MOLDOVA Law and Practice Contributed by: Vladislav Roșca, Ina Jimbei and Mădălina Luca, EFRIM, ROŞCA & Associates
A success fee cannot be recovered from the person who loses the case. 2.7 Time Limit for Obtaining Third-Party Funding There are no statutory time limits for obtaining TPLF in Moldova.
The commencement of the limitation period is trig- gered when the person knew or ought to have known of the violation of their right. The law also provides for certain situations when the statute of limitations is considered suspended or interrupted. In administrative litigation, claims must generally be filed within 30 days of notification of the administrative act (if no pre-action is required) or of the decision on a pre-action request. If information about appeal rights is missing or incorrect, the claim can be filed within one year. Some types of actions have no limitation period, such as actions for the annulment of normative administrative acts. 3.3 Jurisdictional Requirements for a Defendant The jurisdictional requirements for a defendant to be subject to suit depend on the type of case and the connection to the country. In cases with foreign ele- ments, Moldovan courts may have exclusive or non- exclusive jurisdiction. The courts have exclusive jurisdiction when: • the action concerns immovable property located in Moldova; • the claim arises from a transport contract where the carrier or points of departure/arrival are in Moldova; • the case aims to declare insolvency or other judicial procedures regarding payment cessation of a foreign company with its registered office in Moldova; or • in cases of divorce, annulment or nullity of mar- riage, and other disputes between spouses (except concerning foreign immovables), when both spouses are domiciled in Moldova or at least one is a Moldovan citizen or stateless, etc. The courts have non-exclusive jurisdiction when: • the defendant owns property in Moldova; • a contract must be performed, in whole or in part, in Moldova; or • the insured property or the place of the insured risk is in Moldova, etc.
3. Initiating a Lawsuit 3.1 Rules on Pre-Action Conduct
Generally, parties are not required to comply with certain pre-action conduct obligations prior to initiat- ing judicial proceedings. However, certain pre-action conduct obligations can be imposed by special laws or contract. Such obligations generally consist of attempting a prior settlement through extrajudicial means. Pre-action conduct is imposed by law in specific areas, including administrative litigation, labour dis- putes and defamation cases Failure to comply with pre-action procedures results in the restitution of the statement of claim. When the pre-action procedure is set by law, a spe- cific time limit is provided for the defendant to respond (eg, 15 days in administrative cases, or longer if a higher authority exists; ten days in labour disputes, etc). If the defendant fails to respond within the time limit or refuses the request, the plaintiff may proceed to court. When the pre-action procedure is set by contract, par- ties may also set a time limit for reply. 3.2 Statutes of Limitations The right to bring a civil claim is subject to statutes of limitations, which are divided into general and special terms, depending on the nature of the claim and the rights invoked. The general limitation period applicable to civil claims is three years. Special limitation periods apply to cer- tain categories of claims expressly indicated in the law.
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