The former Prime Minister Simeon of Saxe-Coburg and his sister Maria-Louise Hrobok lost at first instance the case for the ownership of 16,000 decares of properties and forests in Rila. The decision of the Sofia District Court can be appealed to the Sofia Court of Appeal.
The announcement was made by the Ministry of Agriculture on Saturday, which is a party to the case. The ministry claims that the two may return to the Bulgarian state the compensation awarded to them by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) for property damage in the amount of 1,635,875 euros.
At the same time, however, the Bulgarian court recognizes Simeon and his sister as bona fide holders of this property, which excludes the possibility of returning the compensation, explained the lawyer. Mihail Ekimdzhiev, who is Saxe-Coburg’s lawyer in the case in Strasbourg.
“The Sofia District Court recognized Bulgaria as the owner of 66 real estates. This came after more than a decade of legal battle. The properties represent forests and lands from the forest fund in Rila mountain with a total area of about 16 thousand decares. and are in the last pending case regarding the case with the so-called “royal” restitution”, the Ministry of Agriculture informed on Saturday.
The proceedings in the case were initiated by claims of the state through the Minister of Agriculture and Food against the heirs of the former kings Ferdinand I and Boris III. “In 2019, a court settlement was concluded with some of the defendants, representatives of the V. family, and the case against them was terminated.
With the rendered decision, the court recognizes that the state is the owner of the trial properties ex lege, by virtue of the current Forest Laws, and that there was no basis for the restitution of the trial forest properties. The decision of the Sofia District Court is not final,” the ministry said.
If the court’s decision remains in force, Simeon of Saxe-Coburg and his sister Maria Luisa Hrobok “will have to reimburse the State the compensation awarded to them by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) for property damage in the amount of 1,635,875 euros, as a result the moratorium imposed by the National Assembly in 2009,” the department claims.
The Mediapool team informs you that the forum administrators will remove any comments containing obscene qualifications, racial, ethnic or religious insults.
The editors are not responsible for the opinions uploaded to Mediapool.bg by the users.
Commenting under articles requires the user to comply with the rules for participation in the Mediapool.bg forums
Read our forum rules.
You must be logged in to comment. If you don’t have an account, you can register.