In accordance with the Government Decision no.764 of 12 October 2012 on the representation of state interests in courts and in national and international arbitration institutions (published on 19.10.2012 in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Moldova, no.216-220), and in accordance with the Order of the Minister of Justice no. 34 as of 2 April 2021 on the organization and conduct of the tender for the selection of the representatives for the state's interest in international arbitration institutions and the appointment of the members of the Governmental Commission for the selection of the representatives of the state's interest in international arbitration (hereinafter - Selection Commission), in the claim filed by SC „Pa & Co International" SRL against Î.S. "State Road Administration" before the Arbitral Tribunal of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, The Hague, The Netherlands.
General information about the case is summarized as follows.
On 24 March 2014, between Î.S. "State Road Administration" as a Beneficiary and S.C. "PA & CO International" S.R.L. as Contractor was concluded the Contract for the rehabilitation of the M3 road Chisinau - Giurgiulesti (km 151 + 200 - km 171 + 290 and km 179 + 650 - km 190 + 750), registered under no. RSPSP / W4 / 04.
According to the conditions set out in the Loan Agreement concluded with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the works execution contracts were to be executed on the basis of FIDIC rules, (Conditions for Construction Contracts, Harmonized Edition of the Multilateral Development Bank, March 2006, completed and amended under the Special Conditions of the Contract). Thus, according to the provisions of the FIDIC rules and the contractual clauses, all disputes arising out of the execution of the contract are to be settled before the International Arbitration Tribunal (Ad hoc), according to UNCITRAL arbitration rules. The law applicable to merits is the law of the Republic of Moldova.
On 8 December 2020, on behalf of the Claimant, S.C. "Pa & Co International" S.R.L., it was sent the notification for arbitration to State Enterprise "State Road Administration" on the basis of the Contract no.RSPSP / W4 / 04 Rehabilitation of the M3 road Chisinau - Giurgiulesti km 151 + 200 - km 171 + 650 and km 179 + 650 - km 190 + 750, initiating the arbitration procedures.
By its arbitration notice, S.C. "Pa & Co International" S.R.L. proposes that the General Secretariat of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, The Hague, the Netherlands, to act as the appointing authority and the arbitration claim to be settled by an arbitral tribunal composed of 3 (three) arbitrators.
SC "Pa & Co International" SRL requests the Arbitral Tribunal to oblige Î.S. "State Road Administration" to pay the amounts established by the Decision issued by the Dispute Resolution Commission on May 25, 2017.
SE "State Road Administration" according to the provisions of art. 4 of the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules 2013, on 6 January 2021 issued the Response to the notification for arbitration, being sent to S.C. " Pa & Co International "S.R.L.
I. Date, time and place of the tender:
The tender will take place upon the opening of the offers within the headquters of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Moldova: MD - 2012, Chisinau, str. 31 August 1989, no. 82, off. 104 on 29 April 2021 at 10.00. The participants at the tender or their representatives have the right to participate at the opening of offer envelopes.
II. Requirements for the candidate(s) :
- the tender is open to any natural person who holds an attorney's license, as well as individual or associated lawer offices or local or foreign law firms, who have the necessary professional qualification and skills, and who have the right to practice law, plead and act on behalf of their clients and to represent them in international arbitration;
- with respect to foreign lawyers / foreign law firms, it is mandatory for them to at the tender in the partnership with associated law firms / offices from the Republic of Moldova;
- has experience of representation before international arbitration institutions;
- has experience in the field of international arbitrations;
- to submit a statement on its own responsibility concerning the lack of affiliation and the conflict of interest with the parties to the dispute;
- to have participated as a representative at least once, in the last five years, in an international arbitration concerning the similar object to that one in the dispute, in the field of commercial arbitration.
- knowledge of the working language of the arbitration institution and of the arbitral tribunal.
III. Examination of the offers.
The bids will be examined confidentially, and the winning bid will be designated that one which will satisfy the evaluation criteria and will be the most advantageous from a technical-economic point of view.
The following advantages will be considered when assessing the offers of the candidate(s):
- at least 10 years' experience as a lawyer;
- experience in the field of FIDIC contracts, (Conditions for Contracts in the field of Construction, Harmonized Edition of the Multilateral Development Bank, from March 2006, completed and amended under the Special Conditions of the Contract).
- won a case as a representative before the Permanent Court of International Arbitration, The Hague, the Netherlands or another permanent institution of international arbitration;
- participated as a representative in settlement of disputes concerning a commercial arbitration before the Permanent Court of International Arbitration, The Hague, the Netherlands or another permanent institution of international arbitration.
IV. General requirements:
- providing legal assistance to the S.E. "State Road Administration" in the claim brought by SC "Pa & Co International" SRL against S.E. "State Road Administration", before the Arbitral Tribunal of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, The Hague, The Netherlands;
- analysis of the case materials, related legislation, as well as relevant case law and identification of legal solutions for the purpose of effective representation before the Arbitral Tribunal of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, The Hague, the Netherlands;
- participation, as a representative of the S.E. "State Road Administration" on the above-mentioned case before the Arbitral Tribunal of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, The Hague, the Netherlands;
- drafting and presentation of all the procedural acts necessary for the exercise with maximum diligence of the representation attributions;
- consultation with S.E. "State Road Administration" of the positions and actions to be taken on the case;
- informing the represented party about the evolution of the process, after each session or procedural action;
- acting with the utmost diligence and prudence in order to ensure the representation of the interests of the S.E. "State Road Administration" in the best conditions.
V. List of documents for participation at the tender:
The set of documents for the participation at the tender, addressed to the Selection Committee, must include the following documents, original or authenticated, in the manner established by law, drafted in the state language or translated, in the manner established by law:
a) the request to participate in the tender, addressed to the Selection Commission;
b) documents proving the capacity to exercise the professional activity:
- for the associated law firms / offices of the Republic of Moldova - copy of the identity card of the lawyer's license and / or of the members of the associated law office and the certificate of attribution of the fiscal code issued by the fiscal body where it has / declared its headquarters;
- for foreign lawyers / foreign law firms - the documents of constitution and registration, of attestation or professional affiliation, in accordance with the provisions of the legislation from the country of origin and proof of partnership with an associated law firm / office in the Republic of Moldova;
c) curriculum vitae (CV) of the foreign lawyer / members of the law firm who will be involved in the representation, with the description of the relevant experience;
d) presentation of the history and professional experience of the law firm / office associated with the local or foreign law firm;
e) documents proving that the foreign lawyer / associated office / foreign law firm has valid professional indemnity insurance, the price offer for the requested services which will indicate in Euro (EUR) the maximum limit that can be requested for fulfillment all necessary and useful acts in order to represent the interests of the Republic of Moldova and/or S.E. "State Road Administration" until the final settlement of the case before the Arbitral Tribunal of the Permanent Court Arbitration, The Hague, the Netherlands.
The proposed amount of price will include both fees and additional costs (such as taxes and duties in accordance with applicable law, for the performance of the provided services, as well as expenses related to transport, accommodation and other expenses (as applicable).
The price structure for the services will be submitted in a table indicating, for each member of the team, the estimated total number of hours, the hourly rate / fee, and the total amount of prive for legal services.
The amount of additional expenses will be submitted separately in table.
The price for the requested services will be indicated in euro (EUR).
VI. Candidates who will not be admitted to the tender
- who have less than 3 years of experience as attorneys;
- who have not submitted in full the required set of documents or their presentation does not comply with the established requirements;
- who did not submit the set of documents for participation at the tender in accordance with the terms set out in point VII.
VII. Deadline for receipt and registration of documents related to the dispute: 28 April, 2021, 10.00, at the address: Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Moldova: MD - 2012, Chisinau, str. 31 August 1989, no. 82, floor. 1, off. 128 (secretariat) tel. + (373) 69549145. Contact person is Daniel PANTEA, e-mail: daniel.pantea@justice.gov.md.
Additional information / Clarifications on the arbitration dispute can be submitted to Ms. Livia Ionașcu, e-mail: ionascu@asd.md, tel: 022 74 85 94.
Name of the candidate „____________________"
Participation at the tender for representation of the interetsts of S.E. „State Road Administration"
To not to be opened until 10.00, local time, 29 April, 2021. To be opened only by the Selection Commission".
IX. The validity period of the offer will be 60 (sixty) days from the deadline for submitting the offer.
The president of the meeting,
State Secretary,
The president of the commission Tatiana TVERDUN
The cecretary of the commission Daniel PANTEA