MOLDOVA Law and Practice Contributed by: Ina Jimbei, Efrim, Roșca and Associates
1. Introduction 1.1 Current Framework for Private Antitrust Litigation The Republic of Moldova has a relatively modern com - petition law regime, largely modelled on EU competi - tion law. The principal legislative act is Law No 183 of 11 July 2012 on Competition (the “Competition Law”). In addition to the Competition Law, the Moldovan competition law framework is supplemented by an extensive body of secondary legislation adopted by the Competition Council. This includes, inter alia: • regulations and instructions on the assessment of horizontal, vertical and technology transfer agree - ments; • the assessment of dominance and abuse of domi - nance; • merger control, commitments, leniency and settle - ment procedures; • the definition of the relevant market; • access to the Competition Council’s case file; • access to confidential information through a data room; and • the internal organisation and functioning of the Competition Council. These implementing regulations largely transpose or are closely modelled on the corresponding European Commission Regulations, Guidelines and Notices. The EU-oriented approach is expressly reflected in the Competition Law itself. Article 3 (6) and (7) require the Competition Council and the national courts to apply the Competition Law in accordance with the general principles of EU competition law, the European Con - vention on Human Rights, the relevant case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and other interpretative instruments of the EU institutions. Private antitrust litigation in the Republic of Moldova remains at an early stage of development. To date, there is no established body of case law concern - ing standalone or follow-on private actions for dam - ages arising from infringements of competition law. Enforcement of competition rules has been driven predominantly by the Competition Council through
public enforcement proceedings, while the related court practice has largely concerned judicial review of the Competition Council’s decisions in administra - tive proceedings rather than private damages claims
between market participants. 1.2 Recent Developments
The main legislative development is the ongoing transposition of Directive 2014/104/EU (the “EU Damages Directive”), which forms part of Moldova’s broader approximation to the EU acquis. The Com - petition Council officially launched the transposition process in April 2026 by establishing an inter-institu - tional working group to prepare the relevant legislative amendments. 2. Private Antitrust Claims: Basis and Procedure 2.1 Statutory Basis The statutory basis for private antitrust claims in the Republic of Moldova is primarily found in Law No 183/2012 on Competition (the “Competition Law”). The Competition Law expressly preserves the right of natural and legal persons to bring civil actions seeking full compensation for damage caused by anti-com - petitive practices prohibited under the law, irrespec - tive of any administrative sanctions imposed by the Competition Council. A claim for damages may be brought within one year from the date on which the Competition Council’s infringement decision becomes final or is upheld by a final and irrevocable court judg - ment. The Competition Law is complemented by the Civil Code, which governs the general conditions for tort liability – including the existence of damage, causa - tion, unlawfulness and fault – and by the Civil Proce - dure Code, which regulates the procedural aspects of civil litigation. Private antitrust claims are therefore heard by the ordinary civil courts, as the Republic of Moldova does not have specialised competition courts. The main types of private antitrust claims available under Moldovan law are as follows.
108 A NTITRUST LI T IGATI O N 2026
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