Diana Buzoianu announces the definitive recovery of 33 hectares on the Tuzla cliff

On September 15, the High Court of Cassation and Justice rejected the appeal filed by Tuzla Commune and the Tuzla Local Council, meaning that 329,697 square meters of seafront remain definitively in the public ownership of the state and under the administration of the Romanian Waters Administration.

Environment Minister Diana Buzoianu announced the decision on Thursday and said that the area, equivalent to approximately 33 hectares, was recovered through the courts following a dispute initiated in 2015 by the Dobrogea-Litoral Water Basin Administration.

The case went through several stages. The Constanța Tribunal initially dismissed the action, but the Constanța Court of Appeal overturned the ruling in April 2025 and determined that the land must remain state property. The local authorities’ appeal was definitively rejected by the High Court of Cassation and Justice.

Buzoianu says the situation in Tuzla points to a broader problem along the coast, where some land belonging to the state’s public domain may have been transferred into local authorities’ assets and subsequently sold, concessioned or used for construction. The minister is calling for all such cases to be clarified and for public property to be protected.