During the press conference held at the House of Hungarian Affairs, Csaba Borboly emphasised that victims of bear attacks often have to cope not only with serious physical injuries and psychological trauma, but also with bureaucratic difficulties and public criticism.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn Romania, victims are victimised twice. They are not only victims of the bear, but also victims of the state,\u201d<\/strong> stated the Vice-President of Harghita County Council.<\/p>\n He stressed that it is unacceptable for people who have suffered serious injuries as a result of attacks by wild animals to face lengthy bureaucratic procedures in order to prove their claims. He added that many victims are reluctant to pursue legal action because they fear public stigmatisation.<\/p>\n Csaba Borboly encouraged victims of bear attacks to report every incident by calling the 112 emergency number and to exercise their legal right to seek compensation.<\/p>\n Lawyer Ferenc Sz\u00e1sz presented the results of the legal representation efforts supported since 2022 through the Rural Development Association of Harghita County Council.<\/p>\n He explained that, following the 2020 amendment to Hunting and Game Protection Law No. 407\/2006, the amount of compensation for non-material damages was linked to the victim’s income and the number of days they were unable to work. This regulation significantly limited the compensation that could be awarded, without adequately considering the physical and psychological suffering experienced by victims.<\/p>\n The lawyer presented the case of a bear attack victim who required 95 days of medical care. The Harghita County Tribunal initially awarded compensation of \u20ac95,000. However, the T\u00e2rgu Mure\u0219 Court of Appeal reduced the amount to just RON 6,900, applying the contested legal provision.<\/p>\n In the cases in which he provided legal representation, Ferenc Sz\u00e1sz raised objections concerning the constitutionality of this regulation.<\/p>\n In its unanimous decision of 6 October, the Constitutional Court ruled that linking compensation for non-material damages to a victim’s income violates the principle of equal treatment, as well as the constitutional right to life and physical and psychological integrity.<\/p>\n According to the ruling, the assessment of non-material damages must take into account the specific circumstances of each case and the suffering endured, rather than relying exclusively on the injured person’s financial situation.<\/p>\n \u201cFor us, as lawyers, this may be a relatively small success, but for the victims of bear attacks, it is a tremendous achievement,\u201d<\/strong> Ferenc Sz\u00e1sz said in his assessment of the decision.<\/p>\n The ruling may also affect ongoing compensation proceedings and, under certain conditions, could open the possibility of reviewing certain cases in which final judgments have already been delivered.<\/p>\n The press conference was also attended by F. L., a 74-year-old man from Corund, who became the victim of a bear attack following a road accident.<\/p>\n The man was travelling with family members on the road between T\u00e2rgu Mure\u0219 and Sovata when their vehicle struck a bear. After getting out of the car to assess the damage, the animal returned and attacked him.<\/p>\n As a result of the attack, the man suffered a wound approximately six centimetres deep in his leg and required hospital treatment. During the press conference, he spoke not only about the circumstances of the attack but also about the psychological trauma experienced by his family and the difficulties they subsequently encountered in dealing with the authorities.<\/p>\n His case highlights that the consequences of a bear attack extend far beyond immediate physical injuries and can have a lasting impact on victims and their families.<\/p>\n The legal efforts have not ended with the Constitutional Court’s decision. Lawyer Ferenc Sz\u00e1sz has also raised another constitutional objection concerning the regulations governing compensation for damage caused by wild animals in road accidents.<\/p>\n Under the current provisions, liability for damage to motor vehicles is also influenced by whether warning signs indicating the presence of wild animals were installed along the road section concerned.<\/p>\n Csaba Borboly emphasised that although the Constitutional Court’s ruling represents an important achievement, it does not, in itself, resolve human\u2013bear conflicts.<\/p>\n Preventing attacks, protecting human life and public safety, and ensuring fair compensation for injured people remain key priorities.<\/p>\n According to the Vice-President of Harghita County Council, nature conservation and human safety must not be placed in opposition to one another. Legal regulations and measures by public authorities are needed to ensure the protection of natural heritage, the prevention of dangerous situations, and the effective enforcement of victims’ rights.<\/p>\n Protecting human life must be a priority alongside nature conservation. The state has a responsibility to ensure that victims of bear attacks are not left to face the consequences alone and that they receive meaningful support and fair compensation for the harm they have suffered.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A significant step forward has been taken in securing fair compensation for victims of bear attacks. On 6 October 2026, the Constitutional Court of Romania declared unconstitutional a legal provision that linked the amount of compensation for non-material damages to the victim’s income and the number of days they were unable to work. The significance of this decision was presented at a press conference held on 9 October in Miercurea Ciuc by Csaba Borboly, Vice-President of Harghita County Council, and lawyer Ferenc Sz\u00e1sz.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":2088,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,84],"tags":[112,113,114],"class_list":["post-2087","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hirek","category-news","tag-bear-attacks","tag-constitutional-court","tag-victims-compensation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2087","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2087"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2087\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2089,"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2087\/revisions\/2089"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2088"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2087"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2087"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cor.borbolycsaba.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2087"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Human Suffering Cannot Be Measured by Salary<\/h2>\n
A Bear Attack Victim Shares His Personal Experience<\/h2>\n
Further Legal Action and Preventive Measures Are Needed<\/h2>\n