MOLDOVA Law and Practice Contributed by: Vladislav Roșca, Ina Jimbei and Mădălina Luca, EFRIM, ROŞCA & Associates
• reality – whether the expenses were actually incurred (invoices, service contracts); • necessity – whether the expenses were neces- sary for resolving the case (eg, costs for evidence gathering that directly contributed to the case outcome); and • reasonableness – whether the amount is propor- tionate to the nature of the cost. For instance, regarding costs for legal assistance, the SCJ requires lawyers to submit a detailed report of the services provided. Failure to do so may lead to par- tial or total rejection of the claim for reimbursement, as the court cannot assess whether the costs were “necessary”. When assessing reasonableness, courts also take into account the quality of legal services, the amount of the lawyer’s fee, and the duration of the proceedings. 11.3 Interest Awarded on Costs The CPC does not provide for the accrual of inter- est on costs, and such practice is not recognised by Moldovan courts. 12. Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) 12.1 Views of ADR Within the Country The most commonly used ADR methods are: • conciliation, which is typically organised by the parties themselves or facilitated by their attorneys, and may take place before or during the trial; • mediation, which may take place before or during the trial and is regulated by the Law on Mediation 137/2015; and • arbitration – institutional arbitration remains a widely used ADR mechanism, particularly in cases involving a foreign party or a professional entity. It is regulated by the Law on Arbitration and the Law on International Commercial Arbitration, both in force since 2008. 12.2 ADR Within the Legal System The legal system promotes ADR through several mechanisms integrated into court procedures:
• during the preparatory phase of the proceedings, the court has a duty to inform the parties about their right to resort to conciliation, mediation or arbitration; • actions concerning the approval of the mediation settlements by the court are exempt from court fees; • parties who resort to mediation after initiating court proceedings (judicial settlements) are entitled to a refund of the court fee; and • from 2025, the state fee for applications for the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards, for applications for the annulment of arbi- tral awards, and for applications for the issuance of enforcement orders for arbitral awards is extremely low, at approximately EUR13. 12.3 ADR Institutions Institutions offering and promoting ADR are moder- ately well organised but are still developing in terms of institutional capacity and public awareness. The main arbitration institutions are the International Com- mercial Arbitration Court under the Chamber of Com- merce and Industry and the International Commercial Arbitration Court under the American Chamber of Commerce. Both operate in accordance with interna- tional standards and provide institutional frameworks for arbitration proceedings. Mediation activities are co-ordinated by the Media- tion Council, which is the national body responsible for implementing mediation policies. Mediators may operate by registering a cabinet or an associated mediation organisation. Attorneys are also allowed to practise mediation within their cabinet or law firm, after obtaining authorisation. As of 2025, 338 media- tion entities were registered in the State Registry of Mediators, reflecting gradual institutional growth. 13. Arbitration 13.1 Laws Regarding the Conduct of Arbitration The legal framework governing arbitration consists
primarily of two main laws: • the Law on Arbitration; and
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