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.