Summary: Administrative litigation
Administrative litigation in Moldova is regulated by Book III of the Administrative Code.
Any person who believes their rights have been violated by the administrative activities of a public authority (Public Administration and Local Public Administration) may file an administrative lawsuit.
An administrative litigation lawsuit may also be filed if the public authority fails to consider the petition within the timelimits established by law.
The main goal is to restore the rights of citizens and legal entities violated due to abuse of power, illegal actions, or inaction by public authorities, as well as the reversal of unlawful administrative decisions.
Pre-trial Mandatory Stage
Before filing a claim with the administrative court, you must go through the "Preliminary Procedure", which requires filing a preliminary application to the public authority that issued the act or actions (or inactions) with which you disagree and which you wish to appeal or contest.
If pre-trial settlement fails, the party wishing to resolve the dispute may file a claim in the administrative court.
General Procedure for resolving disputes in Administrative Courts:
Filing an administrative action
- Article 189. Filing an administrative action
(1) Any person who claims a violation of his or her right by the administrative activity of a public authority may file an administrative action.
(2) An administrative action may also be filed when the public authority has not resolved a request within the legal deadline. - Article 209. Term for filing an action in administrative litigation
(1) The action in challenge and the action in enforcement shall be filed within 30 days, unless otherwise provided by law. This term shall begin to run from:
- a) the date of communication or notification of the decision on the prior request or the date of expiry of the term provided by this Code for its resolution;
- b) the date of communication or notification of the individual administrative act, unless the law provides for a prior procedure. The provisions of art. 165 para. (1) regarding failure to resolve within the term shall apply accordingly.
(2) If the information regarding the exercise of the appeals is not contained in the individual administrative act or in the decision on the prior request or is incorrectly indicated, the filing of the administrative action shall be admitted within one year from the communication or notification of the administrative act or the decision on the prior request.
(3) For the action for realization, the action for ascertainment and the action for normative control there is no deadline for filing the administrative action. - Article 211. Form and content of the application for summons
(1) The application for summons shall indicate:
- a) the court to which it was filed;
- b) the name and surname or the name of the plaintiff, his domicile or registered office; if the plaintiff is a legal person, the bank details and the tax code shall be indicated;
- c) the name and surname of the legal or authorized representative and his address, if the application is filed by a representative;
- d) the name of the defendant as a public authority and its registered office;
- e) the claims of the plaintiff;
- f) the factual and legal circumstances on which the plaintiff bases his claim;
- g) a list of all the evidence that the plaintiff possesses and can present;
- h) data on compliance with the preliminary procedure, if such a procedure is provided for by law.
(2) The application for summons shall be signed by the plaintiff or his legal representative or authorized representative.
(3) The application for summons may also include other data important for the resolution of the case, as well as the plaintiff's actions. - Article 212. Documents attached to the application for summons
(1) The application for summons shall be attached to the following:
- a) a copy of the contested administrative act and a copy of the decision on the preliminary application, if the law provides for such a procedure;
- b) a copy of the identity document of the plaintiff, if a natural person, or an extract from the State Register of Legal Entities, if the plaintiff is a legal entity;
- c) the document confirming the powers of the legal representative or authorized representative;
- d) copies of the summons and all the attached documents, in a number equal to the number of participants in the process;
- e) proof of payment of the state fee and/or stamp duty, in the cases provided for in the State Fee Law no. 213/2023.
(2) The plaintiff may also attach other documents to the summons.
Jurisdictional competence for administrative litigation actions
- Article 191. Jurisdictional competence for administrative litigation actions
(1) Except for the cases provided for in paragraphs (2) and (3), the courts of first instance shall resolve all administrative litigation actions on the merits.
(2) The Courts of Appeal shall resolve in first instance administrative litigation actions against normative administrative acts, which are not subject to constitutional review.
(3) The Chisinau Court of Appeal shall resolve in first instance administrative litigation actions against acts issued by the National Bank of Moldova, as well as administrative litigation actions assigned to its competence by the Electoral Code.
(4) The courts of appeal also resolve appeals against decisions and appeals against rulings issued by the courts of first instance.
(5) The Supreme Court of Justice resolves:
- a) in first instance, by irrevocable rulings, administrative litigation actions regarding the contestation of decisions of the Superior Council of Magistracy and the Superior Council of Prosecutors;
- b) appeals against decisions, decisions and rulings of the courts of appeal. - Article 192. Specialization of judges for the examination of administrative litigation actions
(1) Panels of judges shall be established for the examination of administrative litigation actions at the courts of appeal.
(2) In the courts of appeal, administrative litigation actions shall be examined by specialized judges. - Article 194. Limits of judicial review
(1) In the procedure in the first instance, in the appeal procedure and in the procedure for examining appeals against court decisions, factual and legal issues shall be resolved ex officio.
(2) In the procedure for examining appeals, the contested judgments and decisions shall be examined ex officio with regard to the existence of procedural errors and the correct application of substantive law. - Article 196. Territorial jurisdiction for administrative litigation action
(1) The administrative litigation action shall be filed with the court in whose territorial jurisdiction the public authority that carried out the contested administrative activity is located, unless the law provides otherwise.
(2) If several public authorities participate in an administrative litigation procedure, the administrative litigation action shall be filed with the court in whose territorial jurisdiction the defendant public authority is located.
Participants in the trial
- Article 203. Participants in the trial
Participants in the trial are:
- a) the parties (natural or legal persons and public authorities within the meaning of art. 7);
- b) persons involved in the trial by the court (persons whose rights are affected by the dispute in question);
- c) other subjects vested by law with the right to file a complaint.
Types of actions in administrative litigation
- Article 206. Types of actions in administrative litigation
(1) An administrative action may be filed for:
- a) the annulment in whole or in part of an individual administrative act (action in challenge);
- b) the obligation of the public authority to issue an individual administrative act (action in obligation);
- c) the imposition of action, toleration of action or inaction (action in realization);
- d) the establishment of the existence or non-existence of a legal relationship or the nullity of an individual administrative act or an administrative contract (action in ascertainment - presumes the existence of a legitimate interest for the requested ascertainment); or
- e) the annulment in whole or in part of a normative administrative act (action in normative control). - Article 207. Examination of the admissibility of an administrative action
(1) The court shall verify ex officio whether the conditions for the admissibility of an administrative action are met. If it is inadmissible, the administrative action shall be declared as such by a court decision subject to appeal.
Compliance with the preliminary procedure
- Article 208. Compliance with the preliminary procedure
(1) Until the filing of the administrative action, the preliminary procedure shall be complied with, with the exceptions provided for by law.
(2) If the competent public authority decides on the preliminary application, although the deadline for filing the preliminary application was not met, the administrative action is in any case admissible. This provision does not apply if a third party is favoured by an individual administrative act.
(3) If the prior procedure is not provided for by law, the action for enforcement shall be admissible only if the claimant has previously submitted to the competent public authority a request for the issuance of the individual administrative act.
(4) An action for performance shall be admissible only if the claimant has previously submitted to the competent public authority a request requesting the performance, tolerance or omission of an action.
(5) An action for declaratory relief shall be admissible only if the claimant has previously addressed the competent public authority with a request for declaratory relief.
Aspects of administrative litigation
- Article 214. Suspension of the execution of the contested individual administrative act
(1) Suspension of the execution of the contested individual administrative act may be requested by the plaintiff to the court examining the administrative dispute. The plaintiff may request the competent court to suspend the execution of the individual administrative act until the administrative dispute is filed if the public authority entrusted with resolving the preliminary request has refused the suspension or has not resolved the request for suspension within the time limit set in Article 172 paragraph (3). - Article 215. Provisional ordinance (Interim order)
(1) In cases not covered by art. 214, the plaintiff may request the court examining the administrative action to issue an interim order. Until the administrative action is filed, the plaintiff may request the court to which the action will be filed to issue an provisional ordinance.
(2) The court may issue an provisional ordinance if:
- a) based on a summary examination, it concludes that the claim asserted by the plaintiff is well-founded; and
- b) the issuance of the provisional ordinance is necessary to avoid serious and irreparable consequences for the plaintiff.
(3) The provisions of art. 214 para. (3)–(5), (7) and (8) shall apply accordingly.
Judicial debates
- Article 216. Preparation of judicial debates
(1) In order to prepare judicial debates, the judge or, in the case of a collegiate court, the reporting judge shall perform the following actions:
- a) request references from the defendant and the other participants in the trial regarding the administrative litigation action;
- b) clarify the circumstances to be proven and indicate the additional evidence to be presented by the participants within the time limit expressly established by the court;
- c) requests, upon request or ex officio, the evidence necessary for the complete examination and fair settlement of the administrative dispute case through a decision setting the deadline for their presentation;
- d) performs any other procedural acts necessary for the examination of the administrative dispute case, if possible in a single court session;
- e) sets the date and time for the beginning of the judicial debates, with the legal summons of all participants in the trial. - Article 217. Conciliation Transaction
For the full or partial settlement of the dispute, the parties may conclude a conciliation transaction by recording it in the minutes of the court session. Such a conciliation transaction may relate exclusively to the rights and obligations of the parties to the trial. A conciliation transaction may be concluded on the basis of a court proposal, accepted in writing by the parties in court. In all cases, the conciliation transaction shall be confirmed by a court decision. - Article 218. Examination of the merits of an administrative action
The examination and resolution of the merits of an administrative action shall take place in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure, with the following exceptions:
- a) the examination and resolution of the administrative action shall take place in a public hearing, and in exceptional cases established by law – in a closed hearing. The participants in the trial shall be summoned; the summons shall state the place, date and time of the hearing. If the participants in the trial agree by mutual agreement, the examination and resolution of the administrative action shall take place in a written procedure;
b) the court shall accept evidence submitted after the deadline established in the preparatory phase for the examination of the merits of the administrative action, only if the participants in the trial justify and prove the impossibility of presenting the evidence within the deadline established by the court; - Article 219. Ensuring effective protection of rights
(1) The court is obliged to investigate the state of affairs ex officio on the basis of all legally admissible evidence, being not bound either by the statements made or by the requests for evidence submitted by the participants. - Article 220. Obtaining evidence
(1) The obtaining of evidence in the administrative litigation procedure shall take place in accordance with art. 87–93.
(2) A request for the request for evidence submitted in the judicial hearing shall be rejected by a conclusion that shall be pronounced in the same hearing. The conclusion shall be motivated verbally. The essential arguments of the motivation shall be recorded in the minutes of the hearing.
(3) Evidence obtained in violation of the law shall have no probative force and may not be used as the basis for the court decision.
Comments
Judicial debates in administrative litigation represent the final stage of the examination of the case on the merits, governed by the principles of orality and adversarial proceedings. This phase consists of the oral arguments of the participants in the process (plaintiff, defendant, third parties and their representatives) through which they definitively argue their claims or objections, present arguments and evidence and may also call witnesses and experts to support their arguments. - Article 221. Presentation of the administrative file
(1) Public authorities are obliged to present the administrative files to the court, simultaneously with the reference. At the request of the court, public authorities are obliged to additionally present other documents they hold, including electronic ones, and to provide information. - Article 222. Access to the file
(1) Participants in the trial may have access to both the files of the court and the administrative files submitted to it.
Court decisions
- Article 224. Court decisions
(1) When examining the administrative litigation action on the merits, the court shall adopt one of the following decisions:
- a) on the basis of a contested action, annul in whole or in part the individual administrative act, as well as a possible decision to resolve the preliminary application, if they are illegal and thereby the plaintiff is harmed in his rights;
- b) based on an action for enforcement, annuls in whole or in part the individual administrative act rejecting the request or a possible decision adopted in the preliminary procedure and obliges the public authority to issue an individual administrative act, if the claimant's claim to issue the act is well-founded;
- c) based on an action for enforcement, obliges to act, tolerate or inaction, if such a claim by the claimant is well-founded;
- d) based on an action for declaratory judgment, establishes the existence or non-existence of a legal relationship or the nullity of an individual administrative act or an administrative contract, if the legal relationship exists or, respectively, does not exist or the individual administrative act or the administrative contract is null;
- e) based on an action for regulatory control, annuls in whole or in part the normative administrative act, if it is illegal, or establishes its nullity, if it is null;
- f) reject the action as unfounded, if the conditions for adopting a decision provided for in letters a)–e are not met.
(2) If at the time of annulment of the individual administrative act by the court it has already been executed, the court orders, upon request, the return of the execution, to the extent that it is actually possible. - Article 225. Limits of judicial review
(1) The court is not competent to rule on the appropriateness of an administrative act.
(2) The verification of the exercise of discretion by the public authority is limited to whether the public authority:
- a) exercised its discretion;
- b) took into account all the relevant facts;
- c) respected the legal limits of discretion;
- d) exercised its discretion in accordance with the purpose granted by law. - Article 226. Motivation of decisions on the merits
(1) When pronouncing the decision on the merits, the court may, upon request, briefly explain it verbally.
(2) Decisions on the merits shall be motivated in writing within 45 working days from the registration of the appeal or restitution application filed within the deadline or within 45 working days from the filing of a request for motivation of the decision. The request for motivation of the decision shall be filed within the limitation period of 15 days from the pronouncement of the operative part of the decision.
(3) If the appellate court reinstates the appellant or the appellate court reinstates the appellant within the appeal/recourse deadline, the decision on the merits shall be motivated within 15 days from the receipt of the decision reinstating the deadline.
(4) Decisions on the merits issued on the basis of regulatory control actions shall be motivated in writing within 15 days from the pronouncement, regardless of whether or not an appeal has been filed. - Article 227. Publication of a normative control decision
(1) A final court decision on the annulment in whole or in part of a normative administrative act that entered into force following publication in the official source shall be published in the same source. The court may order additional publication in another source of information.
(2) The expenses related to the publication of the decision shall be borne by the defendant. - Article 228. Effects of the annulment of an individual or normative administrative act
(1) An individual administrative act annulled in whole or in part by the court shall not produce legal effects, in whole or in part, from the moment of its issuance.
(2) The administrative normative act annulled in whole or in part by the court shall not produce legal effects from the moment the court's decision becomes final. - Article 229. Binding nature of the court decision
(1) Final court decisions are binding on the participants in the process and their legal successors.
(2) The persons involved in the process by the court are obliged to comply with its decision even when they do not participate in the trial or when they expressly notify that they accept the trial of the administrative dispute in their absence. - Article 230. Judicial Non-final decision (Ruling)
Judicial Non-final decision (Ruling) that are motivated shall be issued in written procedure. If it deems it necessary, the court shall summon the participants in the trial.
If you plan to file an administrative claim, please describe the situation you are facing in more detail:
- Is this an illegal act/decision of the mayor's office, ministry, or other agency?
- Is this an inaction by an authority (failure to respond to a petition on time)?
- Which specific government agency are you challenging?
- An individual act or inaction (for example, failure to review an application)?
