Chapter I GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1.  The Goal of the Administrative Courts
(1)The goal of the administrative courts as legal institution is to counteract the abuses and excesses of power of the public authorities, defend person's rights under the law, organize the activity of public authorities, ensure the legal order. (2) Any person that considers that one of his/her legally acknowledged rights was violated by a public authority, an administrative act or by failure to solve a petition in the legal term, may bring an action in the competent administrative court in order to obtain the repeal of the act, recognition of the alleged right and the repair of the damage caused.

Article 2.  Definition of Some Terms
Under this law, the terms bellow shall have the following meaning:

Administrative litigation: litigation liable to being solved by the competent administrative court, generated by either an administrative act or by failure to solve under the legal term a petition concerning the acknowledgement of a legally recognized right, where at least one party is a public authority or a civil servant of this authority;
Administrative court: judges appointed from circuit and municipal courts, administrative boards and panels of tribunals, administrative board of the Appellate Court, administrative board of the Supreme Court of Justice, empowered by law to perform the judicial supervision of the legality of administrative acts issued by public authorities to organize the execution of or to execute the law, as well as to administrate the public domain;
Public authority: any organizational structure or body, established by law or by a normative administrative act, which performs its activity as part of the public power in order to pursue a public interest. The legal entities that perform public power-related duties or use the public domain, being empowered by law to render a service of public interest, shall be assimilated to public authorities, as defined by this law;
Administrative act - a legal unilateral manifestation of public authority's will of normative or individual character regarding the organization of execution or the execution itself of laws. The   administrative   contract   as   well   as   failure   to   solve   the petition under the legal term shall be assimilated to the administrative act, as defined by this law;
Administrative contract: a contract concluded by the public authority on the basis of prerogatives of public power for administration and use of public property goods, for performing activities of public interest, for rendering public services, for civil servants' activity related to labor relations regulated by their legal status;
Administrative-jurisdictional act: a legal act issued by an administrative-jurisdictional authority in order to settle a conflict under a procedure established by law;
Administrative-jurisdictional authority: an administrative body or a subdivision of an administrative body, vested by law with jurisdictional powers;
Exclusively political act: act regarding relations between Parliament, the President of the Republic of Moldova and the Government, acts of appointment and removal from exclusively political public positions, as well as declarations, appeals, motions, messages, letters and other similar acts by public authorities that do not have legal effects;
Commandment act of military nature: an administrative act concerning strictly military issues related to the activity of Armed Forces;
Failure to solve a petition within legal term: the refusal to accept a petition or the fact of not giving answer to petitioner during 30 days from the date when a public authority registered the petition, unless specified otherwise by law;
Person whose right was violated: any natural person or legal entity considering that one of their legally acknowledged rights was violated by a public authority through an administrative act or by failure to solve a petition within legal term;
Preliminary petition: petition by which the issuing authority or the hierarchically superior body is requested to re-examine an administrative act of individual or normative nature;
Public service: activity of public interest that is organized    or authorized by a public administration authority;
Civil  servant: person appointed or elected to decision-making    or executive  position   in   the   structure   of   a  public   authority,    as well as any legal entity assimilated to public authorities,    as defined by this law;
Public interest: interest protected by norms that regulate the organization and functioning of the public institutions and other public law entities.

Chapter II
THE OBJECT AND SUBJECT OF THE 

ACTION BROUGHT IN THE ADMINISTRATIVE COURTS

Article 3. Object of the Action Brought in the Administrative Courts
(1)    Object of the action brought in the administrative courts shall be administrative acts of individual or normative nature that violate a person's legally acknowledged right, also the right of a third party, and are issued by:
a)    Public  authorities  and authorities  assimilated to  them, as defined by this law;
b)    Subdivisions of public authorities;
c)    Civil  servants  from the  structures provided for at  letters a)  and b).
(2)    Object of the action brought in the administrative courts may also be the failure to solve within legal term a petition regarding a legally acknowledged right.

Article 4. Acts Exempted from the Judicial Control
The following acts may not be appealed with the administrative courts:
a)    Exclusively political acts by Parliament, President of the Republic of Moldova and the Government, as well as individual administrative acts, issued by Parliament, President of the Republic of Moldova and Government, while performing the duties directly provided for by constitutional or legislative norms related to election, appointment and removal of state public officials, representatives of political or special public interest, from public positions;
b)    Administrative acts of diplomatic nature related to the foreign policy of the Republic of Moldova;
c)    Laws, normative decrees by the President of the Republic of Moldova, normative orders and decisions by the Government, international treaties the Republic of Moldova is party to, that are subject to the constitutional control;
d)    Commandment acts of military nature, including acts of application of disciplinary sanctions and those of removal of the military or persons with military status from position;
e)    Administrative acts concerning the national security of the Republic of Moldova, application of the curfew, emergency measures taken by public authorities to fight natural calamities, fires, epidemics, epizooties and other similar phenomena;
f)    Administrative-jurisdictional    acts    of    administrative sanctioning and other administrative acts that should repealed and amended under a different judicial procedure, as provided for by law;
g)    Acts of management issued by the public authority as a legal entity in connection with the administration and use of assets that are part of its private property, including collective property assets;
h)    Administrative acts issued to execute the courts' for final
judgments.
(Art. 4 was amended by Law no. 833-XV from 02.07.2002) (Art.  4 was amended by Law no.   726-XV from 12.07.2001)
Article 5. Subjects Entitled to Bringing Action in the Administrative Courts
The following are subjects entitled to bringing action in the administrative courts:
a)    Person, including the civil servant, the military, person with a military status, who considers that one of his legally acknowledged rights was violated by a public authority through an administrative act or by failure to solve a petition within legal term,  under the conditions of article 14 of this law;
b)    Prefect who appeals the acts issued by local public authorities, including those from the autonomous territorial unit Gagauzia and municipality of Chisinau, under Law on the Local Public Administration;
c)    Prosecutor who appeals the acts issued by public authorities under the terms of article 5 of the Civil Procedure Code;
d)    Ombudsman who, at the notification of the person whose right was violated, appeals administrative acts, under the conditions of Law on the Ombudsman;
e)    Ordinary and specialized courts of law, in cases when the issue of exception of illegality is raised, under the conditions of article 13 of this law.
f)    Other persons under the current legislation.

Chapter III JURISDICTIONAL COMPETENCE OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE COURTS

Article 6.  The Jurisdictional Competence
(1) The following shall have the competence to consider actions brought in the administrative courts:
a)    Circuit and municipal courts;
b)    Tribunals;
c)    Appellate Court;
d)    Supreme Court of Justice.
(2)    Specialized boards shall be created within the Appellate Court and Supreme Court of Justice to consider actions brought in the administrative courts.
(3)    In the tribunals where administrative boards may not be created, the actions brought in the administrative courts shall be considered by panels of judges or judges appointed by the president of the respective court.
(4)    In the circuit and municipal courts the actions brought in the administrative courts shall be considered by judges appointed by the president of the respective court.

Article 7.  Judges'  Competence
The circuit and municipal courts shall consider in first instance actions brought against administrative acts issued by public administration authorities from communes  and villages, by civil servants of these authorities and by legal entities of the respective level assimilated to public authorities, as defined by this law.

Article 8.  Competence of the Tribunals
The tribunals shall consider:
a)    In the first instance: actions brought against administrative acts issued by public administration authorities of municipalities, cities and districts, by judets councils, council and mayoralty of the Chisinau municipality, by prefectures and their civil servants, as well as by legal entities of the respective level assimilated to public authorities, as defined by this law, except for actions that fall under the competence of the Appellate Court, as provided for by law;
b)    As a court of appeals - recourses against the decisions delivered in the first instance by the courts.

Article 9.  Competence of the Appellate Court
The Appellate Court shall consider:
a) In the first instance: actions brought against administrative acts issued by central public administration authorities, Popular Assembly of Gagauzia, actions brought against prefect's orders, administrative acts issued by legal entities of the respective level assimilated to public authorities, as defined by this law;
b) As a court of appeals - recourses against decisions delivered by the tribunals.
Article 10.  Competence of the Supreme Court of Justice
The Supreme Court of Justice shall consider:
a)    Recourses against decisions delivered in the first instance by the Appellate Court;
b)    Recourses in nullification brought by the Prosecutor General and his/her deputies against final courts' decisions;
c)    "In the interest of law" requests submitted by the President of the Supreme Court of Justice or by Prosecutor General;
d)    Other recourses falling under its competence, as provided for by law.
(Art. 10 was amended by Law no. 726-XV from 12.07.2001) Article 11.  Territorial-Jurisdictional Competence
Administrative actions are brought in the circuit or municipal courts or in the tribunals territorial range of which includes the plaintiff's place of the residence or defendant's headquarters.
Article 12.  Declining Competence and Conflict of Competence.
(1)    If during the trial it is established that the matter falls under the competence of another court, then the administrative court shall decline its competence and refer the case to the competent court.
(2)    If during the trial in an ordinary court or in a specialized court it is established that the matter falls under the competence of the administrative court, then the respective court shall decline its competence and refer the case to the administrative court.
(3)    If during the consideration of a matter in an administrative court it is established that one of the claims falls under competence of the ordinary law, except for the cases when the issuance of the administrative acts appealed led to material damages, the administrative court shall deliver a final conclusion to separate the ordinary law claim and to refer it to the competent court.
(4)    The conflict of competence between the administrative boards of the tribunals shall be settled by the administrative board of the Appellate Court.
(5)    The conflict of competence between the administrative board of the Appellate Court and other courts of law shall be settled by the administrative board of the Supreme Court of Justice.
Article 13.  Exception of Illegality
(1) The legality of a normative administrative act issued by the public   authority  may   be   figured   out   at   any   time   during   the consideration of a common law matter by filing an exception of illegality, ex officio or at the request of an interested party.
(2)    The conclusion whereby the exception of illegality is filed with the administrative courts shall be drawn up under the conditions of the Civil Procedure Code.
(3)    If the court establishes that the consideration on the merits of the case depends on the administrative act, then the court shall notify, by a motivated conclusion, the competent administrative court and shall suspend the case.
(4)    The administrative court shall examine the exception of illegality within 10-day term, delivering the appropriate judgement in the name of the law.
(5)    The judgement of the administrative court may be appealed in 5-day term.
(6)    The recourse filed against the judgment delivered on the exception of illegality shall be considered in 10-day term.
(7)    After having examined the exception of illegality, the administrative court shall return the file along with its final judgement to the court that had filed the exception of illegality.

(8)    The administrative acts or some of their provisions found illegal shall not be effective anymore from the date when the judgement by the administrative court becomes final and shall not be applicable in the future.
(9)    The legal consequences of the normative administrative act found illegal shall be removed by the authority, which adopted or issued it.
(Art. 13 was completed by Law no. 833-XV from 02.07.2002) (Art. 13 was amended by Law no. 726-XV from 12.07.2001)

Chapter IV THE PROCEDURE TO CONSIDER THE ACTION BROUGHT IN THE ADMINISTRATIVE COURTS

Article 14.  Preliminary Petition
(1)    Person who considers that one of his/her legally acknowledged rights was violated by an administrative act shall request the issuing public authority, by preliminary petition, to partially or integrally repeal this act in 30-days term from the communication date of the act, unless otherwise specified by law.
(2)    If the issuing body has a hierarchically superior body, the preliminary petition may be submitted, at the petitioner's discretion, either to the issuing body or to the hierarchical superior body, unless otherwise specified by law.
(3)    The 30-day term provided for by paragraph (1) shall not be effective for the administrative act of normative nature.
(Art. 14 was amended by Law no. 1163-XV from 06.27.2002) (Art. 14 was amended by Law no. 833-XV from 02.07.2002)
Article 15.  Procedure to Examine the Preliminary Petition
(1) The preliminary petition shall be examined by the issuing or hierarchical superior body within 30-day term from its registration date, and the petitioner should be immediately informed about the decision, unless specified otherwise by law.
(2)The issuing body shall be entitled to:
a)    Rejecting the preliminary petition;
b)    Accepting the preliminary petition and, as the case may be, to repealing or amending the administrative act.
(3) The hierarchical superior body shall be entitled to:
a)    Rejecting the preliminary petition;
b)    Accepting the preliminary petition and repealing the administrative act totally or partially, to obliging the hierarchical subordinated body to reinstate the respective person in his/her rights or, as the case may be, to repeal the administrative act issued with its consent.
(Art 15 was amended by Law no.  1163-XV from 06.27.2002)
Article 16. Lodging the Petition of Summons with the Administrative Courts
(1)    Person who considers that one of his/her legally recognized rights was violated by an administrative act and is not satisfied with provided answer on the preliminary petition or did not receive any answer under the term established by law, shall be entitled to notifying the competent administrative court in order to repeal, totally or partially, the respective act and repair the caused damage.
(2)    The action may be brought directly in the administrative court in the cases expressly provided in the law and in the cases when person who considers that one of his/her rights was violated by non-settlement under legal term or by rejecting the preliminary petition regarding the acknowledgement of the alleged right and the repair of the caused damage.
(3)    Lodging the petition of summons with the administrative court, the applicant-natural person shall pay the state fee amounting to one minimal salary and the applicant-legal entity a state fee amounting to 20 minimal salaries.
(Art. 16 was amended by Law no. 833-XV from 02.07.2202) (Art. 16 was amended by Law no. 726-XV from 12.07.2001)
Article 17.  Terms for Bringing Action in the Administrative Court
(1) The petition whereby person requests the repeal of an administrative act or the acknowledgement of an alleged right may be submitted under 30-day term, unless otherwise provided for by law.  The term starts from the:
a)    Date when the answer to the preliminary petition is received or the date when the term provided for by the law for its settlement expires;
b)    Date when the refusal of settling a petition whereby person solicits     the     acknowledgment     of     an    alleged    right     is communicated or  the  date when the  term provided for by the law for solving this kind of petition expires; c) Date   of   communicating   the   administrative   act,   unless   law provides for a preliminary procedure.
(2)    The prefect or ombudsman shall notify the administrative courts under the terms provided for by the organic laws on their activity.
(3)    Administrative acts of normative nature considered illegal might be appealed at any time.
(4)    The 30-day term specified in paragraph (1) is a term of prescription.
(5)    Person who, based on well-reasoned grounds, has omitted the term of prescription may be reinstated in term under the conditions of the Civil Procedure Code.

Article 18.  Term of Prescription for the Payment of Damages
(1)    If the person whose right was infringed upon has requested the repeal of the administrative act without demanding reparations, then the term of prescription for demanding reparations starts from the date when the respective person was informed about or had to be cognizant of the extent of damage.
(2)    If the decision to repair the damage was not requested simultaneously with the repeal of the administrative act, the reparation petition shall be submitted to the competent ordinary law court under the general term of prescription provided for by the Civil Code.
Article 19. Form and Content of the Petition of Summons to the Administrative Court
(1)    The petition of summons to the administrative court shall be submitted in written under the conditions provided for by the Civil Procedure Code.
(2)    The applicant shall submit the copy of the preliminary petition with proof of its dispatch or receipt by the respective body, the administrative act appealed or, as the case may be, the answer of the public authority or the decision to reject the preliminary petition, simultaneously with the petition of summons to the administrative court.
Article 20.   Involvement of the Civil Servant in the Proceedings
(1)    The petition of summons may be also drawn up against the civil servant of the respondent public authority that developed the challenged administrative act or refused to solve the petition when reparations are requested.
(2)    If the action is accepted, the civil servant may be obliged to pay the reparations jointly with the concerned public authority.
(3)    The civil servant against whom the proceedings were thus instituted may call as his/her guarantor his hierarchical superior who ordered him/her to develop the administrative act or to refuse the settlement of the petition.  This hierarchical superior shall be involved in the proceedings as a third party.
Article 21. Suspension of the Execution of the Appealed Administrative Act
(1)The    applicant    may    request     the    administrative    court     to
simultaneously     suspend     the     execution     of     the     appealed
administrative act and institute proceedings. (2) In  well-grounded   cases   and   in   order   to   prevent   an   imminent
damage,  the court may also decide ex officio on the suspension
of the administrative act. (Art.  21 was amended by Law no.   726-XV from 12.07.2001)
Article 22. Judges' Acts after Having Accepting the Petition of Summons
(1)    Judge shall decide to accept the petition of summons or to
reject it in 3-day term from the date when it was lodged,
under the conditions provided for by the Civil Procedure Code.
(2)    If the petition is put on the roll, the judge shall decide to:
a)    Hand the copy of the petition of summons and copies of acts attached to the applicant's request;
b)    Have the defendant present the appealed administrative act and all the documents that served as grounds for issuing this administrative act, and any documents or data that the court considers to be necessary for considering the matter;
c)    Cite the parties for the first day of the hearings that shall be established in at most 10 days from the date when the petition was put on the roll.
(3)    The defendant shall be obliged to present the requested
documents to the court on the first day of the hearings,
otherwise the applicant shall pay a judicial fine of up to 10
minimal wages for each day of unjustified delay. The payment
of the judicial fine does not exempt the applicant from the
obligation to present the documents requested.
Article 23.  Establishing the Term for Considering the Petition
(1)    The administrative courts may examine the merits of the case on the first day of the hearings if the parties declare that they are ready for the judicial debates.
(2)    In all other cases, the court shall establish the date of the hearings in first instance on the merits of the case in a reasonable term, unless otherwise specified by the organic law.
Article 24.  Considering the Petition
(1)    The administrative court shall consider the petition with the participation of the plaintiff and defendant and/or of their representatives, under the conditions provided for by the Civil Procedure Code, under some exceptions provided for by this law.
(2)    The failure of the parties and/or of their representatives to show up in the court without well-justified reasons  shall not impede the consideration of the case and if it is impossible to examine the case in the absence of the applicant, the administrative court shall take the petition off the roll under the terms of the Civil Procedure Code. (3) While the administrative court examines the request in nullification, the burden of proof lies with the respondent, and in reparation matters the burden of proof lies with both parties.
Article 25.  The powers of the Administrative Courts
(1)    While considering the case, the administrative court shall
adopt one of the following decisions:
a)    Dismissing the case as being ill-founded or lodged with violation of the term of prescription;
b)    Accepting the case and repealing partially or totally the administrative act or obliging the respondent to issue the administrative act required by the applicant or to deliver a certificate or any other document, or to remove the committed violations, and also deciding on the payment of reparations for the delay of the decision enforcement to the applicant.
(2)    The administrative court shall be entitled to deciding the
ambit of its competence, ex officio or at request, also on the
legality of the administrative acts or actions that served as
grounds for issuing the appealed administrative act. In the
cases when the control of legality of these acts and actions
fall under the competence of the hierarchical superior
administrative court, then the exception of illegality shall
be filed with this court under the conditions of this law.
(3)    If the case is accepted, the administrative court shall also
decide, at request, on the repair of material damages caused
by the illegal administrative act or by failure to solve the
preliminary petition under legal term.
(Art. 25 was amended by Law no. 833-XV from 02.07.2002)
Article 26.  Reasons to Repeal the Appealed Administrative Act
(1)    The appealed administrative act may be repealed, totally or
partially,   if:
a)    Its content is illegal and was issued not under the legal provisions;
b)    It is illegal and was issued by infringing on the competence;
c)    It is illegal and was issued by infringing on the established procedure.
(2)    The administrative court is not competent to decide on the
appropriateness of the administrative act and on the
administrative actions that served as grounds for issuing it.

Article 27.  Passing the Judgment
The administrative court shall pass judgments under the conditions provided for by the Civil Procedure Code.

Article 28.  Publishing the Judgment
(1) The final judgement by the administrative court on the total or partial repeal of the illegal administrative act that went into effect by publication in an official source, as well as the final judgement on the exception of illegality, shall be published in the same source. The judgments may indicate other publications where these are to be published.
(Art. 28 was amended by Law no. 833-XV from 02.07.2002)

Article 29.  Effects of the Repealing of the Administrative Act
(1)    The administrative act that was totally or partially repealed shall stop producing legal effects from the moment when the administrative court's judgment becomes final.
(2)    Taking into account some specific circumstances and the contingency of negative legal consequences, the administrative court may establish, by its judgment, that the norms declared void shall not produce legal effects from the date when the administrative act was adopted.
Article 30.  The Ways to Appeal
(1)    The administrative court's judgment on the merits of the case considered in the first instance may be appealed by recourse in 15-day term from the date when the entire decision was communicated or delivered, if the case is considered in the absence of a party, unless otherwise provided for by law.
(2)    The recourse shall suspend the execution of the judgement.
(3)    The recourse shall be considered under the conditions provided for by the Civil Procedure Code.
(4)    The final judgements by the administrative court may be appealed by extraordinary ways of appeal as provided for by the Civil Procedure Code.
(Art. 30 was amended by Law no. 726-XV from 12.07.2001)

Article 31.    Writ of execution
The final judgments adopted under the conditions of this law shall constitute writs of execution.
Article 32.  Execution of the Judgment
(1)    The administrative court that has delivered the judgement in the first instance shall send a copy of the judgement to the respondent for execution and another copy to the ordinary law court where the respondent has its premises to check if the judgment was executed and, as the case may be, for forced execution, in 3-day term from the date when the judgement becomes final.
(2)    The judgement shall be executed under the term established in its contents, and in the case when the term is not provided for -in up to 30 days from the date when the judgement becomes final.
(3)    In case of the failure to execute the judgment under
established   term,    the   head   of    the   public    authority   who    isresponsible for executing this judgment may be held liable under the current legislation.
(Art.  32 was amended by Law no.   726-XV from 12.07.2001)
 Article 33. Action in Regress
The head of the public authority may bring an action in regress in the ordinary law court against the civil servant guilty of the failure to execute the administrative court's judgement.

Chapter V FINAL AND TRANSITORY PROVISIONS

Article 34
(1)    The provisions of this law shall be completed by the provisions of the Civil Procedure Code.
(2)    Person who considers that one of his/her rights was violated by an administrative act in effect that was issued prior before this law went into effect shall be entitled to bringing action in the issuing public authority or its hierarchical superior body to re-consider the respective act under the conditions of this law.
(3)    This law shall go into effect after 3 months from the date of its publication.
(4)    On the date when this law goes into effect, chapters twenty two - twenty five of the Civil Procedure Code shall be repealed, as well as other provisions from the Civil Procedure Code that are not in compliance with this law.
(5)    The pending cases in the courts on the date when this law went into effect shall be considered in compliance with the norms in effect at the moment when the court was notified.
(6)    Till the creation of administrative boards within tribunals, the Appellate Court and the Supreme Court of Justice, the administrative matters shall be considered by administrative panels appointed by the president of the respective court of law.
(7)    The Government   : shall    develop   proposals    to   conform   the   current legislation to this law and submit them to Parliament; shall conform its own normative acts to this law.

PRESIDENT OF
PARLIAMENT Dumitru DIACOV