The Ministry of Justice will be notified of the establishment of an arbitration institution. The ministry will maintain a list of arbitration institutions in Moldova and publish it on the ministry’s official website.
These provisions are included in the new Arbitration Law, which the government approved at its last meeting. It was drafted by the Ministry of Justice with the support of a working group consisting of arbitrators, lawyers, and representatives of the business community. Once the draft is approved, the new law will take effect on March 1, 2027.
The new law will replace two existing laws
Specifically, the Arbitration Law and the Law on International Commercial Arbitration, which will be unified and harmonized with European legislation. This measure is provided for in Moldova’s National Program for EU Accession for 2025–2029.
According to the draft, any property-related dispute may be the subject of an arbitration agreement. Non-property-related disputes may be subject to such proceedings to the extent that the parties have the right to enter into a transaction regarding the dispute.
In particular, arbitration proceedings will cover disputes related to loan agreements governed by the Law on Consumer Loan Agreements; pledge and surety agreements; as well as disputes related to family law. Exceptions will be disputes regarding which the parties may enter into a settlement agreement.
The draft stipulates that legal entities governed by public law, including the state and local authorities, may enter into arbitration agreements regarding disputes arising from civil law relationships, as well as in other cases provided for by law.
Disputes concerning administrative contracts may be subject to arbitration proceedings approved by the government. A separate article governs institutional arbitration and ad hoc arbitration.
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