MOLDOVA Law and Practice Contributed by: Vladislav Roșca, Ina Jimbei and Mădălina Luca, EFRIM, ROŞCA & Associates
Once a judicial settlement is reached, court approval is required. By approving it, the court terminates the lawsuit. 8.2 Settlement of Lawsuits and Confidentiality A judicial settlement or an extrajudicial settlement submitted to the court for approval cannot remain confidential. When approving the settlement, the court issues a ruling describing the key terms of the set- tlement. Given that all rulings are published on the court’s website, the settlement conditions will become publicly known. In contrast, extrajudicial settlements authenticated by a notary and invested with an enforcement clause allow the parties to maintain confidentiality. In practice, parties sometimes adopt a workaround to preserve confidentiality: the judicial settlement may stipulate that the plaintiff will withdraw the action once the defendant voluntarily fulfils all obligations under the settlement. In this way, the case ends by with- drawal of the claim, rather than by court-approved settlement, keeping the settlement terms private. 8.3 Enforcement of Settlement Agreements If a party fails to voluntarily perform its obligations under a judicial settlement, the same court that issued the approval ruling may, upon request, issue an enforcement title, which is then presented to the bailiff. If the settlement is extrajudicial and has been invested with a notarial enforcement clause, it already consti- tutes an enforceable title. If the settlement is extra- judicial and lacks a notarial enforcement clause, it must be approved by the competent court. Following approval, the court will issue an enforcement title. If the court refuses to approve an extrajudicial settle- ment that lacks a notarial enforcement clause, the creditor may initiate a claim under the general rules for non-performance of the obligations. 8.4 Setting Aside Settlement Agreements A judicial settlement can be set aside during the court’s approval and case termination process. The court may refuse the approval either ex officio or at the
request of a participant. The main grounds for refusal include that the settlement: • violates mandatory legal provisions, public order or good morals; • violates the rights, freedoms or legitimate interests of a person, society or the state; • concerns rights and obligations that the parties cannot freely dispose of by settlement; • is manifestly unfair; or • infringes the rights of third parties not involved in the settlement or mediation process, etc. The court’s approval ruling may be challenged by recourse within 15 days from the date of communi- cation, invoking one of the grounds mentioned above. An extrajudicial settlement that lacks a notarial enforcement clause can be set aside during the court’s approval process. The debtor may oppose approval using the same grounds listed above. The court’s approval ruling may be challenged by recourse within 15 days. An extrajudicial settlement invested with an enforce- ment clause can be set aside through a regular civil action against the creditor. 9. Damages and Judgment 9.1 Awards Available to the Successful Litigant Besides interim protective measures, which may be admitted at any stage of the process until the stage where the court decision becomes final, remedies are granted only through one final decision. Depending on the nature of the claim, awards can take the form of monetary compensation, specific perfor- mance, declaratory judgments, confirming rights or legal relations and restitution. 9.2 Rules Regarding Damages The main principle in liability claims is that of full repa-
ration of damages. Damages can be:
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