Gabriel:
Two Court Cases Decided in Favor of Rosia Montana
Wednesday July 12, 11:25 am ET
Group of Romanian NGO's Issue Press Release Supportive of Rosia Montana Project
Highlights
- Romanian Supreme Court overturns previous annulment of archaeological discharge certificate no. 4
- Romanian Court of Appeal rejects Alburnus Maior's application to suspend the Rosia Montana EIA process
- 18 Romanian NGO's support the development of Rosia Montana, if done in accordance with all applicable laws
Annulment of Archaeological Discharge Certificate Overturned
On July 11, 2006 the Romanian Supreme Court (the "Supreme Court") decided that the series of lower court decisions that resulted in the annulment of archaeological discharge certificate no. 4 (the "Discharge Certificate") were not conducted properly, and as a result, overturned the previous annulment. The Supreme Court has referred the matter back to a new lower court, the Brasov Court of Appeal, to be retried on its merits. Gabriel expects the retrial to be scheduled for the fall of 2006. The retrial will not delay the commencement of construction of the Rosia Montana project as the Discharge Certificate relates to an area of the project to be developed later in the life of the mine. Gabriel had previously been prevented from providing evidence and arguments on the merits of the case in the lower court actions.
Attempt to Suspend EIA Rejected
Also on July 11, 2006 the Alba Iulia Court of Appeal dismissed the application of Alburnus Maior to suspend the assessment process for the environmental impact assessment ("EIA") for the Rosia Montana project. Alburnus Maior initiated its action against the Romanian Ministry of Environment and not Gabriel, thereby requiring Gabriel to intervene in the action.
Alan Hill, President and Chief Executive of Gabriel commented "We are pleased with the results of the two court decisions and have the greatest confidence in the Romanian judicial system. We look forward to the opportunity to present the merits of the archaeological discharge case to the Brasov Court of Appeal. The foreign funded NGO Alburnus Maior's blatant attempt to block and interfere with the public consultation phase of the review of the EIA through legal action provides clear evidence of Alburnus Maior's desire to stifle public debate on the EIA."
Romanian NGO Press Release
Finally on July 11, 2006 a group of 21 Romanian NGO's issued a press release following their recent visit to Rosia Montana. A total of 21 NGO's visited Rosia Montana, with 18 NGO's issuing a press release, two NGO's being neutral on the project, and one NGO being against the project. The main conclusions of the NGO's are:
- If the Rosia Montana project complies with all applicable laws then the project should proceed;
- Neither Alburnus Maior nor Pro Rosia Montana represent the interests of the local community of Rosia Montana, but the interests of a small group of people; and
- The opinion shared by most participants was that the Rosia Montana area is socially, economically and environmentally disastrous and people do not have jobs and life is very hard.
In response to this press release, Alan Hill commented "The conclusions of this group of independent Romanian NGO's confirm and support our plans to implement best international practices in developing Rosia Montana. As these NGO's have concluded, Alburnus Maior does not represent the interests of the local community, but rather the interests of a small group of people. We welcome the public consultation process and our commitment is to build a model project that meets not only Romanian but European Union laws".
A full copy of the press release issued by the 21 NGO's can be found at the following website: yap.ro.
biz.yahoo.com
b |
