Reff & Associates | Deloitte Legal obtained a landmark solution at the Bucharest Court confirming the validity and ending the suspension of the Coordinating Urban Plan of the Capital’s 2nd District

A multidisciplinary team of lawyers specialized in administrative litigation and, respectively, in urban planning law from Reff & Associates | Deloitte Legal represented Promenada Mall Bucharest, part of the NEPI Rockcastle, the largest owner, developer and shopping centers operator by portfolio value in Central and Eastern Europe, in the lawsuit in which the Bucharest Court has rejected the application for annulment of the Bucharest General Council’s decision no. 339/2020, that approved the Urban Plan for the Capital’s 2nd District.

The Bucharest Court’s decision may be appealed at the Bucharest Court of Appeal, but it ends, starting right from the date of its pronouncement, the measure which suspended the Urban Plan for the Capital’s 2nd District based on court decisions issued during 2022.

This solution represents a landmark moment in the evolution of the disputes in the field of urbanism, which generated uncertainty and affected very important investments in real estate and in the Capital’s infrastructure. The team of lawyers who obtained the solution included Ana Galgoțiu-Săraru, Senior Managing Associate, Lucian Savin, Senior Associate, and Alexandra Tuta, Associate, from the administrative litigation practice, coordinated by Mihnea Galgoţiu-Săraru, Partner, respectively Diana Stan, Managing Associate, and Andreea Caragea, Associate, from the real estate practice, coordinated by Irina Dimitriu, Partner.

"The solution reconfirms that, when they decide to exercise their rights in court, investors can obtain the protection of the Romanian courts, including in the urbanism field. We are glad that we were able to contribute to clarifying the fact that the authorities within the 2nd District are entitled to issue urbanism documentations and building permits based on the existing Coordinating Urban Plan," said Ana Galgotiu-Sararu, Senior Managing Associate, Reff & Associates | Deloitte Legal, the coordinator of the project team who ensured the client's representation before the court.

"We are glad that this solution creates the premises for resuming real estate developments at least for the 2nd District and we hope that this is only the first step in restoring the legal clarifications needed to continue sustainable real estate developments throughout the Capital. This is only a first step in clarifying the various issues in the field of urbanism, to which the inherent complexities generated by the future adoption of the Code of land development, urbanism and constructions will add, which our team of experts is ready to solve in the most efficient and judicious way for our clients," added Diana Stan, Managing Associate, Reff & Associates | Deloitte Legal, the coordinating expert in the field of urban planning law within the law firm.

Reff & Associates | Deloitte Legal’s litigation practices consist of more than 20 lawyers who work closely with professionals in all practice areas within the Deloitte network, including tax and financial advisors or experts in risk management and digital transformation, and thus are able to distinctively address the full spectrum of business disputes, including tax cases, commercial and administrative disputes or arbitrations.

The real estate practice within Reff & Associates | Deloitte Legal has also benefited from wide recognition for over 15 years (including in international rankings such as Legal 500) as one of the most important teams of lawyers specialized in this field, who has assisted in many of the largest and most complex real estate transactions and developments in Romania, often considered by the specialized press "transaction of the year".