Chapter II. First-Instance Proceedings.
Book III. Administrative litigation procedure.
Administrative Code of the Republic of Moldova
Excerpt:
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.
Article 197. Immutability of jurisdictional jurisdiction
No one may be deprived of the right to have the process heard by the court in whose jurisdiction the case is given by law, with the exceptions expressly established by law.
Article 198. Transfer of the administrative action
(1) The administrative action retained for examination by a court in compliance with the rules of jurisdiction shall be resolved by it on the merits, including in the event of its subsequent becoming the jurisdiction of another court.
(2) If it finds that it does not have territorial or material jurisdiction, the court shall transmit the administrative action to the competent court by means of a ruling not subject to appeal.
(3) The hierarchically superior court shall decide, by a non-appealable decision, to transfer the administrative action to another court if the competent court cannot adopt a decision:
a) when, due to the objection or abstention of one or more judges or for other justified reasons, the substitution of judges becomes impossible;
b) when, due to exceptional circumstances, it cannot function for a long period.
(4) The hierarchically superior court shall forward the file to the competent court within 5 days from the date of adoption of the decision to transfer the administrative action.
Article 199. Decline of jurisdiction in civil cases
(1) If it is found that the judge or panel competent for examining administrative litigation actions has been assigned a civil case within the jurisdiction of the same court, he shall, by a ruling not subject to appeal, decline his jurisdiction and submit the file to the president of the court for random redistribution.
(2) If it is found that the judge or panel competent for examining administrative litigation actions has been assigned a civil case within the jurisdiction of another court, he shall, by a ruling not subject to appeal, transmit it to the competent court.
(3) The provisions of para. (1) and (2) shall also apply accordingly if the judge or the panel of judges competent for the examination of civil cases is assigned an administrative litigation action.
Article 200. Resolution of conflicts of jurisdiction
(1) The court before which the conflict of jurisdiction of the nature defined in art. 58 paragraph (2) has arisen shall suspend the proceedings ex officio and submit the file to the court competent to resolve the conflict of jurisdiction.
(2) The conflict of jurisdiction between two courts of appeal within the jurisdiction of the same court of appeal shall be resolved by the respective court of appeal.
(3) The conflict of jurisdiction between courts of appeal within the jurisdiction of different courts of appeal, between a court of appeal and a court of appeal or between two courts of appeal shall be resolved by the Supreme Court of Justice.
(4) The conflict of jurisdiction shall be resolved without summoning the participants in the process, by a decision not subject to appeal.
Article 201. Jurisdiction in case of concurrent claims
(1) If the administrative litigation action filed in the court contains inseparable claims of administrative law and civil law, these shall be examined by the court competent for examining the administrative litigation action.
(11) Requests for confiscation of unjustified assets in favor of the state and claims on the grounds of contesting the acts of the National Integrity Authority establishing the substantial difference between the income obtained, the expenses incurred and the acquired assets of the person subject to control shall be inseparable and shall be examined in a single procedure, with the examination of the administrative litigation action.
[Art.201 par.(11) introduced by LP192 of 10.07.25, MO409-412/31.07.25 art.553; in force 31.08.25]
(2) If the administrative action filed in the court contains separable claims of administrative law and civil law, they shall be separated by a non-appealable ruling, with regard to civil law claims, the provisions of art. 199 para. (1) and (2) of this Code being applied.
Article 202. Resolving declarations of abstention and requests for recusal
(1) The judge examining the administrative action must abstain or may be recusal based on the grounds provided for in art. 49 and 50.
(2) Verbal indications of the judge, within a legal discussion, or written indications on the legal situation shall not be a reason for suspicion of bias.
(3) The declaration of abstention or the request for recusal shall be made in writing, indicating the reasons and attaching the relevant evidence.
(4) The recusal or abstention of the judge shall be examined in the order provided for in the Code of Civil Procedure.
Article 203. Participants in the trial
Participants in the trial are:
a) the parties;
b) persons involved in the trial by the court;
c) other subjects vested by law with the right to file a complaint.
Article 204. Parties
Parties in the administrative litigation procedure may be natural or legal persons and public authorities within the meaning of art. 7.
Article 205. Persons involved in the process by the court
(1) When examining an administrative dispute, the court may involve in the process, ex officio or upon request, persons whose rights are affected by the dispute in question.
(2) If a third party participates in the disputed legal relationship in such a way that the court's decision would directly interfere with his rights, then this third party must be involved in the process. This provision applies, in particular, when:
a) a person challenges the favorable individual administrative act issued to a third party or requests its nullity;
b) a person challenges an unfavorable individual administrative act issued at the request of a third party or requests its nullity;
c) a person files an administrative action to compel a public authority to issue an individual administrative act that is unfavourable to a third party;
d) a person files an administrative action to compel a public authority to issue an individual administrative act that is favourable to him or her and the favour may be granted only once or only to a limited number of persons.
(3) If a person files an administrative action to compel a public authority to issue an individual administrative act and its issuance requires the approval of another public authority, then the latter shall be involved in the proceedings.
(4) The court decision by which a third party is involved in the proceedings shall be notified to all participants in the proceedings. The court shall indicate the reason for the involvement in the proceedings and shall send the involved third party a copy of the documents submitted to the court up to that point. The court decision on the involvement of a third party in the proceedings is not subject to appeal. The court decision refusing to involve a third party in the proceedings may be appealed separately.
(5) Any third party involved in the proceedings may submit both procedural applications and applications for joining at the request of the plaintiff or defendant regarding the merits of the case. The third party involved in the proceedings may submit its own application regarding the merits of the case only in the cases provided for in paragraph (2).
Article 206. Types of actions in administrative litigation
(1) An administrative litigation 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) imposing an action, tolerating an action or not to act (action in progress);
d) establishing the existence or non-existence of a legal relationship or the nullity of an individual administrative act or an administrative contract (action in progress); or
e) annulling, in whole or in part, a normative administrative act (action in progress of regulatory control).
(2) The action in progress of progress presupposes the existence of a legitimate interest in the requested finding. The action in progress of progress may not be brought if the claimant can or could claim his rights through another action provided for in paragraph (1), except in the case where the nullity of an individual or normative administrative act is sought.
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.
(2) The administrative action shall be declared inadmissible in particular when:
a) there is a final court decision on a dispute between the same parties, with the same object and on the same legal grounds;
b) there is a court decision ordering the termination of the proceedings in connection with the fact that the plaintiff has abandoned the action or withdrawn his action in a dispute between the same parties, with the same object and on the same legal grounds or that a settlement has been concluded between the parties;
c) an action between the same parties, with the same object and on the same legal grounds, is being examined at the same or another court;
d) the action was filed after the expiry of the term provided for in art. 209;
e) the plaintiff cannot claim the violation, through administrative activity, of a right within the meaning of art. 17;
f) the conditions provided for in art. 208 are not met;
g) the action was filed by a person without powers in this regard;
h) the request for summons does not meet the requirements provided for in art. 211 para. (1) and (2) and art. 212 para. (1) and the plaintiff has not removed the shortcomings within the term set by the court.
(3) Declaring the action inadmissible on the grounds specified in paragraph (2) letters a)–e) excludes the possibility of the same plaintiff filing the same action again.
(4) Declaring the action inadmissible on the grounds specified in paragraph (2) letters f)–h) does not exclude the possibility of the same plaintiff filing the same action again.
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.
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 210. Resumption of the deadline for filing the administrative action
(1) The provisions of art. 65 para. (1)–(3) and (5) shall apply accordingly to the decision on the request for resumption of the deadline.
(2) The court decision rejecting the request for extension of time may be appealed on appeal. The court decision for extension of time may be appealed only on the merits.
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.
Article 213. Failure to comply with the requirements of the summons
If the summons does not comply with the provisions of art. 211 para. (1) and (2) and of art. 212 para. (1), the judge shall set a deadline for the plaintiff to eliminate the deficiencies. If the plaintiff has eliminated the deficiencies within the deadline set by the court, the application shall be deemed to have been filed on the original date.
Article 214. Suspension of the execution of the contested individual administrative act
(1) The plaintiff may request the court examining the administrative dispute to suspend the execution of the contested individual administrative act. 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 prior application has refused the suspension or has not resolved the application for suspension within the deadline set in art. 172 para. (3).
(2) The court may order the suspension of the execution of the individual administrative act for the reasons provided for in art. 172 para. (2).
(3) In order to prove the facts, the participants, instead of presenting the usual evidence, may submit a declaration on their own responsibility.
(4) The court shall decide on the suspension of the execution of the individual administrative act by means of a decision subject to appeal, without summoning the participants to the trial. If it deems it necessary, the court shall summon the parties for a hearing on the merits of the application for suspension. The provisions of Art. 177 para. (2) of the Code of Civil Procedure shall not apply.
(5) The suspension of execution may be conditional on the payment of a deposit, on the fulfilment of certain conditions or may be limited in time.
(6) If at the time of the suspension of the execution of the individual administrative act by the court, it has already been executed, the court shall order, upon request, the return of the execution, to the extent that it is actually possible.
(7) The court examining the administrative action may at any time amend or annul the decisions regarding the requests provided for in paragraph (4). The participant in the process may request the amendment or annulment of such a decision as a result of a change in circumstances or failure to invoke them in the initial procedure for reasons not attributable to him.
(8) The acts of the National Bank of Moldova relating to the field of monetary and foreign exchange policy, including safeguard measures or financial stabilization measures, the acts of the National Bank regarding the special administration of banks regarding the withdrawal of the license of entities supervised by the National Bank, regarding the initiation of the procedure for the forced liquidation of banks, the acts of the National Bank adopted in the process of assessing and supervising the quality of shareholders of entities supervised by the National Bank, as well as the measures implemented by the National Bank, the special administrator or the liquidator during the special administration or forced liquidation of the bank may not be suspended.
(9) The decisions of the National Energy Regulatory Agency may not be suspended:
a) on the withdrawal of licenses for failure by licensees in the natural gas sector to comply with the legal requirements regarding the separation, independence and/or certification of the transmission system operator, as well as decisions adopted for the purpose of ensuring continuity in the natural gas transmission activity;
b) adopted pursuant to art. 811 paragraph (1) of Law no. 107/2016 on electricity;
c) adopted pursuant to art. 1081 paragraph (5) of Law no. 108/2016 on natural gas.
(11) Expropriation decisions issued by competent legal entities in accordance with the Law on Expropriation for Public Interest No. 488/1999 may not be suspended.
Article 215. 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 interim order.
(2) The court may issue an interim order 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 order 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.
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.
(2) The judge informs the participants in the trial about the consequences of failure to comply with the deadlines set by the court.
(3) If the persons whom the court has requested to present evidence do not possess it or are unable to present it within the established deadlines, they are obliged to notify the court of this fact within 3 days from the date of receipt of the request. Otherwise, a fine of up to 50 conventional units shall be imposed on these persons. The imposition of the fine shall not exempt the person who possesses the requested evidence from the obligation to present the evidence in court.
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;
c) the participants in the trial who appeared at least once in the court session during the examination of the administrative contentious action or performed procedural acts in the context of the examination of the administrative contentious action cannot invoke the lack of a summons to perform procedural acts at a later date;
d) the failure to appear at the court session, without well-justified reasons, of the participants and/or their representatives does not prevent the resolution of the administrative contentious action.
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.
(2) The court shall make every effort to eliminate formal errors, explain unclear claims, submit claims correctly, complete incomplete data and submit all statements necessary for establishing and assessing the state of affairs. The court shall indicate the factual and legal aspects of the dispute that have not been discussed by the participants in the proceedings.
(3) The court shall not have the right to exceed the limits of the claims in the action, but, at the same time, it shall not be bound by the text of the claims formulated by the participants in the proceedings.
(4) The court may have a legal discussion with the participants in the proceedings or may give written instructions regarding the legal situation of the case under examination.
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.
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.
(2) When presenting documents and administrative files, as well as when providing information, public authorities shall name the documents, administrative files or information that, according to the law, are secret, for which reason, according to art. 222 paragraph (2), the participants in the process will not have access to the file.
(3) If, upon the second request, the public authority fails to fulfill its obligation to present documents or files or to provide information, the court may:
a) summon the head of the public authority or his representative to explain the reason for failure to fulfill the obligation; or
b) after prior notice, impose a fine of 100 to 500 conventional units on the public authority and/or its manager. Both the notice and the imposition of the fine may be repeated.
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.
(2) The court shall refuse access to the file if, by virtue of the law, in order to protect a state or commercial secret or the supreme interests of the state or private individuals, the secrecy of the documents, administrative files or information must be respected.
(3) If a participant in the trial invokes the secrecy of the documents, administrative files or information or if the court is of this opinion, then, by a court decision subject to appeal, it shall be decided to what extent the participants in the trial shall be granted access to the file. An appeal against a court decision granting access to the file shall have suspensive effect.
Article 223. Notifications in the administrative litigation procedure
Decisions and other dispositional acts establishing deadlines, as well as the appointment of hearings and summonses shall be notified to the participants in the process in accordance with art. 96–114.
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.
(3) In the event that individual administrative and normative acts have been issued relating to the national security of the Republic of Moldova, to the exercise of the state of emergency regime, to emergency measures taken by public authorities in order to combat natural disasters, fires, epidemics, epizootics and other similar phenomena, the court may be notified only to exercise control over the following circumstances:
a) the existence of the exceptional situation on the date on which the act was issued;
b) the competence of the public authority to issue the act;
c) the existence of the public interest justifying the issuance of the administrative act;
d) the effective impossibility of the public authority to issue the act under ordinary conditions;
e) the proportionality, in accordance with art. 29, of the measures adopted by the administrative act.
[Art.225 para. (3) in the part where it limits the competence of courts to carry out the control of the proportionality of individual and normative administrative acts, declared unconstitutional by HCC27 of 13.11.20, MO332-342/11.12.20 art.183; in force 11.12.20]
(4) Other limitations of judicial examination in administrative litigation cases are expressly regulated by special laws.
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 conclusion
Judicial conclusions that are motivated shall be issued in written procedure. If it deems it necessary, the court summons the participants in the trial.
