MOLDOVA Law and Practice Contributed by: Vladislav Roșca, Ina Jimbei and Mădălina Luca, EFRIM, ROŞCA & Associates
4.6 Costs of Interim Applications/Motions The court’s examination of interim applications/ motions does not involve separate costs. However, enforcing the court ruling granting interim protec- tive measures does incur enforcement costs. In such cases, the party requesting the measures initially bears the costs, but the losing party is later generally ordered to reimburse the winning party’s legal costs. 4.7 Application/Motion Timeframe The court shall decide on a request for interim pro- tective measures on the same day such request is submitted. If the request for interim measures is sub- mitted together with the initial claim, the court shall consider it when issuing the order on the admissibility of the claim for examination. The collection and presentation of evidence are car- ried out by the parties and other procedural parties, during the preparatory stage of the proceeding with- in the time limit set by the court. However, at their request, the court is obliged to assist in gathering and presenting necessary evidence if difficulties arise (dis- covery). Discovery is limited to the production of documents, and does not cover the testimony of witnesses. As regards witness evidence, a party must file a motion to hear a witness, and such motion must identify the witness, indicate the facts to be proved, and justify the relevance of the testimony. If the court considers the testimony to be relevant, necessary and admissible, it will issue a summons for the witness to appear at the hearing. Witnesses may refuse to testify only in cases strictly provided for by law. 5. Discovery 5.1 Discovery and Civil Cases The court ensures that the parties do not abuse their rights – for example, by requesting evidence for cir- cumstances that have already been proven or that are not the subject of the trial. 5.2 Discovery and Third Parties Moldovan law allows evidence to be obtained from third parties. If a document is held by a public author-
ity, organisation or any other person or entity, the court may, upon a party’s request, order its submission. Failure to comply with such a ruling may result in a fine ranging from approximately EUR50 to EUR127. 5.3 Discovery in This Jurisdiction Each party should determine the facts upon which they wish to rely and the evidence they plan to submit, and, if additional evidence is needed, should make the appropriate requests to the court. The request to secure the evidence must specify: • the evidence and the circumstances that could be confirmed or disproved by it; • the reasons preventing its acquisition by them- selves; and • the location of the evidence. The person in possession of the requested evidence shall either submit it directly to the court or hand it over to the holder of ruling so that it can be presented in court. However, persons who do not possess the required evidence or are unable to present it within the deadline set by the court are obliged to inform the court within five days, specifying the reasons for their failure to produce the evidence. 5.4 Alternatives to Discovery Mechanisms While Moldovan law provides for discovery mecha- nisms, there are also alternative methods, such as: • judicial delegation; and • the securing (preservation) of evidence. For instance, if evidence must be collected or judicial documents served in another district, the court shall issue a ruling delegating these procedural acts to the relevant court. There is also the possibility of securing evidence to prevent the loss or future impossibility of presenting evidence useful for the case.
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