The state has definitively won one of the longest forest disputes in Romania.
Over 43,000 hectares of forest, valued at approximately 300 million euros and at the center of a case lasting for over ten years, remain in the public ownership of the state, after the Mureș Tribunal definitively rejected the claims made by Gheorghe Paltin Sturdza and ruled in favor of Romsilva.
The final decision was made in the case regarding the reconstitution of ownership rights over 43,227 hectares of forest land managed by the Bacău Forestry Directorate.
The Mureș Tribunal rejected the appeal and request for review made by Gheorghe Paltin Sturdza, maintaining the forests in the ownership of the state and under the administration of Romsilva.
The area in question includes forests from the areas of Comănești, Palanca, Brătulești, Agăș, Ciobănuș, and Dărmănești and is part of the state's public forest fund.
How the restitution decided in 2012 was annulled
In 2012, the Covasna Tribunal had ordered the restitution of the forest fund in favor of Gheorghe Paltin Sturdza, a descendant of the noble Sturdza family. This despite three previous courts having established that the ownership right could not be reconstituted.
Last summer, the Mureș Tribunal granted the request for review submitted by Romsilva's legal team, annulled the 2012 decision, and resumed the case, now finalized with a final decision in favor of the state.
"By Decision no. 4 of 09.02.2026, pronounced in the retrial of the review by the Mureș Tribunal, the court rejected the appeal and request for review made by Gheorghe Paltin Sturdza and upheld the National Forestry Administration - Romsilva's defenses, ordering the forest area to remain in the public ownership of the Romanian state and under the administration of Romsilva," the institution stated in a press release.
Romsilva: "The decision confirms the legality of the legal actions taken"
According to Romsilva, the legal actions aimed to annul Decision no. 231/2012 and protect the national forest heritage in accordance with current legislation. The case was handled by the legal advisors of the administration, both at the central level and at the level of the Bacău Forestry Directorate.
"The court decision confirms the solidity of the legal actions taken by Romsilva's legal team and the institution's commitment to defending the integrity of the managed forest fund," the press release further stated.
Judge who ruled on restitution received 50,000 euros in bribes
The restitution in 2012 was decided by Judge Lorand Andras Ordog, who was later sentenced, at the first instance, by the Brașov Court of Appeals to seven years in prison for abuse of office and bribery.
In November 2023, however, the High Court of Cassation and Justice found the offenses to be time-barred and ordered the termination of the criminal proceedings, also noting that the judge had committed the act of bribery, demanding 50,000 euros for a favorable decision.
In the case of illegal forest restitutions in Bacău, several politicians and magistrates, including Viorel Hrebenciuc and Tudor Chiuariu, were indicted in 2015. In 2018, Viorel Hrebenciuc was definitively sentenced to two years in prison for influence peddling, while Tudor Chiuariu was acquitted.
With the final decision pronounced now, the over 43,000 hectares of forest remain in the ownership of the Romanian state, and one of the largest cases of illegal forest restitutions in Romania is closed from a civil perspective.