April 8, 2003

Following the long-awaited enactment of a law and its implementing provisions on restitution of properties confiscated from religious denominations under communism in the period 1945-1989, the Hungarian Human Rights Foundation examined the implementation of these documents in the ensuing six months. Having monitored this issue closely for the past 13 years, and consulting regularly with the affected four historic Hungarian Churches themselves, on January 15, 2003 we issued out first analysis of the law and its implementing provisions. We arrived at a minimum of twelve measures which need to be taken by the Romanian government for the restitution process to begin.

Below we review the status of these requirements in light of the deadline for submission of claims which passed on March 2.

Requirement 1: As requested by the historic Hungarian churches from Prime Minister Adrian Nastase in May 2002, guarantee in legislation the immediate and unqualified return of ten percent of the total properties confiscated, to counterbalance the inevitable delays which will occur in implementing full restitution.

Status: Not done. Delays, as predicted have already occurred and will necessarily continue unless dramatic legal and procedural changes are immediately implemented. Since the latter is highly unlikely, a return of the symbolic ten percent is more timely than ever.

Requirement 2: Amend the law to reduce the maximum five-year non-occupancy period to one year in the case of buildings currently occupied by public institutions.

Status: Not done, still necessary.

Requirement 3: The Romanian government must give assurances or make provisions to ensure that Special Committee decisions in favor of the claimants are binding decisions which cannot be challenged or overruled by current occupants and/or owners, including the state.

Status: Not done, still necessary.

Requirement 4: The deadline for submitting claims should be extended beyond March 2, 2003 upon consultation with the affected Churches.

Status: Not done. Despite reports in January from the Churches on difficulties in obtaining the documentation set forth in the Implementing Provisions to justify their claims (land registration offices issuing only photocopies of deeds, unacceptable according to the Law; and the “disappearance” of crucial documents in other cases), the historic Hungarian churches were able to keep the extremely tight March 2 deadline even though they had requested an extension. See newer, related requirement, Number 5.

Requirement 5: Eliminate the requirement to obtain “updated” title deeds and “legal status certificates” for claims submitted by the Churches by the March 2, 2003 deadline.

Status: Not done. The Special Committee has deemed 90 percent of the claims submitted by all the Churches “incomplete” and will demand “updated” title deeds for all claims submitted in 2002, as well as “legal status certificates” from the local authorities in all 7,500 plus cases! Not only is this step redundant and a deliberate ploy to inject further delays, but the Special Committee does not have the power to constrain local authorities to comply. Moreover, in the overwhelming majority of Hungarian cases, the local authorities have a vested interested in not providing any documentation since they stand to be disadvantaged by the return of property currently in their possession.

Requirement 6: The workload and pace of the Special Committee should be reviewed and any necessary adjustments made as soon as possible to ensure that it meets the 60-day deadline. The U.S. government should encourage the Romanian authorities not to deny any claims.

Status: Not done. Dramatic measures necessary to ensure that further non-compliance with the 60-day deadline on deciding claims cease immediately.

The Special Committee has yet to issue a single decision in over 7,500 claims and more than half the time prescribed by law has expired. As predicted, with an administrative staff of three, intermittent meetings by its members, and lack of full-time commitment, the Special Committee has already failed to meet the deadline for ruling on each case: 60 days from the date of submission. It has summoned the representatives of all religious denominations to Bucharest for April 11, presumably to inform them of “incomplete” status of their claims and to discuss the situation. Notice came by telephone, no detailed agenda was issued.

Requirement 7: A confidence-building measure would be to institute bi-weekly briefings between the Special Committee and representatives from the historic Hungarian churches, NGOs and the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania, with the possible inclusion of Ambassador Michael Guest, to discuss progress and tackle issues. The adversarial relationship created between the Churches and the Special Committee by the Law and the Implementing Provisions would thereby be mitigated.

Status: In progress. The Special Committee and representatives from the historic Hungarian churches, NGOs and the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania are ready to have their first meeting in this respect. Participation of U.S. State Department is considered most important by each party.

Requirement 8: Amend the Law and establish an equitable formula for compensating the churches for demolished properties.

Status: Not done, still necessary.

Requirement 9: Amend the Law and Implementing Provisions to specify who evaluates the state of properties at the end of the probable five-year occupancy period in cases of occupation by public institutions, thereby preventing future misunderstandings.

Status: Not done, still necessary.

Requirement 10: Give the churches tax refunds for prior years in those cases where they have not regained full occupancy.

Status: Not done, still necessary.

Requirement 11: Amend the Law to specifically exclude the practice of requiring monetary compensation from the Churches to cover state costs for maintenance and improvement of the buildings since their confiscation in the late 1940’s.

Status: Not done, still necessary.

Requirement 12: Enact the law on the restitution of confiscated minority community properties and involve the Hungarian minority in the drafting process and implementation.

Status: Not done, still necessary.

Requirement 13: Implement the law on restoring to their rightful owners ecclesiastical objects, baptismal records and church archives seized by communist authorities.

Status: Not done, still necessary.

Hungarian Human Rights Foundation - 2003