Activity of the Parliament on April 18 – May 1, 2005

Government sworn in

The parliament held a special sitting in this period and examined the governing programme and entire list of the cabinet of ministers, unveiled by the nominee prime minister. Representatives of all the parliamentary factions spoke out after presentation of the programme, with most of them criticizing the activity of the precedent executive and proposed programme. None of lawmakers voted the cabinet, except for the Communist faction, though the proposed programme comprised ideas and promises from electoral programmes of parties which succeeded to the Parliament. Experts highlight that the situation is clear in case of the majority opposition faction, Our Moldova Alliance, since it participated neither in election of speaker, nor of the chief of state. As for representatives of the “constructive” opposition, they did not vote because of being afraid to assume responsibility for governing, rather than for not getting any post in the cabinet. This way, the factions representing the Christian Democratic People’s Party and Democratic Party of Moldova reserved the right to criticize the executive’s activity and to use critical messages in the future electoral campaigns for the Chisinau City Hall and for general local elections after two years. On the other hand, the election of the chief of state, creation of political alliances aimed to promote the policy on internal consolidation and European integration of the country already mean responsibility for governing, while justification of refusal to give the trust vote through absence of some proposed ad-hoc chapters seems not to be based on objective criteria.

Anyway, the executive was invested in office, and only the post of first deputy prime minister remains vacant in the new cabinet, a situation similar to the one registered in 2001, when the president appointed Communist parliamentarian Vasile Iovv to this office.

Legislative documents

Law for modification of the Penal Code

At present, Article 264 of the Penal Code stipulates the “imprudent causing of serious material damages” as part of offence. Taking into account the cost of transportation units and parts for them, the material damage resulted after traffic accidents is larger than the big damages (10,000 lei) in most of cases. Police bodies have to file penal cases, though the damage is covered.

Also, Article 124 of the Code of Administrative Contraventions stipulates punishment for “violation of traffic rules by motorists, so that the transportation means were seriously deteriorated.”

The Parliament decided to exclude this sentence from the Penal Code, decriminalising the actions which will be object of civil, insurance relations, and of Contraventional Code in future.

Draft law on status of military

The law adopted by the Parliament in the first lecture aims to ensure the necessary legislative framework for an uniform regulation of general aspects of rights and obligations, juridical and social protection, military service of the Armed Forces military. Also, the law will indicate the aspects related to social and juridical protection of military and members of their families, citizens who attend military training.

The law will cover the military who serve in the Armed Forces; reserve military of the Armed Forces; members of families of serving military.

The law will indicate the key aspects of rights and general obligations of military; financial rights for military employed on basis of a contract; employment in military service through a contract; appointment and dismissal of military through a contract; transfer of military; mode of awarding, retrograding and restoration of military rankings; relief from military service, etc.

The law proposes new notions: enrollment of citizens on basis of a contract; conditions for awarding of military rankings to military employed through a contract; monthly pay of military employed through a contract; offences which discredit the title of military of Armed Forces, etc.

Draft law for modification of legislative documents on empowerment of the Labour Inspection with sanctioning rights and competences

The draft adopted in the first lecture after controversial debates proposes higher sanctions for violation of labour protection legislation and introduction of a new article in the Code of Administrative Contraventions — violation of legislation on employment and social protection of job seekers.

Also, the law proposes to empower the Labour Inspection with the right to examine administrative contraventions related to labour protection.

The government motivated the need to adopt this law through the fact that inspectors registered more than 42,000 violations of different legal provisions in 2004, while most of them envisage:

use of labour force without an individual labour contract stipulated by legislation;
violation of legal work time;
employment with a lower salary than the minimum pay stipulated by legislation;
failure to pay compensations;
salary arrears for two and more months;
employment of people without professional training and training in labour protection matters;
use of improvised work equipment without protection devices.

Statistics also confirm the complicated situation in this sector, as about 600 salary earners are hurt a year because of violation of different normative documents on labour protection (40–50 persons are hurt to death). About 20,000 salary earners are employed under work conditions which unfit the hygienic and sanitary norms. As many as 1,527 high ranking officials received administrative sanctions for violation of labour legislation and other normative documents in seven months of 2004.

The current size of administrative sanctions for violations does not direct to respect for labour law norms. Thus, it was established after repeated controls that the business respected the legislation nor after receiving administrative sanctions. Higher administrative fines and empowerment of the Labour Inspection with the right to apply them were proposed from these reasons.

Many lawmakers opposed this draft, warning that the existing practice of continued sanctioning does not have efficient results, with controls being abusive in most of cases or finishing with extortion of facilities for inspectors.

Draft law on higher sanctions for violation of legislation on sale of alcohol production

The draft adopted in the first lecture calls for severer administrative sanctions for violation of legislation in this sector and introduction of sanctions for sale of alcohol drinks in rooms without necessary equipment and conditions for storage and sale; in booths, pavilions, and other trade facilities which do not have a commercial space of at least 20 square metres; in educational, medical institutions; in hostels for students and schoolchildren; in enterprises and building and repairing sites; in commercial enterprises near kindergartens and educational institutions for children; in sport buildings and their adjacent fields; in coffee houses for children; trade facilities for children and teenagers; in headquarters of public authorities, except for public food facilities; near religious buildings; in cemeteries; penitentiaries, military units; in public transportation enterprises;

Violation of these restrictions will bring fines of 200–300 minimum salaries for citizens and 500–800 minimum salaries for functionaries, while the products which represent the object of contravention will be confiscated.

The leasing law

The law adopted by Parliament aims to establish juridical bases for regulation of leasing relations, object of leasing, participants in leasing operations, their obligations and responsibilities.

The law explains a number of notions, including the following:

leasing — an ensemble of relations established for and by a leasing contract;

leasing contract — a contract through which one side called locator pledges at the request of another side named lodger to ensure possession and temporary use of goods purchased or produced by locator, in exchange for a periodical payment (leasing instalments), and to respect the right to option of lodger to buy the estate when the contract runs off, to prolong the leasing contract, or to stop the contract-based relations;

leasing instalment — a periodical sum paid by lodger to locator which represents the share from the original value of leased goods and leasing interest (in case of financial leasing) or share of payment calculated in line with normative documents in effect, and a benefit established by contracting sides (in case of operational leasing).

The law defines several types of leasing:

financial leasing — any leasing operation which complies with at least one of the following conditions: — most of risks and benefits afferent to the right to property on the asset which is object of leasing are transferred to lodger when the leasing contract is signed; — the sum of leasing instalments represents at least 90 percent of the original value of leased goods; — leasing contract stipulates express the transfer of the right to property on estate which is object of leasing to lodger when the contract runs off; — the leasing period exceeds 75 percent of the useful functioning duration of estate which is object of leasing;

operational leasing — any leasing operation which does not meet any conditions of the financial leasing contract;

barter-leasing — leasing operation within which the lodger pays the leasing instalments through his goods;

compensatory leasing — leasing operation through which the locator receives the proposed goods with equipment which is object of leasing on account of leasing instalments;

consumer leasing — leasing operation within which the lodger has the quality of consumer explained by legislation on protection of consumer;

international leasing — leasing operation with participation of a locator or lodger who is not a resident of Moldova.

Any chattels or real estate can be object of leasing, except for the following categories of goods:

goods withdrawn from civil circuit or whose circulation is limited by law;
consumer goods;
objects of intellectual property which cannot be ceded.

Under the law, the leasing contract must establish at least the following elements: — contracting sides; — description of estate which is object of the leasing contract; — original value of the asset in case of financial leasing contract; — overall value of the contract; — value of leasing instalments and their payment term; — term of the contract; — clause on the right of lodger to option to buy the estate, to prolong the leasing contract, or to stop the contract-based relations; — convention of parties regarding the insurance of the estate which is object of leasing (insurance of the asset which is object of leasing is mandatory only in case of consumer leasing).

The law also establishes:

The rights, obligations and responsibilities of the sides. Stimulation of leasing and protection of rights;
measures to encourage the leasing;
measures to protect the patrimonial rights;
methods to claim the asset, etc.

Adoption and enforcement of the new law aims to encourage this business sector and individuals and enterprises to buy goods. The law will encourage the deals with goods which can be object of leasing, so that to establish an intensive circuit of values, development of different production processes, and growth of internal trade.

The law for modification of the law on investment funds

The law adopted after controversial debates comprises a number of norms aimed to restore the normal activity of investment funds, as well as the control of shareholders on functioning of funds.

The law establishes the following:

1. The information about general meetings of shareholders of investment funds, with official announcement about reorganisation, must be released through radio and television programmes of national audience

2. The non-mutual investment funds will turn into other types of investment funds; — or will give up the quality of professional participant in the securities market;

3. The non-mutual investment fund which will approve one of the procedures mentioned above at the general meeting of shareholders will have to receive applications for redemption of shares for the price approved by general meeting of shareholders, but not lower than 50 percent of the nominal value or value established when a share was placed.

If not, these funds will self-close in line with a decision of the meeting of shareholders. The law obliges the executive and the National Commission for Securities to approve a regulation on redemption of shares of reorganising non-mutual investment funds in limited terms.

The law for modification and completion of the law on securities market

This law obliges the fiduciary companies to undertake a series of actions till the end of this year, including:

to adjust the constitution documents to the Civil Code, law on securities market, and normative documents of the National Commission for Securities regarding the fiduciary management of investments;
to inform management founders through a recommended letters about state of their accounts, and to propose them amendments and completions to existing trust contracts through an additional document, in order to comply with the type-contract approved by the National Commission for Securities.

The fiduciary companies will be lifted from their licences and will be closed up, if they violate these provisions.

Also, the fiduciary companies were told not to sell the assets of their clients or to vote for sale or taxation of assets of joint stock societies in which they represent the interests of founders of fiduciary management, as long as the new norms are not implemented.

Law on importation of equipment for construction of energy plants under preferential conditions

The law adopted by Parliament exempts the installations, equipment, materials and generating sets imported for construction of energy plants of about 450 MW each near the village of Burlaceni, in Cahul district, and near the Balti municipality, from value-added tax in 2005–2007.

It is expected that these facilities speed up the construction works, reduce the cost price, and lower the electricity tariffs. Implementation of these investments projects will create new jobs, will compensate the deficit of generating power of the southern and northern energy stations, will boost the own electricity generating capacities of Moldova, and will consolidate the energy security of the country.

Many representatives of opposition accused the executive that the investment companies had not been selected on a transparent enough way and this fact throws doubts on transparency of this business in general. As a result, the competent authorities were told to present soon an additional information in this regard.

The law for modification and completion of the Code on Administrative Contraventions

The Code on Contraventions was completed with several new articles and regulations regarding:

Violation of rules of the state border regime and state border crossing regime (breaches requiring fines between 10 and 20 minimum salaries).
Destruction or deterioration of border signs (breached requiring fines of between 50 and 75 minimum salaries).
Assignment of water objectives for separate use, with violation of legal provisions, use of water objectives without a state title for separate use or use of water without a special authorisation (breaches requiring fines of 300 minimum salaries).
Violation of legislation on market of oil products (breaches requiring fines of 150–700 minimum salaries).

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