The European Commission is taking Romania to Court for a failure to comply with EU legislation on mining waste. The case concerns the Bosneag pond, a 102-hectare tailing pond that holds waste extracted from copper and zinc mines in Moldova Noua, the Caras-Severin County, and which is currently in a state of almost complete abandonment. The Commission opened infringement proceedings against Romania on this matter with a letter of formal notice in October 2012, followed by a reasoned opinion in February this year. Subsequently, Romania agreed that the Bosneag pond remained a source of pollution during windy periods and admitted the need for remedial measures. While some measures have been proposed, including for example a watering system, no tangible action has yet been taken....more »

Musat & Asociatii’s team coordinated by Dr. Gheorghe Buta (Partner) and Madalina Berechet (Partner), assisted by Angela Mare (Managing Associate) achieved another victory in court for Mircea Diaconu in his fight against the National Agency of Integrity (ANI). The Bucharest Court of Appeal dismissed as ungrounded the action initiated by the Agency requesting the court to quash the decision by which Diaconu’s tenure as Member of the European Parliament has been validated. Hence, Mircea Diaconu maintains his position within the European Parliamentary, as elected through the vote in May 2014. “The Court’s decision validates a public and democratic vote earned by Mircea Diaconu in the EU Parliament elections, with ANI’s accusations alleging that the office as Member of the European Parliament has been held illegally being dismissed as ungrounded by the court of law.  ...more »

While the economic recession has shadowed the development of several sectors of the domestic economy and, consequently, has affected the activity of law firms in terms of consultancy, disputes, which have flourished in those troubled times, have continued blooming in recent years.  Probably the sole practice area that lawyers cannot complain about, litigation, has seen great effervescence over the past years, having a major contribution to the increase of the revenues posted by law firms. This trend will be maintained, at least in 2014, hence confirming that “in general, dispute resolution is a safe haven for law firms in times of economic distress”, as Robert Rosu, Partner of Tuca Zbarcea & Asociatii, says. ...more »

Aversa Manufacturing has won the lawsuit filed by the State Assets Management Authority in September last year which disputed the tendering procedures of the takeover bid for Aversa. In April 2014 the Bucharest Court rejected the SAAA’s appeal and on September 23, the Court of Appeal also rejected the final appeal confirming that the centrifugal pumps manufacturer complied with all legal requirements of the tender offer in accordance with the related specifications. Biris Goran acted as representative of the company member of the Benevo group, offering ongoing assistance in this litigation. The law firm also advised Aversa in the acquisition transaction, as well as in insolvency and real estate matters....more »

The company in charge with the management of the State’s interest in the energy sector (SAPE) has been admitted the request for arbitration in the Enel case, by the International Court of Arbitration from Paris (ICA), reads a news release from the Department for Energy. SAPE requested Enel to pay nearly 522 million euro, claiming the “Put” option as provided by the Government Ordinance no. 1163/2012....more »