MOLDOVA Law and Practice Contributed by: Vladislav Roșca, Ina Jimbei and Mădălina Luca, EFRIM, ROŞCA & Associates
persons present are warned of liability for disclosing confidential information. Even in such cases, judgments/decisions are pro- nounced publicly. Only the participants to the pro- ceedings have access to the case files. 1.4 Legal Representation in Court Individuals may appear in person or be represented by an attorney or trainee attorney. To be represented by an attorney/trainee attorney, the client either signs a mandate or issues a power of attorney that, in addition to granting representa- tion in court, expressly authorises the attorney to sign the mandate on the client’s behalf. Natural persons can also be represented by their spouse, parents or other family members if such persons are licensed in law and are acting based on a notarised power of attorney. Proceedings involving legal entities are con- ducted before the courts by their governing bodies, as well as by other authorised employees of the legal entity, or by attorneys/trainee attorneys. The power of representation in courts grants the rep- resentative the right to perform all procedural acts on behalf of the represented person, except those that must be expressly specified, such as the right to sign the statement of claim and file it with the court, to appeal, to waive all or part of the claims in an action, etc. Foreign attorneys cannot represent clients before courts. They may only assist a Moldovan attorney when the client’s interests require it. In 2025, a new law was adopted allowing lawyers from the EU/EEA and Switzerland to practise in Moldova, but only after Moldova joins the EU.
In 2025, for the first time, specific provisions on TPLF were adopted in Law No 80/2025 on Representative Actions for the Protection of the Collective Interests of Consumers, which will enter into force on 26 June 2026. 2.2 Third-Party Funding: Lawsuits Since it is not generally regulated by law, TPLF is avail- able in any type of case. However, TPLF is expressly permitted in consumer representative actions (Law No 80/2025). 2.3 Third-Party Funding for Plaintiff and Defendant As there is no general statutory prohibition, TPLF may be available to both the plaintiff and the defendant. In consumer representative actions (Law No 80/2025), the statute expressly contemplates funding for the plaintiff and does not provide a regime for the defend- ant. 2.4 Minimum and Maximum Amounts of Third-Party Funding There are no statutory minimum or maximum amounts for TPLF. 2.5 Types of Costs Considered Under Third- Party Funding Under Article 21 of Law No 80/2025, the qualified enti- ties must secure sufficient resources for the proceed- ings and are exempt from paying court fees. Accord- ingly, they would be liable only for other procedural expenses and the opposing party’s legal costs, unless the funding agreement provides otherwise. Outside the scope of Law No 80/2025, funding agreements are governed by general contract law. 2.6 Contingency Fees Article 64 (13) of the Statute of the Attorneys’ Profes- sion provides that the attorney is entitled to request and obtain a success fee, in addition to an hourly or fixed fee, on a complementary basis. The success fee consists of a fixed or variable amount set for the achievement of a particular result by the attorney. In criminal cases, a success fee may be charged only in relation to the civil aspect of the case. The success fee may be agreed upon together with the hourly or fixed fee.
2. Litigation Funding 2.1 Third-Party Litigation Funding
Third-party litigation funding (TPLF) is legally admis- sible in Moldova but lacks specific regulations in the CPC. However, recent SCJ case law confirms that court fees may be paid by a non-party, and rejecting a filing on that basis amounts to excessive formalism.
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