In accordance with the Government Decision no.764 on October 12th, 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. 289 on November 14th, 2023 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.
The Loan Agreement signed between Republic of Moldova and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), for the implementation of Roads Rehabilitation Project (the Project), in amount of 75 million Euro, signed in Chisinau on October 29th, 2010, has been ratified by the Law of Republic of Moldova no.77 dated April 21st, 2011. The responsibility to undertake all necessary measures to implement the provisions of the above-mentioned loan falls to the Government of the Republic of Moldova.
On April 25th, 2012, in order to implement the provisions of the Laon agreement mentioned above, the S.E. “State Roads Administration” (Î.S. „Administrația de Stat a Drumurilor”/ SRA), as a Beneficiary of the Project, signed with S.C.”PA & CO International” S.R.L. (the Contractor), the Contracts RSPSP/W3/02 and RSPSP/W3/03 for the rehabilitation of M3 Chișinău - Giurgiulești road (km 96 + 800 - km 122 + 800 and km 122 + 800 - km 151 + 200).
Following the rules established through the Loan Agreement, the works are to be executed based on FIDIC contract conditions (Conditions of Contract for Constructionfor Building and Engineering Works Designed by the Employer, harmonized edition by rhe Multilateral development Banks as of March 2006), updated and modified through the means of Contract’s Particular Conditions. Thus, following the FIDIC provisions and contractual clauses, any disputes, that could arise as a result of the execution of the contracts’ provisions, are to be resolved before the International Arbitration Court (Ad hoc), following the UNCITRAL arbitration rules, substantive law being that of Republic of Moldova.
On October 16th, 2023, S.C. ”Pa & Co International” S.R.L. submitted to Î.S. „Administrația de Stat a Drumurilor” the notice of arbitration related to the dispute under the works Contracts RSPSP/W3/02 and RSPSP/W3/03 for the rehabilitation of M3 Chișinău - Giurgiulești road (km 96 + 800 - km 122 + 800 and km 122 + 800 - km 151 + 200), thus starting the procedure for settling the dispute through international arbitration.
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 December 8th 2023 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);
-has previous experience in applying the uniform rules on demand guarantees (URDG);
- 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;
f) 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: December, 8th, 2023, 09.00, 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 Alina GHEŢIU, e-mail: alina.gheţiu@justice.gov.md.
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, December 8th, 2023. 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 Eduard SERBENCO
The cecretary of the commission Alina GHEŢIU