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Policy Documentation Center

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ADEPT 
Legal Commentaries 
 
May 2005 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Activity of the Parliament on May 2-6, 2005 
12 May 2005  
 
The legislature has held only one sitting in this period and examined several draft 
legislative documents which challenged controversial and long debates. Drafts on 
amendment of the education law were among them.  
 
I. Laws on amendment of the education law  
Commentary by ADEPT: The laws adopted by Parliament introduced new 
regulations on:  
1. Creation of institutions of higher learning by Moldova's president.  
This law allows the Moldovan president to decide on executive's proposals to create, 
reorganise or close up state-owned institutions of higher learning, as well as 
institutions of scientific researches, and staff training institutions. Also, the president 
was empowered to approve the statute of educational institution of the Moldovan 
presidential administration.  
The law also entrusts the chief of state to appoint the rector of the institution of higher 
learning of the Moldovan presidential administration, while the university senate 
selects the rectors of other state-owned universities on basis of a contest, while the 
Government confirms them in offices.  
2. Modernisation of higher education and its readjustment to the process of 
integration in the European education.  
The law adopted after controversial debates comprises a number of norms aimed to 
readjust the higher education system of Moldova to the European education 
requirements, and adhesion to the so-called "Bologna Process" in 2005.  
Thus, the law calls for organisation of higher education in two cycles: 3-4-year higher 
education for bachelor's degree and 1-2-year higher education for master's degree, and 
mandatory introduction of the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) in all the 
institutions of higher learning.  
Also, it calls for reorganisation of medical and pharmaceutical education through 
specialized higher education and post-university resident education.  
It is presumed that organisation of higher education on cycles of studies will ensure 
the readjustment of the Moldovan higher education system to the education system 
within the European Higher Education Space. The introduction of ECTS will ensure 
the comparability and knowledge within an education study, regardless of the 
education institution of students.  
Organisation of higher education on cycles of studies ensures a better coverage of 
needs of education, elimination of very narrowed specialties, development of jobs 
affected by a deficit of specialized staff and necessary from economic and cultural 
points of view, development of new qualifications in compliance with requirements of 
current times and of perspective of the labour market.  
 1
Under the law, the post-university education ensures specialization in the area or 
extension and improvement of scientific and pedagogical education. Admission in 
post-graduation education will be based on the following:  
a. contest for doctor's degree, studies after doctor's degree, and specialized 
courses;  
b. training courses at the request.  
The post-graduation specialized studies will last at least one year, in dependence of 
profile, and they welcome graduates who hold master's degree.  
The post-graduation training courses last maximum one year, in dependence of 
profile, and they welcome graduates who hold bachelor's degree or master's degree in 
higher education.  
 
II. Law on annulment of penalties and interest rates of the enterprise 
Combustibil Solid  
Commentary by ADEPT: a law adopted by Parliament annulled 11,300 U.S. dollars 
in interest rate and 182,100 dollars in penalties, calculated and unpaid by the joint 
stock society Combustibil-Solid for credits offered to buy coal from the loan released 
by a German bank to Moldova.  
The explanation of this exemption rests with the failure of the Finance Ministry to 
honour payments towards Combustibil-Solid for coal supplied to the social sector, so 
that the company was unable to honour its payment obligations for the credit.  
Representatives of the parliamentary opposition did not warm this draft, fearing that 
many shortcomings and breaches were registered when the coal contracted on basis of 
credit was distributed, and this harmed the state budget, and warned that the 
exemption accepted by Parliament may generate such unwanted phenomenons in 
future.  
 2
Activity of the Parliament on May 9-13, 2005 
24 May 2005  
 
The national radio and television channels broadcasted live the sittings held in the 
period concerned, and this fact left a clear mark upon the mode of tackling of issues 
included in agenda. If the Parliament had earlier discussed 10-15 draft laws in 
maximum one hour and half, it discussed the agenda alone for more than half an hour 
at the latest sittings, examined only several drafts and raised several questions to the 
executive the other three hours.  
The situation has developed till indication of the state budget spending for televised 
broadcasting of the Parliament's works, in order to make the lawmakers to deliver 
shorter speeches. The parliamentary opposition representatives gave an unclear 
appreciation to these apostrophes.  
 
I. Law on Ratification of the Credit Agreement of the Council of Europe's Bank 
for Development  
Commentary by ADEPT: The ratified agreement calls for release of a six-million-
euro credit as financing for the project Transfusion Security in Moldova. The loan is 
released for a 20-year period, including a five-year grace period, and a 2.5-percent 
annual interest rate.  
The difficult situation in this sector highlights the need to implement this project:  
• specialized equipment is not enough;  
• existing equipment is used up more than 80 percent and provides no safe 
quality and inoffensiveness of technological process;  
• transportation of blood products unfits the special rules, etc.  
Implementation of this project, which costs about 10 million euros overall, would 
enhance the quality and efficiency of healthcare system by improving the quality and 
safety of blood and blood products at all the stages of the process, from collection to 
transfusion.  
 
II. Law on Amendment and Completion of the Law on Normative Price and 
Sale-purchase of Land  
Commentary by ADEPT: The law adopted by the Parliament prolonged the term for 
implementation of coefficients for reduction of sale price of fields adjacent to 
enterprises till 2007.  
This amendment was needed because the experience confirms that the sale of adjacent 
plots for a normative price (about 600,000 lei per hectare) stops the process of 
privatization of fields, if the reduction coefficients are not used.  
Nor the state can raise the planned amounts in such cases, while businesses face a 
difficult situation because they do not own the fields where they are located and work.  
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Also, the law modified the mode of distribution of financial means raised from sale 
and purchase of fields. Thus, it was established that the money raised from sale of 
state-owned fields is distributed the following way:  
• 80 percent to the state budget;  
• 20 percent to treasury accounts for special purposes.  
 
III. Law on Exemption of Sale of Agricultural Fields for construction of the 
Revaca-Cainari Railway Portion from Income Taxes  
Commentary by ADEPT: The law exempts from income taxes the individuals who 
obtain revenues from sale of agricultural fields to the State Agency for Land Relations 
and Cadastre, in order to transmit them to the state-owned railway company of 
Moldova.  
The law aims to ease the construction of the Revaca-Cainari railway to surround the 
existing railroad in the Bender municipality, where the Transdnistrian separatist 
administration often blocks up trains and transports.  
The state budget will lose about 800,000 lei for these facilities and these losses will be 
compensated later through a rise of cargo transportation and traffic.  
This portion of railway will be built by the end of this year.  
 
IV. Law on Amendment and Completion of the Legislation on Social Protection 
of Job Seekers  
Commentary by ADEPT: The law calls for the following:  
1. Establishing of the category of job seeker in order to register him as jobless 
person or to award him the right to benefit from unemployment assistance, 
professional integration or reintegration allocation, in line with the reason of 
relief from office indicated in labor card.  
2. Establishing of a juridical status of private employment agencies.  
3. Employment of rural population by allowing it to get employed in other 
settlements than where it resides.  
4. Access of youths aged 16-18, graduates from boarding schools, orphan 
children, children without parent's care, children in tutelage, victims of 
trafficking in human beings, etc. to professional education.  
5. Enlargement of categories of beneficiaries from unemployment assistance by 
introducing the people who tendered resignation, who will receive the right to 
unemployment assistance only if they get registered with employment 
agencies and fail to get employed for three months because of the lack of 
vacant jobs.  
 4
6. Increase of the number of beneficiaries from unemployment assistance by 
improving the mandatory due pay duration of person: the due pay duration 
will be reduced from 12 months down to six months.  
7. Reduction of the unemployment assistance from 50-60 percent down to 30-50 
percent of the precedent salary, as the number of jobs with salaries below size 
of unemployment assistance has increased. The reduction of unemployment 
assistance allows the enlargement of categories of beneficiaries of this aid. At 
the same time, the real amount will not decline because salaries rose this year 
comparatively with 2004.  
 
V. Law on Amendment of the Law on Electricity  
Commentary by ADEPT: The law allows businesses and other consumers that 
administrate power grids of a 0.4-10 kW tension or energy lines and transformation 
stations of 35-110 kW, which are not exclusively used in the technological process to 
transmit them for free to energy distribution or transportation enterprises. The 
spending for further exploitation of power grids taken under administration is taken 
into account when the tariffs for transportation or distribution of electricity are 
established.  
These amendments come in response to the fact that the maintenance of these grids 
and installations is expensive and not all the owners can afford its cost and 
employment of qualified staff. Also, the grids and installations have a certain value 
and their transmission to supplier makes the latter pay the income taxes and other 
related costs, so that such a transaction is not profitable.  
 
VI. Draft law on botanical gardens  
Commentary by ADEPT: The draft law approved in the first lecture aims to choose 
a statute of botanical gardens, which represent some geographically delimited areas, 
with sorts of representative and rare or jeopardized plants, created after anthropogenic 
activity to maintain the diversity of plants inside the country and from other 
geographical areas.  
The law proposes a statute of public institutions working in science and innovation, 
ecological-cultural education sectors, regulated by the Code on Science and 
Innovation, and their subordination to the Moldovan Academy of Sciences and/or 
local public administration authorities.  
The law indicates the key notions of this sector: collection, exhibition, genetic fund, 
etc.  
Also, it proposes a mechanism for creation of botanical gardens: through delimitation 
of grounds and/or water territories under a special management regime for 
conservation, adaptation and regeneration under the best artificial conditions of sorts 
of local, allochthon and exotic plants, which are significant from scientific, economic 
and esthetic points of view, dendrological and flower collections which serve as 
depots of genetic fund and sources of reproductive material.  
 5
Sale and leasing of fields which are part of public botanical gardens will be 
prohibited.  
The territory of botanical gardens will comprise several functional areas: exhibition, 
scientific, prohibited and auxiliary.  
A protection zone of 100-150 meters will be established on territory adjacent to 
botanical gardens, in order to reduce the anthrop impact on botanical gardens.  
The key tasks of botanical gardens will comprise among others the creation of 
collections and exhibitions of local and allochthon plants; artificial conservation of 
diversity of plants; scientific botanical researches; research of diversity of species of 
plants in the Moldovan territory; creation of seed funds; organization of exchange of 
seeds and plants, etc.  
Botanical gardens will be financed in line with the Code on Science and Innovation: 
from the state budget, municipal budgets, budgets of administrative territorial units, 
means from own activity; means of ecological funds; investments (donations, grants, 
etc.) of individuals and businesses, etc.  
Following activities will be prohibited in the protection zone of botanical gardens: 
unauthorized hunting, fishing and seizure of animals; construction of objects and 
depots for storage of chemical substances and mineral fertilizers, other items; 
installation of heating networks, electricity transportation lines; technical water 
works; extraction of stones, gravel, sand, fertile soil, or other works.  
Following activities will be prohibited in botanical gardens: geological excavations; 
cutting and/or clearing of trees, bushes, saplings, brushwood or sapling-covered areas; 
hunting, destruction of ant hills, lairs, nests and caches; unauthorized harvesting and 
collection of medical plants, flowers, fruits; traffic of transports except for roads of 
common use or special fields; any whole constructions, except for constructions in 
auxiliary zone.  
 6
Activity of the Parliament on May 23-27, 2005 
31 May 2005  
 
During the aforesaid period legislators examined several draft laws, some of them of 
major importance to the public. Among others the drafts on unemployment aid and 
the draft abolishing sanctions on prostitution proved to be the most controversial ones.  
Apart from the aforesaid drafts, legislators examined and passed a series of 
amendments aimed at bringing Moldovan normative acts in accordance with 
European standards.  
 
I. Law on the Modification and Completion of the Law on Employment and 
Social Security of the Unemployed  
Commentary by ADEPT: The goal of the law is to bring national laws in accordance 
with Labor Code and enhance social security of the unemployed.  
The law also regulates the legal status of private employment agencies, coordination 
and control over their activity. One of the innovations of the law is that it allows for 
permanent employment in localities far from the place of residence. Ousted 
employees who would register with employment agencies would be also entitled to 
unemployment aid.  
The provision on reducing the unemployment aid from 50-60% to 30-50% of the 
previous salary has triggered many debates. Many deputies objected on the grounds 
those people would be worse off, considering the inflation and raising cost of 
consumption basket.  
Draft authors supported by majority faction replied that unemployment aid would in 
fact increase, i.e. in 2005 it would equal 500 Lei, in 2006 - 650 Lei, while in 2007 - 
850 Lei. Those arguments convinced hesitating deputies to pass the law in the final 
reading.  
 
II. Law on Modification and Completion of the Law on the Status of Refugees  
Commentary by ADEPT: The amendments come in response to recently passed 
international documents in the field of refugees. The law includes new provisions on 
several institutions:  
1. Humanitarian protection, institutions supported via the Council of Europe 
Recommendation of 2001 on subsidiary protection. According to Council of Europe 
the latter is to be provided by the states in conformity with decisions taken by the 
specialized bodies, to certain persons that do not fall under the provisions of 1951 
Convention on Refugees, but need to be protected from threats and various ill 
treatments.  
2. Council for Refugees which should be an administrative, consultative structure 
without any appeal or recourse powers.  
3. Access of UN High Commissioner on refugees to applicants for asylum or refuge.  
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4. Applicant for asylum. The deadlines for applying to asylum are to be abolished as 
the person deserves to be protected regardless how many days passed since his/her 
arrival in the country.  
5. Voluntary repatriation. This has been proven to be the most appropriate solution to 
refugee's problems, therefore the law provides such a repatriation as grounds for 
ceasing the refugee status.  
6. Exclusions. The law also provides persons that might not apply for a refugee status.  
7. Family reunification. This provision was included in the law so as to make possible 
family reunification in the Republic of Moldova.  
8. Appeal. Provisions as regards appeal were brought in accordance with national and 
international law in the field.  
 
III. Resolution on granting "Valea Morilor" park in Chisinau the status of 
monument of architecture  
Commentary by ADEPT: Parliament passed such a decision in view of recovery and 
conservation of the "Valea Morilor" park, following a report by a working group 
responsible for fighting illegal construction in the park. The park was founded in 1951 
and currently has 113.9 hectares. By including the park in the list of places under state 
protection, it would be preserved and become a center culture and recreation, a natural 
attraction.  
 
IV. Resolution on abolishing sanctions on prostitution  
Commentary by ADEPT: Parliament resolution that approved the Action-Plan in the 
field of Human Rights back in 2003 provides for amending the law so as to persecute 
both the person providing the service and the clients of such services. Since then the 
criminal law has changed and it does no longer sanction prostitution due to its low 
social harm. Prostitution continues to be sanctioned as a contravention. In most 
European countries the client of such services are not sanctioned, that is why 
Moldovan legislators considered there were no grounds to introduce such sanctions in 
Moldovan law.  
 
V. Draft law on modification of the Criminal Code and new regulations on 
torture  
Commentary by ADEPT: Parliament passed in a first reading a draft law completing 
Criminal Code with a new article on torture. Under the draft, intentional actions 
causing pain, physical or mental suffering in order to obtain from a person or a third 
party information or confessions so as to punish that person for an action he/she 
committed or is suspected of committing; intimidation or pressure on a third party, 
any form of discrimination, when such a pain or suffering are caused by a person in 
high position or at duty shall be sanctioned.  
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It was important to introduce the modification as there were no such provisions in the 
Criminal Code and there were numerous cases of torture registered in the Republic of 
Moldova.  
 9


ADEPT Legal Commentaries, May 2005

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