CEDH · CASELAW;JUDGMENTS;COMMITTEE;ENG — 7 avril 2026

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In the case of Societatea Muzeului Ardelean and Others v. Romania, The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting as a Committee composed of:   Faris Vehabović , President ,   Lorraine Schembri Orland,   Sebastian Răduleţu , judges , and Valentin Nicolescu, Acting Deputy Section Registrar, Having regard to: the applications against Romania lodged with the Court under Article   34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) by the applicants listed in the appended table, (“the applicants”), on the various dates indicated therein; the decision to give notice of the applications to the Romanian Government (“the Government”), represented by their Agent, Ms   O.F.   Ezer of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the parties’ observations; Having deliberated in private on 17 March 2026, Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date: SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE 1.     The cases concern the applicants’ inability to recover possession of properties which had been unlawfully nationalised under the former communist regime and subsequently sold by the State to third parties. 2.     The factual and legal circumstances of the current applications are similar to those pertaining to the applicants in the cases of Străin and Others v.   Romania (no. 57001/00, §§ 5-18, ECHR 2005-VII), and Ana Ionescu and Others v. Romania (no. 19788/03, §§ 6-7, 26 February 2019) and to the applicants Ms and Mr Rodan in the case of Preda and Others v.   Romania (nos.   9584/02 and 7 others, §§ 35-41, 29 April 2014). THE COURT’S ASSESSMENT         JOINDER OF THE APPLICATIONS 3.     Having regard to the similar subject matter of the applications, the Court finds it appropriate to examine them jointly in a single judgment.          LOCUS STANDI 4.     The heirs of some of the applicants informed the Court of those applicants’ deaths and, as their close relatives, expressed the intention to pursue the applications in their stead. 5 .     In respect of application no. 41260/19, the Government requested that the application be struck out for lack of legal standing on the part of the heir, who was the widow of the applicant’s late brother; they argued that she was not a sufficiently close family member to justify her legal standing in the case. 6.     The Court notes that Ms Alexandrescu has submitted official documents attesting her status as universal heir of Ms Honet. Having regard to the close family ties and the heirs’ legitimate interest in pursuing the applications, as well as to its relevant case-law on the matter (see Văleanu and Others v. Romania, nos. 59012/17 and 27 others, § 184, 8   November 2022; also see, mutatis mutandis, Malhous v. the Czech Republic (dec.) [GC], no.   33071/96, ECHR 2000‑XII), the Court considers ‑ including in respect of the application no. 41260/19 ‑ that the deceased applicants’ heirs may pursue the applications in their stead. 7.     It will therefore dismiss the Government’s request to strike out the application no. 41260/19 and continue to deal with all these applications at the heirs’ request (see the appended table for details).     ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 1 OF PROTOCOL NO. 1 TO THE CONVENTION 8.     The applicants complained that their inability to recover possession of properties that had been unlawfully nationalised or to secure compensation for them, despite court decisions acknowledging their property rights, amounted to a breach of their right to the peaceful enjoyment of their possessions under Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention, which reads as follows: “Every natural or legal person is entitled to the peaceful enjoyment of his possessions. No one shall be deprived of his possessions except in the public interest and subject to the conditions provided for by law and by the general principles of international law. The preceding provisions shall not, however, in any way impair the right of a State to enforce such laws as it deems necessary to control the use of property in accordance with the general interest or to secure the payment of taxes or other contributions or penalties.”    Admissibility      Failure to exhaust available remedies in application no. 38930/19 9.     The Government submitted that the applicants in application no.   38930/19 had failed to exhaust the available domestic remedies, as they had not instituted administrative proceedings under the provisions of Law   no.   10/2001 and Law no.   165/2013. 10.     The Court reiterates that it has already considered and repeatedly rejected the Government’s submissions as to the alleged effectiveness of various court proceedings and the restitution laws, including Law no.   10/2001 and Law no.   165/2013, in cases where there are concurrent valid title deeds (see Ana Ionescu and Others , cited above, § 23). 11.     It considers that in the instant case the Government have not put forward any new fact or argument capable of persuading it to reach a different conclusion as to the admissibility of the applicants’ complaints. The Government’s objections in this regard must therefore be rejected.      Conclusions as to admissibility 12.     The Court concludes that the applicants’ complaints relating to their property rights are not manifestly ill ‑ founded within the meaning of Article   35 § 3 (a) of the Convention, nor are they inadmissible on any other grounds. They must therefore be declared admissible.    Merits 13 .     The Court notes that, like the applicants in Străin and Others (cited above), and Ms and Mr Rodan in the case of Preda and Others , the applicants in the present case had obtained final decisions. Those decisions acknowledged with retroactive effect the unlawfulness of the seizure of their property by the State and their legitimate ownership over those properties and have not been challenged or quashed to date. Similarly, in so far it concerns application no. 30295/19, such acknowledgement was effected, including by means of the Emergency Ordinance no. 13/1998 of 7   July 1998, the applicant’s property being listed as no. 12 among the seventeen properties mentioned in the annex (see, mutatis   mutandis , Catholic Archdiocese of Alba Iulia v. Romania , no. 33003/03, §§ 13 and 83 ‑ 84, 25   September 2012). 14.     The Court reiterates that in Preda and Others (cited above) it found t hat the applicants’ inability to recover possession of their properties, despite final court decisions retroactively acknowledging their property rights, constituted a deprivation of their possessions within the meaning of the second sentence of the first paragraph of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1. 15.     In the present case, the applicants have not been able, to date, either to recover possession of the properties mentioned in the appended table or to obtain compensation for this deprivation. Such a deprivation, combined with a total lack of compensation, imposed on the applicants a disproportionate and excessive burden, in breach of their right to the peaceful enjoyment of possessions as guaranteed by Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 (see Preda and Others , cited above, §§ 146, and 148-49). The Court reiterated those findings in the similar cases of Dickmann and Gion v. Romania (nos. 10346/03 and 10893/04, §§ 103-04, 24 October 2017) and Ana Ionescu and Others (cited above, §§ 23 and 28 ‑ 30), and, more recently, in Văleanu and Others (cited above, § 262). 16 .     The Court further finds that the Government have not put forward any fact or argument capable of persuading it to reach a different conclusion in the present case. 17.     The foregoing considerations are sufficient to enable the Court to conclude that there has been a breach of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention.    Remaining complaints 18 .     The applicants in applications nos. 41260/19 and 50246/20, and the applicant in application no. 49861/20, complained of a breach of their right of access to a court (Article 6 of the Convention) and a breach of the right to an effective remedy (Article 13 of the Convention) respectively, on account of their inability to recover their property or, alternatively, to receive compensation. 19 .     The Court has carefully examined all these complaints. In the light of all the material in its possession and in so far as the matters complained of are within its competence, the Court finds that these complaints either do not meet the admissibility criteria set out in Articles 34 and 35 of the Convention or do not disclose any appearance of a violation of the rights and freedoms set out in the Convention or the Protocols thereto. It follows that this part of the applications must be rejected in accordance with Article 35 § 4 of the Convention. APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 41 OF THE CONVENTION         Pecuniary damage 20.     As the Court has held on a number of occasions, a judgment in which the Court finds a breach imposes on the respondent State a legal obligation to put an end to the breach and make reparation for its consequences in such a way as to restore as far as possible the situation existing before the breach (see Iatridis v. Greece (just satisfaction) [GC], no. 31107/96, §   32, ECHR   2000-XI, and Guiso -Gallisay v. Italy (just satisfaction) [GC], no.   58858/00, § 90, 22 December 2009). 21.     In the circumstances of the present case, the Court considers that the return of the properties at issue would put the applicants as far as possible in a situation equivalent to the one in which they would have been if there had not been a breach of Article 1 of Protocol No.   1. 22.     Failing such restitution, the Court holds that the respondent State is to pay the applicants, in respect of pecuniary damage, an amount calculated according to the methodology established in Văleanu and Others v.   Romania ((just satisfaction), nos. 59012/17 and 27 others, §§ 114-18, 7   January 2025). Having regard to the information at its disposal, in particular the relevant notarial grids, the documents submitted by the parties and its established case ‑ law (ibid.,   §   116), and taking into consideration the ne   ultra   petita principle, the Court considers it reasonable and equitable, as required by Article   41, to award the applicants the amounts indicated in the appended table in respect of pecuniary damage. 23.     The Court must reiterate, however, that the applicants cannot derive any right to double compensation or unjust enrichment from the Court’s judgment. In so far as domestic administrative and/or judicial proceedings relating to the applicants’ claims to their property were still pending before the relevant authorities at the date of the latest information available to the Court, and in order to prevent any unjust enrichment from the present judgment, the Court therefore considers that all amounts relating to the compensation due to the applicants which are relevant to the present case and which would already have been enforced in their favour by the date of the present judgment should be deducted, as the case may be, from the amounts listed in the appended table. 24.     As regards the amount of money claimed in respect of loss of profit or benefit from the applicants’ possessions (application no. 50246/20), the Court rejects these claims. To award a sum of money on this basis would be a speculative process, given that profit derived from possession of property depends on several factors (see Văleanu and Others (just satisfaction), cited above, § 119).       Non-pecuniary damage 25.     With regard to the applicants who have claimed compensation in respect of non-pecuniary damage, the Court considers that the serious interference with the applicants’ right to the peaceful enjoyment of their possessions cannot be adequately compensated for by the simple finding of a violation of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1. Making an assessment on an equitable basis, as required by Article   41 of the Convention, the Court awards the applicants the amounts indicated in the appended table.     Costs and expenses 26.     Some applicants have either not submitted any claims for costs and expenses or have failed to substantiate them. Accordingly, the Court finds no reason to award them any sum on that account (see appended table). 27.     As concerns the claims submitted by the remaining applicants, regard being had to the documents in its possession and to its case-law, the Court considers it reasonable to award the sums indicated in the appended table, covering costs under all heads.    Default interest 28.     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,      Decides to join the applications;      Holds that the heirs of the applicants who have expressed the wish to pursue the proceedings in place of the late applicants have standing to do so (see appended table);      Rejects the Government’s request to strike the application no.   41260/19 out of its list of cases;      Declares the complaints concerning Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention admissible and the remainder of the applications inadmissible;      Holds that there has been a violation of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention;      Holds   that the respondent State is to return the applicants’ properties to them within three months;   that, failing such restitution, the respondent State is to pay the applicants, within the same three months, the amounts indicated in the appended table, plus any tax that may be chargeable, in respect of pecuniary damage;   that, in any event, the respondent State is to pay the applicants, within the same three months, the amounts indicated in the appended table, plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants, in respect of non ‑ pecuniary damage and costs and expenses;   that the above-mentioned amounts shall be converted into the national currency of the respondent State at the rate applicable at the date of settlement;   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;      Dismisses the remainder of the applicants’ claims for just satisfaction. Done in English, and notified in writing on 7 April 2026, pursuant to Rule   77   §§   2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.     Valentin Nicolescu   Faris Vehabović   Acting Deputy Registrar   President     APPENDIX No. Application no. Date lodged Applicant’s name Year of birth/Registration date Place of residence Nationality Representative’s name Location Identification of property Acknowledgment of the applicants’ title to property Domestic decision confirming the validity of the third parties’ title to property Amounts awarded for A. Pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage   B. Costs and expenses per application   In euros (EUR) 1. 30295/19 21/05/2019 SOCIETATEA MUZEULUI ARDELEAN 1990 Cluj-Napoca Romanian   Claudia ANNACKER Paris Immovable property located in Cluj-Napoca, Piața Unirii no.   11 (CF nr.   1004, nr. topo 380), apartments nos. 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 10 and 12 Government Emergency Ordinance no. 13/1998 on the restitution of immovable property previously owned by the communities of citizens belonging to national minorities in Romania and its annex (listed as no. 12)   Final judgment of 22   November 2018, Cluj Court of Appeal and final judgment of 2 March 2017, Cluj County Court   Final judgment of 22   November 2018, Cluj Court of Appeal A. 1,044,000 for pecuniary damage alone   B. - 2. 38930/19 12/07/2019 Irina MANIU 1971 Bucharest Romanian In her own name and in her capacity as heir of: Ligia MANIU Bucharest Romanian b: 1939 d: 2023 Mihail COMĂNESCU Bucharest Immovable property located in Bucharest, District no.   2, Dumbrava Roșie Str. no. 2, apartment no.   3 Final judgment of 2   May 1995, Bucharest Second District Court Final judgment of 1   March 2019, Bucharest Court of Appeal A. 73,556 (63,556 + 10,000)   B. 6,390 3. 41260/19 25/07/2019 Sanda Anne-Marie HONET b. 1938 d. 2022 Germering German, Romanian Application pursued by heir: Ruxandra-Ioana Alexandrescu (Pantazoglu) 1981 Bucharest Romanian Manuela De RAVEL d’ESCLAPON Strasbourg Immovable property located in Bucharest, District no. 4, Calea Șerban Vodă no.   76 ‑ 78, apartment no. 3 Final judgment of 7   February 2006, High Court of Cassation and Justice Final judgment of 1   February   2019, Bucharest Court of Appeal A. 96,195 (86,195 + 10,000)   B. 4,200 4. 26244/20 18/06/2018 Mihail-Dimitrie GHIMPA 1955 Bucharest Romanian In his own name and in his capacity as heir of: Alisa GHIMPA b. 1925 d. 2021 Bucharest Romanian Maria Loredana HAIDUC Bucharest Immovable property located in Bucharest, District no.   2, Alexandru Donici Str. no.   35, Ground floor apartment no. 2 Final judgment of 4   May 2005, Bucharest Court of Appeal Final judgment of 12   December   2007, Bucharest Court of Appeal A. 71,085 (65,085 + 6,000), jointly   B. 1,115, jointly 5. 41920/20 08/09/2005 Ioana ACHIMESCU Bucharest Romanian b. 1930 d. 2012 Application pursued by heir: Moise Mariana 1953 Bucharest Romanian Daniela ANGHELUȘ 1967 Bucharest Romanian   Apartment no. 7, Radu Cristian Str. no. 4, District   2, Bucharest, and the appurtenant land Final judgment of 9 March 2005, Bucharest Court of Appeal Final judgment of 9 March 2005, Bucharest Court of Appeal A. 41,700 (31,700 + 10,000), jointly   B. - 6. 49861/20 30/10/2020 Toma Leonida DRAGOMIR 1945 Timișoara Romanian Erszebet AMBRUS-GORGYIK Cluj-Napoca Immovable property located in Cluj-Napoca, Moților Str. no.   12 (CF nr.   17414, nr. topo 10955), apartment no.   3 Final judgment of 19   October 2005, Cluj Court of Appeal Final judgment of 19   October 2005, Cluj Court of Appeal   Final judgment of 10   June 2020, Cluj Court of Appeal A. 129,140 (119,140 + 10,000)   B. 12,491 7. 50246/20 29/10/2020 Georgeta-Alice TÎRPĂ 1928 Bucharest Romanian Raluca-Vasilica ARFIRE b. 1962 d. 2024 Bucharest Romanian Application pursued by heirs: ARFIRE Laurențiu-Emilian 1955 Bucharest, Romanian and ARFIRE Astrid-Ioana 2002 Bucharest Romanian Thomas DINISCHIOTU b. 1940 d. 2022 Le Port Marly French, Romanian Application pursued by heirs: ARFIRE Laurențiu-Emilian 1955 Bucharest Romanian and ARFIRE Astrid-Ioana 2002 Bucharest Romanian Johanna POPESCU 1942 Dusseldorf German, Romanian Mihaela-Claudia TÂRPA 1959 Bucharest Romanian Cristian Cătălin ION Bucharest Immovable property located in Bucharest, District no.   4, Principatele Unite Str. no.   64, corp B, et. 1, apartment no. 1 Final judgment of 3   March 1998, Bucharest Fourth District Court Final judgment of 12   March 2020, High Court of Cassation and Justice A. 41,760 for pecuniary damage alone, jointly   B. 8,798.74, jointly