A New Jersey Nonprofit Corporation
P.O. Box 103, Pompton Plains, NJ 07444-1060
Fax: (973) 616-9444 ~ Email: cpp@romhome.org
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A New Jersey Nonprofit Corporation P.O. Box 103, Pompton Plains, NJ 07444-1060 Fax: (973) 616-9444 ~ Email: cpp@romhome.org |
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Appeal to the Romanian Parliament
The following associations: The Association of Property Owners with Confiscated Real Estate, The Union of War Veterans and Their Kindred, The Mociornita Foundation, The Association of Former Political Prisoners in Romania, PROPACT, The Committee for Private Property are expressing their full disapproval of the law proposals regarding the restitution in kind or in equivalent of some real estate holdings confiscated by the State after March 6th, 1945, as well as the protection of tenants, both published by the Romanian mass media, and currently being debated by various parliamentary commissions.
The artificial differentiation in two categories, "with (just) title" and "without (just) title", of the properties forcefully confiscated by the State is irrelevant, because all these properties were taken by force, against the constitutional and Civil Code provisions in existence at that time. Thus, at the time, the Constitution provided for the following:
Art. 8: "The private property and the inheritance rights are respected and
guaranteed by law. The private property acquired through work and private savings enjoys
special protection."
Art.10: "Expropriations for public use purposes are allowed only based on a law, and
with a fair compensation set by the courts of law." At the time, the Civil Code
provided for the following:
Art. 481: "No one can be coerced to give up his/her property except for public use
purposes, and if provided with a fair compensation."
Art. 475: "Everyone can dispose freely of his/her property."
Art. 480: "Property is one’s right to enjoy and dispose of an object exclusively
and absolutely as defined by law."
Art. 644 & 645 provide for a strict definition of property transfer ways (i.e.,
documented free-will consent, sale-and-purchase act, donation, testament, etc.) that do
not lead to an abusively generated "title".
Art. 1346: "If the seller sold malafide the property owned by someone else, then the
seller is obliged to return the buyer all the buyer’s expenses."
Therefore, we consider that all properties were confiscated by the communist regime
"without (just) title", and consequently, all the following categories of
people:
Accordingly, we consider the sale of those confiscated goods and properties completed by the State to be unlawful because the State never possessed a legal title of ownership over these properties.
We want to remind Romanian lawmakers of Corneliu Coposu’s statement (see Note), and published by "Romania Libera" [Free Romania] on June 25th, 1991:
"[…] we consider all communist legislation to be inexistent, and we pledge to replace it with adequate laws in agreement with the wishes and needs of the Romanian people. We request the complete restitution of all spiritual and material rights that were taken away from the Romanian people by the communist regime."
Considering the above arguments, we completely disagree with the two law proposals that were falsely titled "restitution and tenant protection laws", and currently debated [in Parliament]. The tenant protection issue has prevented finding a solution to the restitution of the illegally confiscated properties. The renters living in these confiscated properties need to be provided with adequate living quarters. This problem created by the abusive practices of the State needs to be solved by the State itself. The State should initiate a house-building project in a timely fashion to provide housing for the tenants rather than putting the burden onto the rightful owners.
As defenders of owners’ rights, and therefore as representatives of a large section of Romanian society, we request the adoption of a law annulling all normative acts that were used for the abusive confiscation of private property by the communist state, and we request the full restitution of these properties by administrative means. The recent increase in property taxation proves that the government relies on the private property owners in time of financial need. We request to be consulted regarding the design of this law prior to being submitted for debate in the Romanian Parliament.
The ultimate correction of past abuses and their long-term effects must be accomplished by complete restitution in kind of all existing properties; a fair financial compensation is acceptable only when the property does not exist physically any longer. This legal act must be precise, objective, without room for any biased interpretation against the owner.
As owners’ representatives, we propose the following wording for a law proposal to be submitted to the Romanian Parliament:
"All properties and goods taken over by the State between August 23rd, 1944 and present will be restituted to their lawful owners within ninety days from the publication of this law in Monitorul Oficial [Official Governmental Bulletin]. The value of the financial compensation provided in case of damage or destruction caused to any of those properties will be established in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Code."
The Association of Former Political Prisoners in Romania
Association Francaise pour la Defense du Droit de Propriete au Roumanie
The Association of Property Owners with Confiscated Real Estate
The Truth about Romania Committee
The Committee for Private Property
The Mociornita Foundation
The Civic Alliance Support Group, New York
PROPACT
Romanian-American Council
The Romanian Union
The Union of War Veterans and Their Kindred
Note: The late Corneliu Coposu was a political prisoner during the communist regime in Romania, and following the fall of communism in December 1989, he became the leader of the National Peasant Party-Christian Democrat, one of the major parties in the current governing coalition.
Apel adresat Parlamentului Romaniei
Analizand proiectele de lege privind restituirea in natura sau prin echivalent a unor imobile preluate de stat dupa 6 martie 1945, cat si a celui pentru protectia chiriasilor, ambele publicate in presa si aflate in dezbaterea Comisiilor Parlamentare, Asociatia Proprietarilor cu Imobile Nationalizate, Uniunea Veteranilor de razboi si a Urmasilor Veteranilor, Fundatia Mociornita, Asociatia Fostilor Detinuti Politici din Romania, Propact si Comitetul pentru Proprietate Privata isi manifesta totala dezaprobare fata de aceste proiecte de lege pentru urmatoarele motive:
Impartirea artificiala a bunurilor imobile preluate abuziv de stat in doua categorii "cu titlu" si "fara titlu" este nejustificata, deoarece toate aceste bunuri au fost preluate de stat prin violenta, contrar prevederilor constitutionale si a prevederilor Codului Civil in vigoare la data respectiva. Astfel Constitutia prevedea:
Art. 8 " Proprietatea particulara si dreptul de mostenire sunt respectate si
garantate prin lege; Proprietatea particulara agonisita prin munca si economisire se
bucura de protectie speciala";
Art. 10 "Pot fi facute exproprieri pentru cauza de utilitate publica pe baza unei
legi si cu o dreapta despagubire stabilita prin justitie".
Codul Civil prevede:
Art. 481 " Nimeni nu poate fi silit a ceda proprietatea sa afara numai pentru
cauza de utilitate publica si primind o dreapta si prealabila despagubire";
Art.475 "Oricine poate dispune liber de bunurile ce sunt ale lui"
Art.480 "Proprietatea este dreptul ce are cineva de a se bucura si a dispune de un
lucru in mod exclusiv si absolut insa in limitele acordate de lege"
Art.644 si 645 care prevede strict limitativ modul de transmitere a proprietatii ,
respectiv prin acte de vointa neviciata, de vanzare, donatie, testament, etc, si care nu
include "abuzul", ca generator de titlu.
Art.1346 " Daca vanzatorul a vandut cu rea credinta fondul altuia, el va fi dator sa
intoarca cumparatorului toate spezele ce va fi facut."
Drept urmare consideram ca toate confiscarile au fost facute fara titlu si ca atare persoanele deposedate de bunuri in baza actelor normative mentionate in Anexa 1 a acestui proiect de lege, cat si persoanele care au suferit condamnari politice la inchisoare si confiscarea averii, ca si a persoanelor detinute in lagarele de munca fara a fi condamnate dar carora li s-au confiscat bunurile, si-au pastrat calitatea de proprietari avuta la data preluarii. In consecinta si vanzarile efectuate de stat asupra acestor bunuri preluate, le consideram ilegale deoarece statul nu a detinut niciodata un titlu valabil asupra acestor proprietati.
Dorim sa reamintim legiuitorilor de astazi declaratia lui Corneliu Coposu, aparuta in "Romania Libera" din 25 iunie 1991:
"De asemenea, consideram toata legislatia din timpul dictaturii comuniste ca inexistenta si ne angajam sa o inlocuim cu masuri legitime, in conformitate cu dorinta si necesitatile poporului roman. Cerem o restituire integrala a tuturor drepturilor spirituale si materiale care au fost confiscate de regimul comunist poporului roman".
Avand in vedere cele aratate mai sus suntem in total dezacord cu cele doua proiecte de lege numite fals "restituire si protectia chiriasilor", aflate in dezbatere.
O probelma care impiedica rezolvarea restituirii imobilelor preluate de stat fara nici un drept, este problema asigurarii unor spatii locative corespunzatoare pentru persoanele care astazi locuiesc in acestea, cu exceptia abuzurilor comise, si care nu poate fi rezolvata decit prin interventia statului, care a creat problema, prin demararea unui program de constructie de locuinte care sa fie puse la dispozitia chirasilor intr-un timp rezonabil si nu realizata pe seama proprietarilor de drept.
Solicitam in calitate de reprezentanti ai intereselor proprietarilor, care constituie un important segment al societatii civile, elaborarea unei legi pentru anularea tuturor actelor normative emise de statul comunist prin care s-au preluat abuziv bunuri de orice fel si restituirea pe cale administrativa a acestor bunuri. Prin recentele majorari excesive ale impozitului pe proprietate, guvernul demonstreaza ca in timpuri grele proprietarii sunt cei pe care pot conta sa ajute tara.
La elaborarea acestei legi consideram normal a fi consultati, inaintea supunerii spre dezbatere in Parlamentul Romaniei. Inlaturarea totala a abuzului cat si a efectelor acestuia, trebuie facuta prin restituirea integrala in natura acolo unde bunul exista, dreapta despagubire putand interveni numai in cazul in care bunul nu mai exista fizic. Acest act legislativ trebuie sa fie precis, obiectiv, fara posibilitate de interpretare tendentioasa impotriva proprietarului.
Din partea proprietarilor, propunem spre vot in Parlamentul Romaniei urmatorul proiect de lege:
"Toate bunurile trecute in posesia statului in perioada dintre 23 August 1944 si prezent vor fi retrocedate proprietarilor de drept in termen de 90 de zile de la publicarea prezentei legi in Monitorul Oficial. Reconpensa pentru bunurile distruse si pagubele suferite va fi stabilita in conformitate cu principiile Codului Civil."
Asociatia Fostilor Detinuti Politici din Romania
Association Francaise pour la Defense du Droit de Propriete au Roumanie
Asociatia Proprietarilor cu Imobile Nationalizate
Comitetul Adevarul despre Romania
Comitetul pentru Proprietatea Privata
Fundatia Mociornita
Grupul de Sprijin ALIANTA CIVICA, New York
Propact
Romanian-American Council
Uniunea Romaneasca
Uniunea Veteranilor de Razboi si a Urmasilor Veteranilor