Victory on 22 December in case 222/2/2019
29058 hectares of forest at Băile Herculane have been saved in court
Bucharest, 22 December 2023 – Agent Green today won its case at the Bucharest Court of Appeal on the merits against the Ministry of Environment, Romsilva and the National Environmental Protection Agency. Before this case, Agent Green sued the same defendants to obtain a suspension of logging, certain that it was illegal. The suspension case was lost, but the case on the merits has now been won. This means that for 9 years, logging took place illegally at Băile Herculane under an abusive forest management plan.
The proceedings lasted 5 years and required enormous expenditure on the additional expert assessments requested by the court. The court annulled the ministerial order approving the forest management plan for the Băile Herculane Forest District. This victory shows that the ministry, the environmental protection agency and Romsilva are the forest’s main enemies, although they should be the authorities that protect it.
The court dismissed the objections raised by the ministry and Romsilva as unfounded. It granted Agent Green’s claims and upheld the plea of illegality concerning Screening Decision no.11/29.03.2013 issued by the National Environmental Protection Agency.
The court annulled Order no.195/25.02.2014 issued by the Ministry of Environment and Climate Changes. It orders the defendants to pay the claimant 21.721,34 lei in legal costs. An appeal may be lodged within 15 days of notification. The appeal must be filed with the Bucharest Court of Appeal.
