17.11.2025

STOICA & ASOCIAȚII wins a domestic arbitration dispute with major implications for hardship in lease agreements

STOICA & ASOCIAȚII succeeds in upholding a favorable arbitration award with major implications for the adaptation of lease agreements to unforeseeable circumstances, to the benefit of the lessor. The arbitration dispute was heard before the Bucharest Chamber of Commerce and Industry. An action for annulment was brought against the arbitration award, which was dismissed in its entirety by the Bucharest Court of Appeal, this solution being upheld before the High Court of Cassation and Justice.

The dispute concerned a lease agreement concluded between one of the most important investors in Romania (as lessor) and a fast-food restaurant (as lessee). The contract was concluded before 2000, for an initial term of 25 years, followed by two successive terms of 25 years each, with the extension being exclusively at the option of the lessee. Prior to the initiation of the dispute, there was a firm refusal by the lessee to renegotiate the rent.

The arbitral tribunal, by majority opinion, upheld one of the alternative claims made on behalf of the lessor, namely the recognition of a right of unilateral termination in its favor, as a means of adapting the contract to unforeseen circumstances.

The team of lawyers from STOICA & ASOCIAȚII, which handled the arbitration dispute, consisted of: Valeriu Stoica – Founding Partner – Andreea Stoica – Managing Partner – and Yolanda Beșleagă – Senior Associate.

"The solution has a major impact, as legal literature and judicial practice have focused over time on traditional solutions, such as cost or rent adjustments. Recognizing the possibility of terminating the contract before its expiry was intended to correct the contractual imbalance that trapped the lessor in a contract with a total duration of 75 years, at a rent agreed in 1999, which was much lower in value compared to the current real estate market. The particularities of invoking unforeseeability in this dispute required a departure from the classic paradigm of analysis and the identification of creative, yet fair and balanced solutions," said Yolanda Beșleagă, Senior Associate.

The solution obtained by the team of lawyers at STOICA & ASOCIAȚII confirms the essential role of the courts – both arbitral and judicial – in terms of the specific manner of adapting contracts for unforeseeability, considering the margin of discretion they have.