Real Estate Newsletter No. 5/2010
Cadastre and real estate publicity related enactments
Order no. 627 (published in Official Gazette no. 645/2010) supplementing the annex to Order no. 186/2009 issued by the general director of National Agency of Cadastre and Real Estate Publicity regarding the establishment of terms for supplying services by the National Agency of Cadastre and Real Estate Publicity and its subsidiary units.
This enactment sets forth amendments to the aforementioned annex, establishing (i) for the notification and reception group of services, that the reception of public use cartographic documents not implying measurements shall be performed in 12 business days (for emergency situations, the terms being of 5 business days) and (ii) for consulting/information group of services, the following services were introduced: release of duplicates in 21 business day term and changing the authorization certificate for natural or legal persons/ issuance of the authorization certificate for geodesists with signature right in a 9 business days term and in a 3 business days term in emergency situations.
Order no. 259(published in Official Gazette no. 815/2010) amending and supplementing the technical rules for introduction of general cadastral system, approved by public administration minister order no. 534/2001.
This enactment sets forth amendments to the provisions of order no. 534/2001 regarding the attributions, as well as the structure of the commissions for delimitation of the communes, cities or towns limits from the administrative area of a county.
Additionally, after the establishment of the limits of administrative and territorial units by the commissions appointed for this purpose through orders of prefects, the Ministry of Administration and Interior shall put forward the enactment for promoting the digital map with the administrative and territorial limits of Romania.
Forestry and agriculture related enactments
Order no. 1342 (published in the Official Gazette no. 619/2010) regarding the modality of establishing taxes due for practicing hunting.
It is stipulated that for organizing and practicing hunting activities on Romania’s territory, each cynegetic fund administrator authorizing hunting activities establishes, by directing bodies resolution, its own taxes, subscription, supplementary subscription levied to hunters, to hunting actions organizers, or to their own hunter members on the cynegetic funds that they administrate The incomes collected there under are reported to the territorial structures of the forestry central authority.
Upon the entry into force of this enactment the following Orders shall be repealed: (i) Order no. 117/2001 approving the list comprising the minum taxes levied from foreign hunters for hunting actions in Romania; (ii) Order no. 164/2001 approving the minimum taxes level levied from romanian hunters for hunting actions in Romania; (iii) Order no. 193/2001 approving the regulation regarding the modality of establishing the taxes applied by the cynegetic funds administrators for hunting actions of romanian hunters and (iv) Order no. 203/2001 approving the regulation regarding the modality of establishing taxes applied for hunting actions of foreign hunters in Romania.
Government Decision no. 923 (published in the Official Gazette no. 640/2010) amending and supplementing the methodological rules for the unitary application of Law no. 10/2001 regarding the juridical regime of some real estate assets abusively taken over between 6 March 1945-22 December 1989, approved by Government Decision no. 250/2007.
By this enactment, the methodological rules for the unitary application of Law no. 10/2001 amend and supplemented articles 5, 7, 18, 20, 48 and 50.
By introducing article 7.1¹ and article 7.3, the enactment points out that restitution in kind shall not apply to (i) real estate assets transferred in observance of the provisions of Law no. 112/1995 regulating the juridical status of some real estates having a housing destination taken over by the state, in respect of which the corresponding sale purchase agreements were not invalidated by definitive and irrevocable court decisions, as well as to (ii) lands pertaining to the buildings that were transferred according to the provisions of Law 112/1995.
Additionally, the means by which the reparatory measures are carried out are stipulated there under.
Order no. 95 (published in the Official Gazette no. 650/2010) approving the technical rules for completing the agricultural registry for the period 2010-2014
The enactment approves the technical rules for filing in the agricultural registry in the mentioned period, comprised in the annex part of this order.
Ministry of Agriculture and Development, Ministry of Administration and Interior, Ministry of Public Finance, National Institute for Statistics and the local public administration authorities of communes, cities and towns shall perform the provisions.
Upon the entry into force of this enactment, Order no. 344/742/2007 approving the technical rules for the period 2007-2011 shall be repealed.
Government Emergency Ordinance no. 83 (published in Official Gazette no. 653/2010) regarding the exclusion from the payment of taxes established by article 43 paragraph (3) letter h) of Law no. 138/2004 regarding land improvements0 in view of removing from the agricultural circuit lands necessary for performing objectives of national, county and local interest.
The aforementioned enactment, by derogation from article 42 paragraph (3) letter h), sets forth the category of lands for which the payment of taxes for obtaining the technical approvals as well as permits and approvals for the removal from agricultural circuit the permanent or temporary removal from the agricultural circuit is excluded.
Order no. 1533 (published in the Official Gazette no. 683/2010) for suspending the applicability of articles 15-20 of the Procedure regarding the formation and authorization of forestry unities and their atributions, organisations and functioning, as well as the content of the national registry of forests and forests unities director, approved by Order no. 904/2010 of the Ministry of Forestry and Environment.
By this enactment, the applicability of articles 15-20 of the Procedure regarding the formation and authorization of forestry unities and their attributions, organization and functioning, as well as the content of the national registry of forests and forests unities director, approved by Order no. 904/2010 of the Ministry of Forestry and Environment is suspended for a period of 30 days as of the publication date (i.e. 8 October 2010).
Government Emergency Ordinance no. 102 (published in Official Gazette no. 810/2010) amending and supplementing hunting and protection of cynegetic fund law no. 407/2006.
Through this ordinance the definition of established administrator is modified in the sense that such is deemed as being a Romanian legal person fulfilling the previous conditions set forth by the law and, in addition, has not registered debts with regards to administration fee and accepts the administration fee.
The enactment also stipulates the assignment of the management right over the cynegetic fauna, the payment of the administration fee in situations when the administration contract is terminated during the hunting season, as well as the obligations of hunting organizations that concluded agreements for cynegetic fauna administration under law no. 407/2006.
In addition, annex no. 1 and 2 are modified and annex no. 3 regarding the calculation method of the fee for administration of cynegetic funds directly attributed is added.
European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) Case Law
Pilot ruling dated 12 October 2010 regarding pilot cases Anastasiu and Poenaru, respectively Solon vs. Romania.
By the aformenetioned ruling, ECHR decided that Romania needs to take measurements in a term of 18 months in order to assure the observance of the ownership right and to a trial of reasonable duration in the restitution field.
The court decided to reunite Anastasiu and Poenaru vs Romania and Solon vs Romania cases whereby a violation of the right to a trial of reasonable duration, as well as the ownership right of the claimants. It has been ruled in favor of the applicability of the pilot ruling applies to claims regarding the restitution of real estates nationalized during the communist regime taking into account the large number of such petition that arrise in front of ECHR every year.
It is stated that the Romanian state will adopt effective measures in order to protect the ownership right and the right to a trial of reasonable duration in term of 18 months from the moment the decision will become final, for the same period of 18 months period all causes regarding such claims will be suspended.
The court decided that Romania will pay the claimants amounts of money, the judges underlining in the decision’s body certain punctually issues regarding the restitution system, such as often legislation modifications and lack of a time limit in which the compensation claims are settled, as well as the absence of a limit for the compensations that can be awarded.
ECHR draws attention to the good practices and legislative modifications adopted in other member states, by recommending a revise of the legislation that would lead to the creation of simple, clear rules for the restitution and compensation procedures, ensuring their predictability.
In addition, it is prescribed to establish a limit for the compensations, payment of such compensations in installments over a longer period of time, suggesting the observance of the ownership right by adopting legal and administrative measurements.
