Negative conflict of jurisdiction over administrative litigation subject-matter competence

The Supreme Court of Romania dismissed the negative conflict of jurisdiction between the Craiova Court of Appeal and the Mehedinți Tribunal and referred the case to the High Court’s Administrative and Fiscal Section for merits review. The dispute concerned a negative conflict of competence arising after both the appellate and trial courts declared themselves lacking subject-matter jurisdiction to resolve an administrative law suit (contencios administrativ). The decisive legal basis was the statutory competence of the specialized administrative and fiscal sections of the Supreme Court to resolve jurisdictional conflicts and hear administrative cases, which took precedence over the lower courts' self-denial of jurisdiction.