Venue transfer request rejected; case retained before Galați Court of Appeal.

The High Court of Cassation and Justice (Civil Section I) rejected the request by petitioners to transfer (strămutare) Case No. 2032/233/2010 from the Galați Court of Appeal to another court, with no appeal available, thereby maintaining the case before the original court. The dispute concerned a procedural motion to change venue, heard in camera and decided on the same day as the scheduled hearing (19 September 2012). The Court based its decision on the merits of the transfer request, finding no grounds under the applicable Romanian procedural rules (Code of Civil Procedure provisions on venue transfer) to grant the transfer, siding with the prosecutor’s opposition rather than the petitioners’ arguments.