Competition / Antitrust Law
Though some form of antitrust legislation was adopted in Moldova in early 90s, only in 2007 the first Agency for the Protection of Competition was established. However, it was only in 2012 when the latest Competition Law was approved and today’s Competition Council was established.
After a number of high-profile cases in which the Competition Council imposed substantial fines on companies operating in Moldova, it proved itself as one of the major business regulators in Moldova.
The extensive powers of the Council (particularly to impose substantial fines even for minor non-cooperation) make the competition legislation and compliance with its requirements a major issue for any business. Moldovan competition legislation is based to a great extent on similar provisions of EU law, making it more difficult for Moldovan courts and lawyers to apply given Moldova is not part of the EU and the European competition case law does not apply directly in Moldova while remaining extremely important for understanding and interpreting specific legislative provisions.
Our firm helps our clients to get all necessary expertise on both Moldovan and European competition regulating instruments and mechanisms, and full legal support in cases involving competition issues, including effective communication with the Competition Council in cases of investigations and representation in courts.
We also provide legal advice and assistance on issues related to advertising which is the area supervised by the Competition Council.
You can also find some of our articles, news and materials on competition law in Moldova by accessing the links below:
- The biggest fine in Moldova competition law for abuse of dominance
- Abuz prin prețuri de ruinare în cazul Starnet Soluții SRL / TV-BOX SRL- a avut sau nu dreptate Consiliul Concurenței?
- The competition rules on dawn raids under the constitutional scrutiny
- A fine of MDL 353.000 for failing to notify a merger despite it being declared compatible with the market
- Dreptul exclusiv de distribuție în Republica Moldova – studiu de caz
- CSJ penalizează Consiliul Concurenței pentru nemotivarea amenzii. Cine să penalizeze CSJ pentru (ne)motivare?
- Obligația întreprinderii dominante de a contracta în Codul Civil modernizat
- Revoluția răspunderii delictuale în concurență – cât nu ai fugi, principiul continuității economice te va ajunge
- Is the Moldovan BAR Recommendation on Lawyer’s Fee restricting competition?
Our latest legal updates and blog posts
Moldovan tax authorities given powers of criminal investigation
The new legislative amendments which provide the State Fiscal Service with powers of criminal investigation came into effect on 01/01/2021. On 11 September 2020, the Moldovan Parliament approved the amendments to a number of laws, most importantly into the Fiscal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code. The amendments aim at: Providing the State Fiscal Service…
Biggest fine in Moldova competition law history for abuse of dominance
The Competition Council strikes again with three decisions on abuse of dominance issued in the past two months. 1. Circumstances of facts The recent case concerns the operator of the Chișinău International Airport (CIA) which allegedly abused of dominant position. It is to be recalled that the CIA was given in concession in 2013 to…
New rules on administering the Moldovan national top-level domain .MD
The Moldovan National Regulatory Agency for Electronic Communications and Information Technology approved the new Regulation on the administration of the national top-level domain “.MD”. The previous regulation was approved back in 2000 and, although amended in 2006, has become substantially out-of-date. The new Regulation provides for more detailed rules on the administration of the national…
Real estate registration rules amended
Moldovan Parliament has approved amendments into the Law on the Real Estate Cadastre (to become effective on 11 October 2020). These amendments are supposed to integrate the latest substantial legislative reform of land and other property rights set out in the amended Moldovan Civil Code. Although they cover a wide range of complex property law…
Closer to the EU – new amendments to the Moldovan law on joint-stock companies
The Law No. 1134/1997 on joint-stock companies was amended in order to comply with the European standards, namely the Directive (EU) 2017/1132 of 14 June 2017 on certain aspects of company law and Directive 2007/36/EC of 11 July 2007 on the exercise of certain rights of shareholders in listed companies. Consolidation of shareholders rights In…
Mai aproape de UE – noi modificări la Legea privind societățile pe acțiuni
Legea nr. 1134/1997 privind societățile pe acțiuni a fost modificată cu scopul conformării cu standardele europene (poate fi accesată aici), și anume cu Directiva (UE) 2017/1132 a Parlamentului European și Consiliului din 14 iunie 2017 cu privire la anumite aspecte ale dreptului societăților comerciale și cu Directiva 2007/36/CE a Parlamentului European din 11 iulie 2007…
