On 27 March 2019, the launching of Phase IV of the implementation of the project “Commercial mediation and arbitration in the Republic of Moldova” initiated by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) was held within the Ministry of Justice in partnership with the International Development Law Organization (IDLO) and funded by USAID.
The event was attended by Eduard Serbenco- Secretary of State, the Ministry of Justice; Karen Hilliard- Mission Director, USAID Moldova; Angela Sax- Head of the EBRD Resident Office in Moldova; Margarita Meldon- Regional Program Manager IDLO; Serghei Harea- President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Moldova (CCI of RM); Dumitru Lefter- Director of the Mediation Center of the CCI of RM; Dumitru Postovan- President of the Court of International Commercial Arbitration besides CCI of RM; Adrian Gheorghita- Deputy Director for Advocacy and Business Development, AMCHAM Moldova; Andrzej Grossman- Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR), representatives of the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Embassy of the United Kingdom, the World Bank, the Mediation Council, the Superior Council of Magistracy, the Supreme Court of Justice, trainers and representatives of the financial and banking sector.
The meeting has embraced the benefits and practice of commercial mediation in the country’s regions, the perception of commercial mediation, arbitration, contemporary challenges, exchange of experience and best practices. Mihai Tanase, Principal Program Consultant in Moldova, IDLO, gave a speech on the perception of commercial mediation in the business community, presenting the results of the questioning of the business environment regarding the perception of mediation, the frequency of disputes, ways of solving, terms and costs. The survey on the perception of commercial mediation by professionals and the business environment included estimates of the financial and time resources savings through the use of mediation, with the legal framework, namely the mediation law of 03.07.2015. According to his data, based on 65 respondents, most (66%) of them face up to 5 litigations per year in their work, 17% have up to 10 litigations annually and 18.5% – up to 25 cases per year. The survey concludes that for half of the respondents the average / annual value of the costs allocated to litigation is between 5,000 and 20,000 lei, which mainly includes legal assistance expenses.
The results of the activities carried out at the previous stages of the project were also discussed. In the near future, they will carry out activities that include assistance to strengthen the capacity of the Mediation Council, the Mediation Center, the provision of mediation services throughout Moldova, workshops and roundtables. One of the objectives of the event was to foster cooperation and exchange of good practices between state institutions and participants in dispute settlement mechanisms.
Serghei Harea, President of the CCI of RM stressed the importance of mediation and arbitration as safe and advantageous methods of dispute settlement between economic agents, mentioning: “One of the priority directions of the Chamber’s activity is to intensify the activities of promoting alternative dispute resolution. Thus, the chamber provides mediation and international arbitration services. Last year, the Court of International Commercial Arbitration besides CCI of RM settled 123 litigations, and the Mediation Center about 30 cases, which shows that these types of dispute resolution have a positive impact in our country. ” Dumitru Lefter, Director of the Mediation Center highlited that, in terms of commercial causes, the Mediation Center has promoted and will continue to promote the institution of mediation, thus almost always helping the business environment across the country. Strengthening the capacity of mediation and commercial arbitration at national level has become a priority to improve access to justice through low terms and costs of litigation, increasing confidence in the judiciary, and stimulating direct investment by increasing investor confidence in the efficiency of commercial dispute resolution. Dumitru Postovan- President of the Court of International Commercial Arbitration besides CCI of RM has been focused on the legislative and practical lacunae in the area of arbitration, issues to be improved within the project in order to unify the arbitration practice. At today’s meeting, were discussed further ways to improve cooperation between actors involved in mediation, so that a tailored approach to the needs of alternative dispute resolution in the Republic of Moldova is implemented.
Thus, a new stage of implementation of the project “Commercial mediation and arbitration in the Republic of Moldova” was launched, whose main purpose is the promotion, development and strengthening of alternative dispute resolution methods.
