree No. 956 of November 30, 1966, published in the Official Bulletin, Part I, No. 76 of December 6, 1966;f) Agreement between Romania and the Government of Italy, signed in Rome on January 23, 1968, come into force on March 7, 1972, ratified by Decree No. 569 of July 4, 1968, published in the Official Bulletin, Part I, No. 91 of July 10, 1968;g) Agreement between the Government of Romania and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, signed in London on November 10, 1960, come into force on the date of signing;h) Agreement between Romania and the Kingdom of Norway, signed in Bucharest on May 21, 1964, come into force on April 5, 1966, ratified by Decree No. 425 of July 5, 1965, published in the Official Bulletin, Part I, No. 22 of July 9, 1965;i) Agreement between the Government of Romania and the Royal Government of Holland, signed in The Hague on May 8, 1967, come into force on July 31, 1967, approved by Decision of the Council of Ministers No. 1,645 of July 31, 1967;j) Agreement between the Government of Romania and the Government of the Republic of Turkey, signed in Bucharest on June 22, 1965, come into force on March 15, 1967, ratified by Decree No. 623 of August 19, 1965, published in the Official Bulletin, Part I, No. 28 of August 20, 1965;k) Agreement between the Government of Romania and the Government of Canada, signed in Ottawa on July 13, 1971, come into force on December 14, 1971, ratified by Decree No. 373 of October 18, 1971, published in the Official Bulletin, Part I, No. 136 of October 27, 1971; l) Agreement between Romania and the United States of America, signed in Washington on March 30, 1960, come into force on the date of signing;m) any other similar agreements concluded by Romania with other states regarding the settlement of the financial matters in suspense. --------
