Petition Submission and Processing Procedures
Administrative procedure in the Republic of Moldova are regulated by Book II of the Administrative Code.
Administrative procedure establish procedure for interaction of public authorities with citizens and legal entities in resolving petitions (applications, complaints, requests, etc.).
Participants in administrative procedure
Participants in administrative procedure (Article 44): Participants in administrative procedure re the public authority, any natural or legal person who has applied for the initiation of procedure or against whom procedure have been initiated, as well as any other person invited to participate in the administrative procedure by the public authority.
Legal regime of competence of public authorities - Main elements:
- Competence of authorities (Article 53): Competence is the totality of powers granted by law or other normative acts to public authorities or persons within public authorities.
Questions of material and territorial competence of public authorities in the consideration of administrative cases:
- Material competence (Article 54): determined by law or, in the absence of regulation, by the body whose activities are closest to the nature of the legal relationship.
- Territorial competence (Article 55): determined depending on the object of the legal relationship (real estate, enterprise, individual or legal entity, place of implementation actions).
Article 69. Initiation of administrative procedure
(1) The administrative procedure shall be initiated upon request or ex officio. The administrative procedure initiated ex officio shall begin with the performance of the first procedural action, and those initiated upon request shall be deemed to have been initiated from the moment of filing the application.
(2) In the event of filing a petition, the public authority shall be obliged to initiate an administrative procedure.
Article 72. Filing a petition
(1) An administrative procedure may be initiated by petition or may be part of an already initiated administrative procedure.
Article 73. Registration of the petition
(1) The public authority shall be obliged to immediately receive and register the petition or other documents filed within the administrative procedure. The public authority shall not have the right to refuse to receive petitions solely on the grounds that it does not consider itself competent or because it considers the petition to be inadmissible or unfounded.
(5) In the case of petitions or documents submitted in electronic form, the public authority is obliged to communicate, within 2 days at most, by the same means, the registration number of the petition.
Advice: The applicant is advised to check by phone that the petition has been received by email.
Article 74. Redirecting the petition
If the petition falls within the competence of another public authority, the original of the petition shall be sent to the competent public authority within 5 working days from the date of registration of the petition, of which the petitioner shall be informed.
Article 75. Content of the petition
(1) The petition shall contain the following elements:
a) the name and surname or the name of the petitioner;
b) the domicile or registered office of the petitioner and the e-mail address if a response is requested in this way;
c) the name of the public authority;
d) the subject of the petition and its motivation;
e) the signature of the petitioner or his legal or authorized representative, and in the case of a petition submitted in electronic form – the electronic signature.
Tips: Petitions in electronic formare should be submitted in PDF format. The applicant must sign the file using the MSigin electronic signature.
Article 76. Sanctions for missing petition elements
(1) Anonymous petitions or those submitted without indicating the petitioner's postal or electronic address shall not be examined.
(2) If the petition does not meet the requirements set out in art. 72 par. (3) or art. 75 par. (1) lit. c)–e), the applicant shall be informed of the shortcomings and shall be given a reasonable period for their elimination. If the petitioner does not eliminate the shortcomings within the given period, the petition shall not be examined.
Article 85. Investigations
(1) The participants in the administrative procedure shall state the facts on which their petition is based in a clear, concise and good faith manner. The verbal statement shall be recorded in a report.
Article 60. General deadline
(1) The general deadline within which an administrative procedure must be completed is 30 days, unless otherwise provided by law.
Article 61. Setting deadlines
(1) The public authority may set deadlines for the participants in the administrative procedure to perform certain actions.
Article 77. Resolution of the petition
Employees within public authorities are obliged to resolve only the petitions that are assigned to them, being prohibited from receiving them directly from petitioners or from intervening in their resolution outside the legal framework. Violation of these provisions constitutes a disciplinary offense and is sanctioned according to the legislation in force.
Article 78. Completion of the administrative procedure
(1) The administrative procedure is completed by performing an administrative operation or by issuing an individual administrative act, respectively concluding an administrative contract.
Article 139. Validity of individual administrative acts
(1) An individual administrative act becomes valid for the person to whom it is addressed or who is affected by it at the time it is communicated to him, except in the case where the administrative act itself establishes a later date for its binding effect.
(2) An individual administrative act becomes valid with the content with which it is communicated.
(3) An individual administrative act remains valid as long as it is not withdrawn, revoked or annulled in another way or has not expired by the expiration of time or in another way.
(4) Individual administrative acts are respected by the issuing public authority, other public authorities, their recipients and third parties.
(5) A void individual administrative act does not produce legal effects.
Article 140. Incontestability of individual administrative acts
An individual administrative act acquires the force of res judicata when it can no longer be challenged either by prior means or by action in the competent court. If an individual administrative act has several recipients or several persons are affected by it, the force of res judicata may occur at different times for each of these persons.
Article 143. Withdrawal of an unlawfully unfavorable individual administrative act
(1) An unlawfully unfavorable individual administrative act may be withdrawn in whole or in part with effect for the future or the past even after it has become incontestable.
(2) The assessment of the legality or illegality of an individual administrative act is made depending on the situation at the time of its issuance, and in the case of a preliminary procedure – on the situation at the time of the decision on the preliminary application.
(3) If, when issuing an individual administrative act granting social benefits, the legislation was not correctly applied or a state of affairs that proved to be incorrect was assumed and, as a result, appropriate social benefits were not provided in a wrong way, then the administrative act, even after it has become incontestable, shall be annulled in whole or in part with effect for the past or the future. This rule shall not apply if the administrative act is essentially based on erroneous or incomplete data, which the disadvantaged person has submitted intentionally or through gross negligence.
(4) If an individual administrative act is withdrawn in accordance with paragraph (3) with effect for the past, social benefits shall be provided in accordance with the relevant legal provisions for a period of no more than 3 years until withdrawal. If withdrawal is made upon request, the calculation of the period for which social benefits will be granted retroactively shall be made from the moment of submission of the application.
(5) The provisions of paragraphs (1)–(4) of this article shall not apply if the conditions set out in article 147 paragraph (3) are met.
Article 144. Withdrawal of an unlawfully favourable individual administrative act
(1) An unlawfully favourable individual administrative act may be withdrawn in whole or in part with effect for the future or the past, even after it has become incontestable, only under the limitations set out in paragraphs (2)–(6).
Administrative Litigation
If you disagree with the actions or decisions taken by a public authority, you can appeal them.
According to Book III of the Administrative Code Administrative Litigation, decisions can be challenged in specialized courts.
Pre-trial mandatory stage: Before filing a lawsuit, you must file a preliminary application to the public authority that issued the act or whose actions (inactions) you wish to appeal.
Preliminary Procedure - Basic Elements
If you have a specific situation, please describe the type of claim or complaint you are making so I can advise on the exact timeframe and steps to resolve it.
- Do you need information about filing a complaint?
- Are you interested in the statutory timeframes within which a government agency must respond to you?
- Want detailed information about filing petitions?
- What is the essence of the petition - challenging a fine, decision of a government agency or official inaction?
- What stage are you at now (should you file a preliminary complaint or should you file a lawsuit)?
