The State Chancellery of the Government announces the selection of the international consulting firm The Brattle Group to represent the state’s interests. Richard Caldwell has been designated as the key witness in the case.
The engagement of a new international financial expert to analyze the circumstances of the dispute was necessary because the proceedings in the international arbitration case have entered an active phase.
The State Agency “Information Technology and Cybersecurity Service” (STISC) has been instructed to urgently pay for financial expert services in an amount not exceeding 235,000 euros. The corresponding government resolution is being prepared.
The urgent entry into force of this decision (upon publication in the Monitorul Oficial) is justified by the need to promptly pay for expert services in order to comply with the procedural deadlines set by the MISID arbitration tribunal.
As a reminder, the dispute concerns a contract for the administration and promotion of second-level domain names in the .md zone in the markets of North America, Latin America, and Australia.
The Essence of the Dispute
In 2002–2003, the American company Park Avenue Capital LLC (operating in the medical technology sector under the MaxMD brand) obtained exclusive rights to register and market .md domain names in all English- and Spanish-speaking countries. The .md domain is extremely popular in the West due to its association with the abbreviation “Medical Doctor.”
The reason for the dispute is a breach of contract. In February 2023, Moldova’s Information Technology and Cybersecurity Service (STISC), which had taken over the rights from the state-owned enterprise MoldData, blocked the American company’s access to the administration system. The Moldovan authorities considered the 20-year contract to have expired.
The investor, however, insists that the agreement provided for automatic renewal for another term of the same duration. The U.S. side viewed Chisinau’s actions as a violation of the bilateral investment treaty between the U.S. and Moldova (1993) and filed for arbitration with the World Bank.
For ordinary owners of .md domain sites within Moldova, this dispute poses no technical risks, as the national registrar continues to operate as usual.
