Chapter II. Legal framework for the competence of public authorities.
Section I. General Provisions.
Book II. Administrative Procedure. Administrative Code of the Republic of Moldova
Article 53. Competence
(1) Competence represents all the powers granted to public authorities or persons within them by law or other normative acts.
(2) Competence is established at the time of initiation of the administrative procedure.
(3) Modification of the legal provisions regarding competence during the course of the administrative procedure does not affect the initially established competence, except in the case where the public authority is abolished or if for the ongoing administrative procedures the law expressly provides for the transfer of competence.
Article 54. Subject competence
(1) Subject competence may be general or special and is regulated by law.
(2) If the law does not regulate substantive competence, the competent public authority is the one whose activity is closest to the nature of the legal relations.
Article 55. Territorial jurisdiction
(1) Territorial jurisdiction:
1) in matters relating to immovable property and/or rights thereon, the public authority in whose jurisdiction the immovable property is located has it;
2) in matters relating to the operation of an undertaking or its subsidiary, the exercise of a profession or other permanent activity, the public authority in whose jurisdiction the undertaking or its subsidiary operates or the permanent profession or activity is exercised or is to be exercised;
3) in matters other than those provided for in points 1) and 2) relating to:
a) a natural person has it, the public authority in whose jurisdiction the natural person has his/her domicile;
b) a legal person has the public authority in whose jurisdiction the legal person has its registered office;
4) in matters where the competence does not result from points 1)–3) it has the public authority in whose territorial scope the official action will be undertaken.
(2) Additional regulations or derogations from the provisions on territorial competence may be admitted by law.
Article 56. Compulsory competence
Any act or contract by which the public authority renounces the competence assigned by law or its exercise is null and void. These provisions do not affect the possibility of delegating competence in accordance with the provisions of art. 59.
Article 57. Consequences of lack of competence
(1) Administrative activity shall be carried out only by the competent public authority and within the limits of legal competence.
(2) In the event that there is a risk of postponing the performance of an urgent act/operation, any public authority shall be competent to take urgent measures if the event requiring the measure occurred within its territorial area of competence, even if that public authority does not have material competence. The materially competent public authority shall be informed within 3 days at the latest, from which date the emergency competence shall cease by law.
Article 58. Conflicts of competence
(1) The public authority before which the conflict of competence has arisen shall suspend the administrative procedure ex officio and refer it to the public authority entitled to resolve the conflict that has arisen.
(2) Conflicts of competence may be:
a) positive – when two or more public authorities declare themselves competent to carry out a certain administrative activity;
b) negative – when no public authority declares itself competent to carry out a certain administrative activity.
(3) Conflicts of competence between public authorities shall be resolved as follows:
a) by the common hierarchically superior public authority, if the two public authorities are subordinate to the same public authority;
b) by the president of the district, in the case of a conflict of competence between local public authorities within the same district;
c) by the Secretary General of the Government, in cases other than those provided for in letters a) and b).
(4) The decision on the resolution of the conflict of competence may be contested together with the individual administrative act.
Article 59. Delegation of competence
Collegial bodies may entrust, in certain cases, a person or commission within the public authority to conduct an administrative procedure in specific cases. In this case, the person or commission shall submit a written report with proposals to the collegial body. The decision shall be taken by the collegial body.
