RELEVANCE OF THE CASE
Persons whose properties were abusively taken by the state during the period 1945–1989 have the right to compensatory measures in cases where restitution of properties in kind is no longer possible. Once their applications are validated at the local authority level, issuing the compensation decision that confirms the right and grants reparations falls under the National Commission for Property Restitution (CNCI), according to Law no. 350/2001.
An appeal may be filed within 30 days from notification against decisions invalidating the right or determining the amount of compensation, at the civil section of the tribunal in whose jurisdiction the property is located. Practice shows that the authority often sets compensation amounts as low as possible, based on incorrect application of property evaluation criteria.
Therefore, it is particularly important for beneficiaries of these rights to have legal representation by attorneys specialized in restitution litigation, to maximize the compensation that may be awarded.
SUMMARY OF FACTS AND CASE PRESENTATION
In fact, the claimants are beneficiaries of compensation rights related to a plot of 1,295 sqm located in Cluj-Napoca, Someșeni neighborhood, near Avram Iancu International Airport. For this plot, in 2021 the CNCI issued a compensation decision, based on an evaluation that assumed the land was outside the built-zone (intravilan) of Cluj-Napoca, significantly distant from real-estate interest areas and likewise distant from utility connections. Because of these evaluation assumptions, the compensation decision granted a much smaller amount than what the claimants were entitled to.
The compensation mechanism in question is based on a point-system, where each point equals one leu, and uses the notarial grid valid in the year prior to the issuance of the compensation decision, under Article 21 paragraph (6) of Law no. 165/2013. Within this mechanism, the technical characteristics of the property and its usage category at the time of its abusive taking are also considered.
Essentially, the disputed issue in this case concerns the classification of the claimants’ land. As mentioned earlier, the CNCI considered that the land was not in a zone of real-estate interest, and was not close to utilities; hence the compensation was calculated using a rate of 50 lei/sqm, a figure appropriate for land without nearby utilities, according to the notarial grid valid for Cluj-Napoca.
The criteria considered at the time of the evaluation included distance from real-estate interest zones and from access to utilities, compared to the situation at the time of the abusive takeover.
Before the first instance court, in order to challenge the authority’s conclusion, the attorneys from BRISC LEGAL, experienced in litigations under Laws no. 10/2001 and 165/2013, demonstrated that the land in question was, and remains, located in a built-zone area, and thus the compensation points awarded should have been much higher.
In this regard, the attorneys showed that even at the time of abusive taking, the land’s characteristics were those of built-zone lands rather than agricultural ones. They argued that already at the moment of the expropriation decision it was mentioned that the land was in the buildable perimeter of Cluj-Napoca, in an industrial zone, with utilities in its immediate proximity.
Also, through evidentiary documents such as land registry records, it was demonstrated that the parcel in question corresponded to a housing lot over 1,296 sqm, so it was non-agricultural in use already at the time of abusive acquisition.
The final argument invoked concerns the land’s location opposite Avram Iancu International Airport, more precisely facing it—a zone with utility access and evidently one of interest even at the moment of acquisition.
Based on all these arguments, the court was asked to annul the initial compensation decision and to order CNCI to issue a new decision, in which the compensation amount be calculated by recognizing the land’s location as in a zone with utility access, using correct application of the evaluation criteria established by law.
OBTAINING THROUGH JUDICIAL MEANS A COMPENSATION OVER EIGHT TIMES GREATER
The judgment handed down in this case was favorable, the court admitting the request as formulated. Thus, although under the compensation decision the authority set compensation in the amount of 64,600 points, through challenging this and submitting relevant evidence, the attorneys from BRISC LEGAL specialized in obtaining compensations under Law no. 165/2013 secured for their clients a significant increase in compensation to 525,000 points.
Regarding the judicial decisions, the year 2020 was established as the reference year for granting compensation, being the year prior to the compensation decision. This solution was justified based on Article 21 paragraph (6) of Law no. 165/2013, correlated with the interpretation provided by the High Court regarding the practical application of this article, through decision no. 52/2017.
As a conclusion, both Cluj Tribunal and Cluj Court of Appeal considered valid the arguments we presented regarding the classification of the land as located in a zone with utility access, with reference to its characteristics at the time of taking, and thus obtained for beneficiaries judicially a compensation more than 8 times greater than the amount initially granted by the authority.