Lexploria

FOURTH SECTION

CASE OF ANA IONESCU AND OTHERS v. ROMANIA

( Applications nos. 19788/03 and 18 others )

JUDGMENT (Revision [1] )

Art 41 • Just satisfaction • Revision • Awards made to deceased applicant to be paid to his heir

STRASBOURG

3 March 2020

FINAL

03/07/2020

This judgment has become final under Article 44 § 2 of the Convention. It may be subject to editorial revision.

In the case of Ana Ionescu and Others v. Romania ,

The European Court of Human Rights ( Fourth Section ), sitting as a Chamber composed of:

Ganna Yudkivska , President, Paulo Pinto de Albuquerque, Krzysztof Wojtyczek , Carlo Ranzoni, Georges Ravarani , Marko Bošnjak , Péter Paczolay , judges, and Andrea Tamietti , Section Registrar ,

Having deliberated in private on 11 February 20 20 ,

Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date:

PROCEDURE

1 . The case originated in nineteen applications against Romania lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”), mostly by Romanian nationals on the various dates indicated in the appended table.

2 . In a judgment delivered on 26 February 2019, the Court held that there had been a violation of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention on account of the applicants ’ inability to recover possession of their properties despite final court decisions retroactively acknowledging their property rights. The Court also decided to award the applicants in application no. 36384/03 ( Albu and Others v. Romania – see point 4 of the appended table) , 43,200 euros (EUR) in resp ect of pecuniary damage and EUR 5,000 in respect of non-pecuniary damage and for costs and expenses, and dismissed the remainder of their claims for just satisfaction.

3 . On 30 September 2019 the Government informed the Court that on 21 August 2019 they had learned that Mr Petru Nicolae Albu had died on 1 November 2018. They accordingly requested revision of the judgment in accordance with Rule 80 of the Rules of Court.

4 . On 22 October 2019 the Court considered the request for revision and decided to give the applicants three weeks in which to submit any observations. Observations were received from Mr Albu ’ s heir, Ms Emma Albu , on 21 November 2019.

THE LAW

5 . The Government requested revision of the judgment of 26 February 2019, which they had been unable to execute because Mr Petru Nicolae Albu had died before the judgment had been adopted.

6 . On 21 November 2019 Mrs Emma Albu submitted a certificate attesting to her status as the deceased applicant ’ s heir and a statement in which she expressed her wish to continue the proceedings in his stead. She asked to be granted the just satisfaction awarded by the Court in respect of her late husband, Mr Petru Nicolae Albu .

7 . The Court notes from the doc uments submitted to it that Mrs Emma Albu was the wife o f the deceased applicant, Petru Nicolae Albu , and that she is his only heir.

8 . In the light of the foregoing, th e Court considers that Mrs Emma Albu has standing to pursue the application in her deceased husband ’ s stead. It observes that she has expressed her intention to do so and requested that the judgment be revised.

9 . The Court considers that the judgment of 26 February 2019, as rectified on 13 June 2019, should be revised (see, for example, WypukoÅ‚ ‑ PiÄ™tka v. Poland (revision), no. 3441/02, 8 June 2010, Dzhabrailovy v. Russia (revision), no. 68860/10 and 4 others, 4 February 2016, and Cangöz and Others v. Turkey (revision) , no. 7469/06 , 19 September 2017), pursuant to Rule 80 of the Rules of Court, the relevant parts of which provide:

“A party may, in the event of the discovery of a fact which might by its nature have a decisive influence and which, when a judgment was delivered, was unknown to the Court and could not reasonably have been known to that party, request the Court ... to revise that judgment.

...”

10 . The Court accordingly decides to award jointly the heir (Mrs Emma Albu ) and the remaining applicants (Mrs Daniela Ş andru , Mr Traian Petru Mih ă il ă and Mrs Ileana Viorica Oancea – see point 4 of the appended table) the amount it previously awarded to the applicants in application no. 36384/03, namely EUR 43,200 in respect of pecuniary damage and EUR 5,000 in respect of non-pecuniary damage and for costs and expenses (see paragraph 2 above).

11 . The Court considers it appropriate that the default interest rate should be based on the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank, to which should be added three percentage points.

FOR THESE REASONS, THE COURT, UNANIMOUSLY,

and accordingly,

(a) that the respondent State is to pay jointly Mrs Emma Albu and the remaining applicants in application no. 36384/03 (Mrs Daniela Ş andru , Mr Traian Petru Mih ă il ă and Mrs Ileana Viorica Oancea ) , within three months from the date on which the judgment becomes f inal in accordance with Article 44 § 2 of the Convention, the amounts indicated in the appended table under point 4 in respect of pecuniary damage, non-pecuniary damage and costs and expenses, to be converted into the currency of the respondent State at the rate applicable at the date of settlement, plus any tax that may be chargeable;

(b) that from the expiry of the above-mentioned three months until settlement, simple interest shall be payable on the above amounts at a rate equal to the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank during the default period, plus three percentage points.

Done in English, and notified in writing on 3 March 2020 , pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.

Andrea Tamietti Ganna Yudkivska Registrar President

Appendix

List of 19 applications

No.

Application no. and date of introduction

Applicant ’ s name

nationality

date of birth

place of residence

Represented by

Identification of property

Domestic decision acknowledging the applicants ’ title to property

Domestic decision confirming the validity of the third parties ’ title to property

Amounts awarded

A) pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage

B) costs and expenses

in euros (EUR)

19788/03

23/05/2003

Ana IONESCU

Romanian

b: 27/10/1917

d: 28/11/2012

pursued by heir

Adrian IANCU

German and Italian

14/02/1954

Rome

Cesare Massimo BIANCA

Apartment no. 9 and the non-returned portion of the land of 1,183 sq m located at 16, Unirii Street, Arad

Final judgment of 10 September 2001 of the Timișoara Court of Appeal

Final judgment of 10 September 2001 of the Timi È™ oara Court of Appeal

Final judgment of 21 November 2002 of the Timi È™ oara Court of Appeal (apartment no. 9)

207,500

(202,500+5,000)

2,700

29240/03

28/08/2003

Rodica TÄ‚NASE

Romanian

20/03/1947

Deva

112.20 sq m of the ground floor of a building located at 6, Iuliu Maniu Street ( Libertății Street), Deva

Final judgment of 18 March 2003 of the Timișoara Court of Appeal

61,900

(56,900 + 5,000)

_

29286/03

08/08/2003

Sandu BART

Romanian

26/04/1930

Iași

proceeding in his own name and in his capacity as heir of applicant Ana Bart

Ana BART

Romanian

b: 06/10/1906

d: 18/10/2004

House and land of 1,050 sq m located at 39, Calea Națională , Ripiceni

Final judgment of 9 July 2002 of the Suceava Court of Appeal

13, 570

(8,570+5,000)

_

36384/03

06/08/2003

Petru Nicolae ALBU

Romanian

b:15/10/1939

d: 0 1/11/2018

Pursued by heir

Emma ALBU

9/01/1955

Sibiu

Mariana Silvia ALBU Romanian

b : 15/10/1939

d: 03/02/2006

pursued by heir

Daniela ȘANDRU

US national

19/07/1960

Miami

Traian Petru MIHÄ‚ILÄ‚

Romanian

02/10/1940

Deva

proceeding in his own name and in his capacity as heir of the deceased applicant Sanda Zoe Mihăilă

Ileana Viorica OANCEA

Romanian

20/03/1934

Bucharest

proceeding in her own name and in her capacity as heir of the deceased applicant Sanda Zoe Mihăilă

Sanda Zoe MIHÄ‚ILÄ‚

Romanian

b : 12/04/1937

d : 08/01/2004

Apartment no. 3 located at 3, Oituz Street, Sibiu

Final judgment of 3 February 1999 of the Alba Iulia Court of Appeal

Final judgment of 11 October 2002 of the Alba Iulia Court of Appeal

48,200

(43,200 + 5,000)

_

37487/03

03/10/2003

Nicolae VENIAMIN

French, Romanian

08/04/1946

Boulogne

Lascăr VENIAMIN

French, Romanian

08/04/1946

Paris

Adrian VASILIU

Buildings and land of 2,337.4 sq m located at 10, Oituz Street (formerly 6, Oituz Street), Bac ă u

Final judgment of 10 April 2003 the Supreme Court of Justice

574,521

(569,521+5,000)

_

1195/04

26/11/2003

Marta BERLING

Romanian

19/07/1935

Cluj

Mikolt Krisztina KAPCZA

Apartment no. 12-13 (774/2/S/XII, 774/2/S/XIII) located at 34, Republicii Street, Turda

Final judgment of 11 March 1998 of the Turda Court

Final judgment of 3 June 2003 of the Bra È™ ov Court of Appeal

77,000

(72,000 + 5,000)

3,300

2676/04

24/11/2003

Ștefan NUŢĂ

Romanian

28/05/1946

Palaja

Nicoleta Tatiana POPESCU

Apartment no. 37, 63 sq m, bl. D/3, located at 18, Târgu Neamț Street, Bucharest, Sector 6

Final judgment of 16 September 1994 of the Court of Bucharest – Sector 6

Final judgment of 2 June 2003 of the Bucharest Court of Appeal

74,300

(69,300 + 5,000)

299.43

7174/04

02/12/2003

Silvia ALEVRA

French

18/09/1940

Paris

Eugenia ALEVRA

Romanian

26/09/1959

Bucharest

Ioana ALEVRA

Romanian

01/03/1982

Bucharest

Constantin ALEVRA

French

b:18/01/1926

d: 28/12/2004

pursued by heir

George Aurel ALEVRA

Romanian

25/01/1957

Torrance

House 232 sq m and land of 1,400 sq m located at 208, Nicolae Bălcescu Street (202, Nicolae Bălcescu Street / 178, Calea Domneasc ă ), Târgoviște

Final judgment of 14 November 2001 of the Supreme Court of Justice

Final judgment of 10 June 2003 of the Ploiești Court of Appeal

257,000

(252,000 + 5,000)

1,800

8647/04

13/01/2004

Irinel Maria BÄ‚JENARU

Romanian

04/03/1976

Oradea

Gabriela RUSU

Romanian

14/11/1948

Oradea

Ioana POENARU

Romanian

04/03/1976

Bucharest

Gabriela RUSU

Building and land of 1,726 sq m located at 10, Vânatori Street, Borsec ;

2 annexes to a building and land of 737 sq m, located at 210, Calea Domnească , Gala ț i

Final judgment of 15 October 2003 the Galați Court of Appeal

Decision of 15 July 2005 of the Mayor of Galați

Final judgment of 15 October 2003 the Gala È› i Court of Appeal

111,970

(106,970 +5,000)

2,275

20106/04

29/03/2004

Maria-Magdalena SURU

Romanian

30/09/1931

Bucharest

Georgeta ANDREI TSAKIRI

House with appurtenant land located at 15, Iacob Negruzzi Street, Bucharest, Sector 1

Final judgment of 1 October 2003 of the Bucharest Court of Appeal

_

21121/04

17/03/2004

Roxana Issabela Lya GHIAȚĂ

Romanian

09/01/1936

Madrid

Mirela CHELARU

Apartment with appurtenant land, 2 nd floor, 141 sq m, located at 22, Atena Street (formerly Aleea Zoe), Bucharest, Sector 1

Final judgment of 6 May 1999 of the Bucharest Tribunal

Final judgment of 21 October 2003 of the Bucharest Court of Appeal

126,500

(121,500+5,000)

_

33435/04

13/12/2003

Mihai Sorin RÄ‚DULESCU

Romanian

04/01/1946

Bucharest

Radu Florin RÄ‚DULESCU

Rom anian

10/09/1947

Bucharest

Mihai Sorin RÄ‚DULESCU

Immovable property located at 61, Dr. Lister Street, Bucharest (apartments nos. 1 and 3, with appurtenant garage and land of 226.55 sq m)

Final judgment of 13 March 2001 of the Bucharest Court of Appeal

Final judgment of 16 December 2003 of the Supreme Court of Justice

653,773

(648,773+5,000)

_

13354/05

23/03/2005

Eva Margaresta CURTICEAN

Romanian

b:11/04/1936

d:30/11/2006

pursued by heir

S o nia CURTICEAN

Romanian

27/03/1958

Arad

Apartment no. 4 (134 sq m) and apartment no. 5 (84 sq m), located at 5A, Filimon Sârbu Street (6, Catedralei Street), Arad

Final judgment of 8 October 1998 of the Arad Court

Final judgment of 1 October 2004 of the Timișoara Court of Appeal (apartment no. 5 – formerly no. 6)

Final judgment of 25 January 2005 of the Timișoara Court of Appeal (apartment no. 4)

161,749

(156,749 + 5,000)

_

15652/05

21/04/2005

Doina Eugenia VARNA

Romanian

22/06/1927

Cluj-Napoca

Diana Alexandra ANDRA Ș ONI

Apartment no. 13b located at 4, Horea Street, Cluj - Napoca

Final judgment of 29 October 2004 of the Cluj Court of Appeal

39,000

(34,000 + 5,000)

2,175

6947/07

20/12/2006

Jenica GURAN

Romanian

b: 01/02/1926

d: 10/09/2010

pursued by heirs:

1) Dumitru Dan GURAN

Romanian

04/10/1956

Bucharest

2) Cristian Mihail GURAN

Romanian

08/11/1951

Bucharest

Aurelia IONESCU

Romanian

23/07/1933

Bucharest

Dumitru Dan GURAN

Apartments nos. 4 and 5 located at 224, Șerban Vodă Street, Bucharest, Sector 4

Final judgment of 5 July 2006 of the Bucharest Court of Appeal

90,000

(85,000 + 5,000)

_

12838/07

21/02/2007

Michael EHRMANN

German

15/11/1963

T öging am Inn

Iohann ERHMANN

German

22/01/1962

Töging am Inn

Cezariana Ileana BOGOS

House and land of 824 sq m located at 126, Victoriei Street, Valea Lung ă (CF 777/b Valea Lungă , nr . topo . 272, 273)

Judgment of 3 October 2006 of the Alba Iulia Court of Appeal acknowledging right to compensation

Final judgment of October 2006 of the Alba Iulia Court of Appeal

_

35547/07

14/08/2007

Nicolae SIMIZEANU

Romanian

b : 11/07/1940

d : 26/04/2008

pursued by heirs

1) Simona Maria CIOBANU

Romanian

25/04/1968

Techirghiol

2) Nina Vivance Gabriela SIMIZEANU

Romanian

b: 17/08/1946

d: 02/06/2016

3) Radu Marius SIMIZEANU

Romanian

28/10/1969

Techirghiol

Apartment and annex located at 83, Ion Lahovari Street, Constanța

Final judgment of 26 February 2007 of the High Court of Cassation and Justice

83,000

(78,000 + 5,000)

2,150

45689/07

17/07/2007

Șerban Vlad BĂRCĂNESCU

Romanian

06/07/1949

Bucharest

Apartment no. 2 located at 83, Tunari Street, Bucharest, Sector 2

Final judgment of 13 May 1998 of the Court of Bucharest - Sector 2

Final judgment of 5 March 2007 of the Bucharest Court of Appeal

50,000

(45,000 + 5,000)

1,950

50994/08

20/10/2008

Marin MOISE

Romanian

22/11/1951

Bucharest

Apartment no. 15 located at 5, Lutheran ă Street, Bucharest, Sector 1

Final judgment of 26 May 2008 of the Bucharest Court of Appeal

85,000

(80,000 + 5,000)

_

[1] . Revision of the judgment of 26 February 2019