Law number 786 from the 7th of August 1942

7th of August 1942

Law for preventing the exploitation of the goods possessed by the foreign Jew

The Council of Ministers, during their meeting from the 28th of July 1942, after deliberating the study of the secretary minister of making Romanians and of Colonization and after deliberating also the inventory number 45,646 from the 28th of July 1942 regarding the application of the expropriation laws in what concerns the urban goods of the foreign Jews citizens.

Taking into account that the main purpose of those laws was to emphasize the Romanian economical life, leaving aside the Jewish influence of persons who are not Romanian citizens, the law are not to be used on foreign citizens, no matter their origin would be.

The article 3 from the law number 254 from the 28th of March 1941 regarding the article 2 from the law number 627 from the 5th of October 1940 says that one shouldn’t understand that the concept of “Jew” also reflects that foreign citizens with a Jewish origin, but that there are to obey the law although they have lost their citizenship, without getting another.

It is also claimed that those conventions can’t even be modified through internal law, thing that would discriminate the foreigners according to criteria that their national laws do not admit. As this is, regarding the right of interpretation in what concern international conventions, the council of ministers, decides:

Article no. 1
The urban belongings and the right to own them from the law number 254 from 1941, belongings of the foreign Jew citizens did not pass under the patrimony of the state if, according to the conventions signed by some foreign states, it is offered to the citizens from the states the right to be treated equally with the Romanian citizens in what concerns their identity and their goods and the mutually of the most favorised nation; these will provide the recognition of the certain rights.

Article no. 2
The minister of Foreign Affairs will establish the States which will share that category; the legal councils will perceive the statement of the Minister of Foreign Affaires as a right to interpret the international conventions according to the article no. 1 from the law of the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Article no. 3
The State Council of making Romanians of Colonization and of Inventory is allowed that through the National Centre of Making Romanians:
a. to give back the owner its rights, goods, according to the decision: written in the article above; this will happen only if the goods were taken from its use
b. to ask the special instances to close each procedure involving goods mentioned in the first article.

The article presents the situation of the Jews that lived in Romania before the Second World War about the property owned.

Published in the Official Monitor, no. 182 from 7th of august 1942

Ramona Cismas

Secondary school no. 16, Timisoara

Teachers – Senior researcher